Motivation Monday: why I ran 13.1 without training

This weekend I was able to represent Another Mother Runner at the Gazelle Girl Half Marathon Expotique in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

My girlfriend, Tami, and I connected with runners ranging from women running their first 5k or half marathon to seasoned marathoners.

All of them had a story to share.

picture credit: Women's Lifestyle Magazine

I spent a good portion of the day trying to decide whether I wanted to run the race or not.  I'd said for weeks that I was not going to run.  I wasn't trained, I'm injured, I was coming off of 18 hours in the car.  You know, lots of excuses.

But these amazing women motivated me to run.  If they could do it, so could I.  I was supposed to run 7 or 8 miles on Sunday anyway, so why not add 5 more? A very good friend helped me come up with a plan to run the 13.1 as safely as possible. (I'll discuss the plan when I write my race report.)

In the end, I was able to crush my 3 hour time goal (I figured without training it would take that long) and finished in 2 hours 42 minutes.  I talked to women on the course, took pictures, and just had fun running outside with people.  Friends working the aid stations were there to chat with at 5 miles (Hi Susan J and Molly!) and provided very welcome hugs near the end when I was completely wiped out. (Thank you Glenn, Tim, and Susan L!!)

The finisher bling and completing my 11th half marathon on a whim were 100% worth it. 

What has inspired you?