Less Blogging, More Jogging {My Half-Marathon Journey...so far}

It was March 2012 when I ran my first half-marathon (13.1 miles) and it was so much fun that I knew I wanted to run another half marathon sometime again!  My goal was to run another one the year I turned 40.

After I had Baby Smith #5 in July 2013 I had a tough time getting back into the running routine juggling a baby with 4 older children, nursing, homeschooling, and just keeping up with life.  I felt blah, but my lack of a regular exercise routine definitely contributed to my blah feelings.  I did gradually get back into cardio and strength training which made me feel much better.

Fast forward a few years and the "baby" is now 2 1/2 years old and I just turned 40 back in August 2015.

So....I felt this was the best time to sign up for another half-marathon. In November 2015, I registered for the same race I ran back in 2012, but I had no idea how I was going to train for another half-marathon or how I would have the time to do so!

One of the many reasons I signed up for the race was because I would be on a team raising money for seminarians. There is a group of us from my parish either running the half marathon or the full marathon and we are asking for donations for the young men discerning the priesthood.  If you would like to find out more or donate check out the link. Thank you!

To make a long story short, I ended up winning a free entry to the half-marathon race I registered for and I also got free coaching for 12 weeks to prepare for the upcoming March 20th Marathon/Half-Marathon race!

I was so excited and couldn't believe that I was one of two "Challengers" to be selected for the contest!

The training has been so much fun and I have a great running coach!  I have learned so much and after each workout I feel more and more prepared for the race.

I've been focusing on training and getting plenty of rest (most mornings I wake up at 4:45 AM to get my team training workouts in and other workouts).  This is the main reason I have not been able to stay up late to try to write blog posts so less blogging these days, and a lot more jogging! :) 

As a "Challenger" my training progress is documented with photos and I have to answer a new question each week about some aspect of my training.  These photos and my answers are then posted on social media to share my journey with others.

Here are a few pictures that I have submitted for this Challenge:

It's a not always easy to get up so early in the morning, but I really love being able to get out the door with no interruptions (and I don't have to find shoes and socks for little people  :) ).  It's also a great stress reliever to be in a regular exercise routine to train for a race.  I have so much accountability and many people cheering me on so that has made a definite difference in continuing to work hard for my goals!

Another perk of early morning workouts is being in awe of some beautiful sunrises after my team practice is done.  These are 2 photos I took after one of them.  Perfect reward for completed hard work!

So that has been my half-marathon journey so far without boring you with too many details.  :)

I'm looking forward to the weeks ahead as I continue my journey and I'll be updating my blog when I can.  But, if I'm not here chances are I'm either homeschooling, running or sleeping! (Since the first day of Lent is just around the corner starting on Wednesday, February 10th, I might pop in to post our Lenten traditions or you can check out my Lent posts from previous years on my A Slice of Liturgical Life page)

To see other #WorthRevisit posts during the rest of the week, visit Allison at Reconciled To You and Elizabeth at Theology Is A Verb. So many great posts!