Run a 10K.....Check.

Do you see that grin! Yes. It really happened. That is an official race number on my shirt. If you told this girl a few months ago that she would be running a 10k which really was 6.75 miles instead of the official 6.2 miles, she would have told you you were crazy. But, this girl did and this girl is mighty proud of herself. I had dreams of the whole family waiting at the finish line to congratulate me and look on with looks of praise and admiration but it turned out a little different. The husband had to go on a last minute campout so I crossed the line alone. It was a sad moment but thank goodness my SIL Kelli was there and although she finished well before me, she was there in the end to give me the high five. Thanks, Kelli! You are an inspiration! My sweet kids had signs at home for me congratulating me on my race. They were really proud of their old mom which is one of the big reasons I did it.

So there are lessons to be learned. Running has many metaphors for life. Like I have said before, the race has little to do with the actual running itself. What I have learned:

Running is hard.

Running is mental.

There is nothing more satisfying than crossing a finish line, any finish line in life.

When you cross that line,no matter what the goal or challenge has been , the most important thing you want to see at the end is your family.

You can do anything you put your mind to; anything.

To accomplish your goals you have to accept that there are no exceptions.

Just do it.

This race was emotional for me. I started out with tears and ended with tears. It had a little to do with the race itself; a race for a darling little girl named London who lost her battle to cancer. We know her family and I ran next to her parents for a while who are some of the most courageous people I know. They had pictures along the course of London and other children battling cancer. They had mottos on each photo from the race, a motto I will carry for the rest of the year:

Push Harder

Run Stronger

Hope Longer

The other emotions were for the sense of satisfaction in accomplishing something hard. I, Shari Goodman, can do hard things. I will continue to do hard things and I will continually strive to Push harder, Run stronger and Hope longer. I will not give up and more than anything in the world or the next, my ultimate goal will be to cross this finish line in life with my family on the other side. What else is there.

For any of you needing a challenge, I lay it out for anyone to see what an amazing feeling it is to finish a race. Try it out. I bet you.

Thanks , Kelli! Same time, same place next year. Maybe a few in between.
Who the heck knows.