Saturday, January 30, 2010

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.

14 comments:

Kelli Brown said...

You rock, Shari! Way to go. Yes, same time, same place next January. And hopefully there will be a few more between now and then. Maybe I can even talk you into running the Run From the Sun Half Marathon in November. I'm already signed up!

See you tomorrow night! Thanks for a terrific day.

Tracey said...

Way to go Shari... Maybe I will join you someday?! You are an inspiration to many ladies out there ~ thanks for your positive outlook! You DEFINITELY rock.

Britt said...

Welcome to the running club!!!! Way to go! And of course you look stylish, to boot!
What a sweet purpose to motivate you, as well.

ShelleyG said...

Good for you Shari. I really like the idea that at the end, you just want to see your family.

Annabeth said...

Congratulations, Shari! That is so wonderful. I love the lessons you learned/are learning, and thanks for sharing them with us.

They are great reminders for what I'm going through right now. We can all hope longer...
Thanks!

RPH said...

YEA YEA YEA! Way to go!!!

Laurie said...

So cool! Sorry I didn't even know your race was on Saturday...we would have cheered you on!! Maybe next year I'll do it with you! Great post, I love the way you put things!

diane said...

=D =D =D
So proud of you!

Diane... said...

CONGRATULATIONS Shari!! I've never crossed a "runners" finish line myself but want to "FINISH STRONG" in everything and I know that I need to S T R E T C H and do harder things...thanks for the motivation!!!

Lori said...

C*o*N*g*R*a*T*u*L*a*T*i*O*n*S, Shari!!! What an amazing thing you did! Thanks for the inspiration, my friend.

Tina @GottaRunNow said...

Congrats on finishing the 10K! To run over 6 miles is a hard thing to do!

Tiffany said...

What a great story Shari! I love the way you write things...I love your goals...I love your outlook on life. You are so inspiring...I tell everyone I know about your blog--I hope you don't mind!!

I don't know if I''m too late...but I think I might want to do the green bee produce--I haven't had a chance to ok it with Ty--but if I can still add on let me know and I will double check with him--save me a trip to the ranch market! :)

Also--If you keep your running up--I am the race director for a new race we started in Mesa last Nov. and will continue to due (was formerly Run from the Sun...but had to change the name to Shun the Sun for trademarking purposes)...anyway we offer something for EVERYONE--Half MArathon, 10K, 5K, and a 1.5 mile family fun run...we also have a HUGE kid zone (like London's run--did that half last year--I LOVED it--so sad I didn't do it this year) lots of inflatables, face painting, jewelery making (with special beads that change color in the sun--it's a skin cancer awareness run); coloring contests etc.--You will have to do...we have a free pasta dinner the night before...and you finish at home plate of Hohokam Stadium (and run downtown past the temple, etc.)-- it's Saturday Nov. 13--mark your calendar now!! :)

Good job on achieving such wonderful goals!

Shari Goodman said...

Tiffany,
I am totally in. My sister in law did that race last year and loved it. I will try to recruit some women for you...Ladies????? Join me. Anyways, for the green bee, just go to their website off my link list and set it up. If there isn't one closer to you than I would love to have you at mine. They are great.

DK said...

Congratulations Shari! You are an inspiration to all your readers :) and more importantly your children will be inspired by you!