Humbled and Uplifted at the same time

So Sunday night, Catherine and I started out to do our 14 mile long run and by the end of it we began considering doing a half marathon instead of the full. We decided we needed to sleep on it and not decide on mile 13!

Well, we talked after we finished running and were pretty certain we were going to make the switch. Although we knew we could push ourselves to train up to 26 miles, we have no desire to. We want training and race day to be something we enjoy doing and not something we just want to get overwith. So we changed our goal, instead of just trying to finish, now we have 5 weeks to work on meeting a Time Goal of finishing the half under 2 hours.

On my way home from running, I was feeling like we made the right decision, but at the same time I couldn't help but feel like a quitter, which the stubborn and prideful person in me did not like. I kept asking myself the question, "Am I quitting because it got tough, or is this really the right decision to make?" My parents both have bad knees and I have been worried that another marathon might be too much for my knee, so in the back of my mind a half has always been an option.

Anyways, so I get home and have to break the news to Alex who is my coach in life. I knew exactly what he was going to say because I have a tendency to set lofty goals and then have to pair them down to something that is actually reachable. Alex was VERY supportive of the switch, but in a very loving way reminded me that I need to think through this when I am FIRST setting the goal. We want to teach our children that it is great to dream and set goals, but at the same time not teach them that we can quit the first time is gets challenging. He is such a great person and has the ability to be challenging and loving at the same time. I am not sure that I am able to do that. So, Sunday was encouraging but humbling at the same time. I am going forward excited about our new goal, and also challenged that next time I set a goal for myself, to really think through it and set a reachable goal.

Thanks Alex for the neverending support. :)