I would like to share a very special day in my life with everyone.

On May 6, 2007, I ran and completed the Vancouver Half Marathon. It was a true test of strength, mental preparation, and down right determination.

I have always wanted to run a half marathon and thought that Vancouver would be a great place to run. I started training for my half marathon in January 2007. I set a schedule for myself, both with nutrition and fitness. I ran 3 times a week and cross trained one night. On Saturdays, I ran long runs anywhere from 10K to 20K. Nutritionally, I stayed away from all alcoholic beverages and concentrated on putting the right foods into my body.

The day of the run was beautiful - overcast and threatening rain. These are perfect words to a runner starting out on a long run, and I’ll tell you right now, all the rumors are true. Training at a higher altitude and then running at sea level is great. I guess what is remarkable to me about running this half is that I set out to do it, and I did it. So often I have dreams to accomplish something but never see it through to the end. This was one time I believed I could do it and wanted to do it. That’s the key. I believed in myself and trusted myself that I could run it.

There were over 9,000 runners/walkers in the Vancouver run. We started at GM Place, ran through Gastown, along the Sea Wall, completely circled Stanley Park and ended the race back at GM Place. There was beautiful scenery around every corner. As I passed a group of what appeared to be homeless people, they began calling my name. This confused me for a moment until I remembered my name was on my race bib. They were having a great time cheering on all the participants and I, for one, was encouraged by their enthusiasm. It was so cool!

I had a piece of paper with words of encouragement from family and friends, which I read to inspire me. As I reached the 20K mark, my legs were very tired, my feet sore, and by now it was raining pretty hard so I was quite wet, but I felt good. I could hear people cheering in the distance. I heard someone talking through a loud speaker. As I was coming into the final stretch, they announced my name so that my supporters knew I was coming in. I actually heard my name, which surprised me because, at this point, I was very tired and really just wanted to finish the run.

Once I crossed the finish line, I was presented with a finisher’s medal. I began to cry because I had accomplished what I had set out to do. What a great feeling! What a triumphant feeling! Having my family at the finish line, standing in the rain, made it all that more special. Will I do it again? Most definitely. I love the idea of setting a goal, then putting the steps in place to make that goal achievable.

Some words to describe how you can accomplish something like this - be yourself, give yourself to others, enjoy life, be passionate about something and don't ever stop dreaming the impossible dream!

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