I Now Have My Very Own...

I now have something very, very special...

Something that few people have...

It's a treasure that I get to keep for the rest of my life...

My very own...

Marathon Runner!!!



He did it! Army Man completed his very first Marathon in only 4 hours and 30 minutes! He did great for the first 23 miles, staying steady at an 8 minute mile until a nasty leg cramp got the better of him - but even with a leg cramp his time was incredible!

Here is a "before" picture of Army man at 0-dark thirty, getting ready to head to the race.



And this is the "after" picture. He still managed to smile even though he was exhausted.



Unfortunately we weren't able to get any pictures of Army Man actually running in the marathon. I met a friend who lived near the half way point and we walked around for five miles trying to find him but with no luck. I didn't mind though because it was a great chance to catch up with one of my life-long best friends.

We made it back to the finish line and watched several of the half marathon runners for a while before deciding to make our way to the family area in case Army Man had already finished and we'd somehow missed him.

I did snag this adorable picture of a senior couple finishing the half marathon. I start to choke up a little every time I look at it.



There are a lot of similarities between marathon running and getting out of debt. Both are hard, usually painful, and often appear as acts of insanity to the masses. However they both have huge rewards that carry over into expected and unexpected areas of life. Once you've completed a marathon, or become debt free you start to believe that you are capable of accomplishing almost anything. My close friend, who got out of debt after finishing her first marathon said that completing one gave her the motivation and courage to complete the other. I like to think that there might just be a little marathon runner and debt free person inside each of us that's just waiting to come out. Although, don't tell anyone but I keep shushing the marathon runner inside of me. I think that I'll let that one sleep a little longer as I do not foresee any marathons in my near future.

I'll leave you with pictures of the view outside our window this morning.



What a perfect way to start a marathon day.