Today, I ran my first half marathon! I didn’t stop once and I kept a good pace throughout. I had so much support from my family and friends and it felt very symbolic to cross the finish line knowing I could do hard things if I endured some discomfort.
I took the 13 miles as a representation of a very hard, life-changing 13 months of my life. A good friend sent me a voice memo wishing me luck and said how far I had come over the past year but more specifically the past few months. I take pride in that progress because it’s been brutal but again, necessary and life altering.
As an aside, while I was waiting in the sea of 13,000 people to start running, I looked behind me and saw a familiar face. We both did a double take and gave each other a hug. My friend Lilith was also there and starting in the same wave! What are the odds?? It felt like a nice nod from the universe.
My dad and Carly woke up at 3am their time to track me in real time and send me messages to tell me they were cheering for me. I’ll never understand how I got so lucky.
I missed my train back to Berlin. Now, I’ll watch a movie and eat some snacks. I’m exhausted.