Home!

After living in Indianapolis for 10 months and studying at IUPUI, I'm finally home for the summer. I still haven't made the adjustment from the loud city to the quiet country, but it's peaceful and I'll get used to it soon.

Before leaving Indianapolis though, my friend Kathryn and I participated in the Indy 500 festival One America Mini Marathon. Although I began training in January, I hit a couple of setbacks after being stuck inside because of an ice-storm and donating blood for the first time, I restarted training twice. Anywho, I hadn't trained properly the past few weeks because of final exams but after running the first mile of the race with my Outrun the Sun technical shirt on, adrenaline set-in and I decided I wasn't ready to stop until the finish line. Running through mile 6 and 7 at the speedway was an amazing rush and I honestly got chills when I crossed the bricks, despite being overheated from the run. For many, the last 2 miles was the worst, but I was lucky because this portion of the race was home for me. These 2 miles were part of my daily routine. At mile 12 I could hear the cheers of some friends in the 500 festival princess program and then I hit a full-on sprint for victory mile! As I crossed over the New York St. bridge, I could see my apartment on the left and I hit a wave emotion as I saw thousands of people lining the street to cheer on friends and family. This was a moment I never thought I would see, it felt like the last mile of this training season would never come. Over the loud speakers, Indy 500 race commentating from throughout the years could be heard above the cheers and I could see the finish line within yards. With only a 1/4 mile left, I started sobbing tears of joy (which made everything much more challenging, considering an important part of running is breathing and I lost control of that ability with my emotions). But I couldn't believe I actually conquered something I never thought I was capable of doing. I was the girl on the track team who tagged along because it was a social event but this past weekend I completed my very first mini-marathon in 2 hours and 15 minutes.

Being home with my friends and family for the summer is absolutely a blessing and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me as I seek His will the next 2 months. Maybe another mini-marathon? ;)

Joyfully,

Katie D.