ILLEGITIMUS NON CARBORUNDUM.....

That is what I read on the back of a runner's shirt as we waited in a corral to start the Nashville half marathon. In Latin, it means "don't let the ******* get you down." It was an appropriate mantra for the day. After all, it was raining and I was feeling a bit queasy about beginning the race. Actually, I was totally freaking out.

On April 26, I completed the Nashville half marathon with Team McGraw. I have to admit, I was very ill- prepared and quite frankly embarrassed that I even called myself a "runner," but I set only one expectation for myself....FINISH. Guess what...I did. I have never been that unprepared for a race and I just felt awful about it. I can sometimes call myself an overachiever and when it comes to running I get crazed like cramming last minute for a final only to ace it and promise myself I will never do that again. After running in Nashville I have made a promise to never be unprepared again. That was just plain luck that I made it. Of course, I have run races and felt absolutely horrible afterwards, but on this particular day, I felt really good. Maybe it is because I realized that there is always room for improvement. Mostly I think that it was because I had some wonderful friends running with me and since I was the only girl, I wasn't going to act like one.

It's that time of the year again. The time when the sun will rise a bit earlier and birds are either a Godsend because you want to wake up for that early run or just throw your head under the pillows to make the noise stop. Back to that early run....it's that time of the year again. It is now time when I run out of excuses getting up early and running.

So as I was being heckled for knowing what "illegitimus non carborundum" means, I was beginning to feel like living proof that miracles can happen. Team McGraw's rally is "Ya Gotta Believe." I love it. I live it. Proud to be part of it.

Now if I could just shave one hour off of my time......