The only update I have on my training this week is that I did it. I shirked a few of my mid-week miles, to be honest, but on Saturday, Mindy and I killed the 15-mile run. We carried our water bottles, shuffled in place while we had a snack and some gatorade at mile 10, and finished the run without taking a break.

I feel the novelty of running so many miles is beginning to wear off. In fact, the time commitment of our weekend run was tough for me this time. I wasn’t as excited to give up three hours of my Saturday evening just to run, although I knew we had to. In the middle of our 15 miles, I found myself missing my daughter…wishing I was out walking with her and my husband…wishing we could have gone to the state fair that day…wanting to just be swinging her at the park and laughing and teasing and playing. But instead, when I got home, she was already in bed for the night. I felt I missed out, and it made me a little sad.

Mindy reminded me that these runs, however, are just as important for our mental toughness as they are for our physical toughness. As girls who have run since we were 12, our bodies have become so efficient at running, that once we hit a good pace, we could keep going for quite awhile. So that’s not even the hard part. The hard part is hitting the pavement at 4:30 and knowing you won’t get done until 7:30, and you won’t actually get home until 8pm.

She also reminded me why we are doing this. We are doing this to raise money and awareness for those without water. For those who do not have the luxury of playing at the park with their children because they are too busy fetching water, or maybe even because their kids are too sick from dirty water to do much of anything at all. I have six other days of the week to play with my daughter. I have hours and hours and hours more time than those who must travel for water daily.

Our training will not always be fun and exciting and rewarding. It can be tiring, grueling and painful. But it must be done because that’s the commitment we made.

While I know we are doing this for real people, it always helps to know them. To see their faces, hear their voices and their stories. Watch the video below so see how the $4000 we raise to build a well will literally affect the daily lives of hundreds of Africans. We are 1/4 of the way to our goal!!! Please consider helping us by clicking here:   http://www.active.com/donate/activewaterupick/jamierunsforwater