I ran the San Diego marathon today - as always it was one of the best experiences of my life!

And 26.2 miles of running gives you plenty of time to think. But amongst finishing way earlier than I had expected, the hundreds of Elvis costumes and the cute boys wearing only running shorts, one thing really stuck with me:
The only time when I wanted to give up or really felt the pain in my body was halfway in between each mile marker when I just had me, my thoughts and the roadway. When I passed a group of spectators cheering us on I'd smiles and picked up my pace, when I hi5'd cheerleaders I laughed and they would tell me to keep it up. The guy drinking beer at 9.15 am on a Sunday made me laugh so much I almost forgot I was running and seeing all the families and friends with their signs put the smile - that was threatening to disappear - right back up on my face.

And I saw this as a wonderful analogy of life:
When we try and do it alone and just listen to the sound of our own mind and our own feet it is hard, you can want to give up and you do feel the pain. But if you look for a 'hi5!' from someone, or you allow yourself to hear the cheers of those around you, or if you look for that 'guy drinking beer on a Sunday morning', or you take time to enjoy family and friends showing their love for each other - then life can be an experience you will never forget...and it will give you far less blisters than running marathon!