If you follow me on Instagram then you may have already seen this, but I'm pretty proud of this accomplishment so I'm going to share it here too.
I've been running a long time, I used to have to do it while I was active duty, but I hated it then. Then I started to run for my own reasons, and it was much better, but still a challenge. Stubborn as I can be, I kept at it, off an on for years, learning how to run in a way that won't make me hurt the day after every run. Along the way, I realized I actually started to really enjoy running, so I kept going. 
In 2013 I ran my first race, it was the Colorado Warrior Dash, a muddy trip around a mountain trail filled with obstacles... an adult playground. It was a blast! So we did a Color Run, and the idea was to find fun reasons to get out and go, and maybe drag some others along.
Then I started running just for myself, and that's when I started signing up for events. I've done a few 5Ks now, run for kicks, for personal bests, and for fundraising. I didn't really have a goal timeline figured out, just a vague idea that I was going to push into 10Ks, then do a half marathon, and eventually go the distance in a marathon.
Until I realized I had gotten really comfortable running 5Ks, that was my sweet spot, I'd even run 10K distances while training. But the problem was that while I was getting faster, I wasn't really pushing myself. The comfort zone is where I was stalling out, I needed to push again.
Since I'd already run 10K, I didn't think a 10K Race would be enough of a bump... on the other hand 26.2 miles is a scary distance if you've never done it. So, I figured the smart choice to challenge myself and hit a real goal was a half-marathon... after that I just had to sign up (accountability) and start training. 
I'm not going to say it was easy, there were times where I had to take unplanned breaks to recover. Times where the weather was too much even for me, but I kept at it.
Then on 12 February '23 I ran the Super Half Marathon in Colorado Springs. This is my favorite part, because I had a secret goal, only me and RunKeeper knew the pace I was shooting for, and I was right on it the whole time!
Goal accomplished! 
Now I'm learning some more self-care after that run, and I'm getting back on the road and trails for more runs... still haven't decided whether to do another half, a full marathon, or even a 10K (finally)... but I do know I'm going to keep going.

Steve