Life's worth living.

I did it. It’s done. On October 6 th I ran 13.1 miles in a row. On purpose. Yes I realize it’s been close to 3 weeks since that day. But honestly it’s probably taken me that long to process everything. Plus my life has been pretty much non-stop since then. Thank you for your patience as I’ve been trying to get my life and my thoughts together. The Thursday and Friday before the race I was FREAKING OUT! Like seriously. I was so nervous and feeling really negative about the whole thing. Feeling like there was no way I was going to be able to do it. And I was honestly dreading it. But, after talking with a coworker and spending some time journaling/praying about it – my attitude shifted. And I’m being honest here by saying that I realized that most of the turmoil I was conflicted by was because of pride. Say what?! I believe my insecurities were rearing their ugly head because I was afraid that I wouldn’t be “perfect” or be “the best” or complete it in a time that would make ev

T-Minus 2 days till the race! Oh boy. I cannot believe it’s here. My training is officially over. 7:30 am on Sunday is coming and it’s go time. Yesterday was my last run. It was a quick and highly pleasant 2 mile run. I couldn’t help but reflect on all the hours I’ve put into this. It’s been challenging but unexpectedly wonderful. I still don’t love running. But I’m glad I decided to do this. It’s brought more to me than I ever expected. More strength. More confidence. More determination to set a goal and work my booty off until I reach it.  I’m feeling all the feelings. Fear. Excitement. Anxiety. Nerves. I know I can do it. But I’m also super intimidated. And I think that’s normal. So that’s it for this post. I know it’s super short. But I wanted to give one final update before the race. Say a prayer for me Sunday. 

Fear. Such a small word. Such a big emotion. Fear keeps us trapped. Fear keeps us silent. Fear makes us think and feel and behave in ways we normally wouldn’t. According to Google, fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat. Ok now go back and reread that definition. No really, read it again. In case you’re like some people I know that won’t be told what to do - let me write it again for dramatic effect and to emphasize my point. “Fear is an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” This doesn’t say that fear is an emotion caused by someone or something that is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or is a threat… it says it’s the belief that someone or something is those things. That one little word completely changes the definition. Please hear me in this. I know that fear can be real and intense and de

Well I’m still here. Running. It seems like that’s all I do these days. The mileage is growing and so is my appetite.   Last week (Wk 6) I ran 4, 2, 4, and 3 (as fast as I could). So far this week (Wk 7) I’ve ran 4.5, 3, 4.5, and then on Friday I’ll do 7. Geesh. Next week (Wk 8) I’ll run 4.5, 3, 4.5, and 8. Physically I feel good. It’s been as humid as ever so I’ve been sweating buckets each time I go out to the path. And I mean buckets. My ear holes even get sweaty. How can that be a thing?? I’ve never heard of anything so ridiculous in my life but it happens every time. Weird. I’ve been feeling kinda funky lately. My emotions fluctuate on a daily basis. Actually, I take that back. My emotions fluctuate on an hourly basis. Some moments I’m fully motivated and want to take on the world - some moments I want to curl up in bed and shut out that same world. Some moments I feel like a champion - some moments I feel like a major loser.   Some moments I believe that anythin

Hi. I know it’s been a little while since I’ve updated. Honestly I’ve been unmotivated to write. So, instead of writing for the sake of writing, I decided to wait until I had something to say. And I’ll get to that. I cannot believe I’m just about finished with the 5 th week of training. I guess I need to catch you up on my schedule. Week 3 and week 4 looked like this: ·          Monday – 3.5 miles ·           Tuesday – 2 miles ·          Wednesday – 3.5 miles ·          Thursday – Rest ·          Friday – 5 miles And here’s what this week (5) is: ·          Monday – 4 miles ·          Tuesday – 2 miles ·          Wednesday – 4 miles ·          Thursday – Rest ·          Friday – 6 miles I only have 1 more run this week and it’s 6 miles. I’ve literally only done that one other time in my life. So, I’m feeling pretty intimated by it. But I KNOW I can do it. That’s insane to think that 6 miles isn’t even half the race. Right now, 6 miles feels li

I got rid of my fat pants.  Weird way to start off this weeks's blog huh? It's true. If you know me well, you know that I have hoarder tendencies. I find sentimental value to practically everything I've ever seen and/or touched. Rationally I know this makes no sense, but I am super nostalgic and don't want to get rid of anything that will give me a warm and fuzzy feeling or might be the slightest bit useful for me in the future. While there may be some wisdom in holding onto things, it can also become a major hindrance in life. If you've watched any episodes of TLC's show Hoarders, you have seen that people can use their things to make actual walls around them. While I've never gotten to that level, there is a part of me that sees why and how it gets to that place.  Things  can bring comfort.  Things  can bring memories.  Things  can bring safety.  And that's what my fat pants have been. Like I've mentioned before, I've lived in the patt

Well. Here we are again. I'm officially into the second week of my training. And let me tell you, I'm feeling it. This past week was challenging for me. Here's how it impacted my body and here's how it impacted my mind/soul. Physically: My body hurts! Not in like a "you're causing harm to yourself" type a way but more like a "you've been eating a lot of junk food on vacation and now you're asking me to do what?!" type of way. Woof. I have been running pretty consistently for many months so I didn't think it would be so hard. But it is. Here's what I did. Monday - run 3 miles. Tuesday - run 2 miles. Wednesday- run 3 miles. (although I got really hot and winded so I ran close to 2 and then walked/ran the last one) Thursday - day of rest. Friday - run 4 miles. I work full time on the weekends so Monday-Friday is my only chance to run and a rest day is important so I don't overdo it. So that was my schedule for the week and t

I’m running a half marathon in October. In the spirit of being dramatic and to emphasize the importance of those 7 little words, I’ll say it again: I’M RUNNING A HALF MARATHON IN OCTOBER. October 6 th to be exact. What in the name of all that is holy am I thinking?!? This is a semi-interesting story that I want to share with you, but I think I need to rewind the tape a little to give you some background on what in the world brought me to this decision. And why the heck it matters at all. Before I start, I just have to say that I’m not fishing for compliments in all of this. The truth is, I really have gone through some profound changes over the last hand full of months and I’m feeling inspired to write about it. I’ve learned some things that I think are important - important enough to write about on this silly little blog to share with the handful of people who will actually read what I have to say (Hi Mom). Please feel no pressure to comment, share, or tweet about my awesomenes