So It Finally Happened....

It finally happened. After making the decision in the days leading up to Christmas last year... After a year of not giving into peer pressure (seriously, this wasn't a peer pressure thing this time around - I made this decision on my own).... After already making plans for my fall training season....

I have registered for my first full marathon!

AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!

Whew. OK. Got that out. Yes! I registered for the Dallas Marathon this morning!!!! 

I'm a bucket of full of emotions!

I'm excited!

I'm anxious!

I'm badass determined!

I'm scared!

I'm.... I'm.... I'm....

I'm a runner facing a new adventure.

My running friend and seasoned marathon runner J thinks that I'm ready for a full marathon, which is really reassuring for me. I'm really hoping that I will stay injury free as much as possible and everything that I need to prove to myself (and not) and to others will pay off!

Not wanting to dwell on things that will fuel the anxiety part of my emotions.... I had a lull at work and did a little research to make this moment on the upbeat and fun!

As you guessed it.... I looked it up!

For me, according to how many calories I burned during my last half marathon, I would maybe burn just over 3000 calories.

That's approximately eating one selection of the following... 

• 438 regular M&Ms
• 478 dark chocolate M&Ms 
• 144 peanut M&Ms
• 75 strawberry Twizzlers twists
• 27 cups of Froot Loops cereal
• 12 Oreo cookie Klondike Bars

Maybe I should keep a list going of things that I could eat after running a marathon (or during training) that I should not eat just (it'd certainly help when it comes to staying on track with my nutrition!). Oooh, more fun to be had!

 So! Starting in August - Marathon Training! Whoo hoo! 


Images found here

Motivation Monday - I Ran... A Lot

Running is emotional. Plain and simple.

I run a lot (or at least in my mind I do). One reason is because I love running. Another it's because I'm gearing up for marathon training later this year. A third reason is because I have so many emotions going through me it's flat out ridiculous.

I feel alive when I run (until I bonk then I feel like shit). For X amount of time my mind isn't racing - my body is. My mind is focused on what my body is doing and how it feels and focused on the course. Other thoughts pop in my head, but they are soon pushed aside. Then afterwards it's all the hormones that kick in that make feel great and ok and nothing is or could be wrong in the world.

I'm sure everyone can share stories of how running has made them cry, scream, and brood. 

One of my "cherished" moments during a race was when a cyclist crossed my path during the 2015 Too Hot to Handle 15k and I fell on the sidewalk - skinning my knee. Right after the halfway point. I was bleeding. My knee hurt like hell. I was crying because of the stinging pain and the frustration at the cyclist (who never stopped) and the fact that my pace was ruined because of pain and the fact that I had to wipe the blood that was streaming down my leg. 

I never cried at the finish of a race, but I can count the number of times when I finish a training run with tears streaming down my face cause of the pain that I ran to avoid came flooding back. In the end of those runs I do feel better - or perhaps it was the fact that I just go numb by then. Maybe it's both. Last Fall I actually cried, praying to the Big Guy Upstairs - asking to help my then-boyfriend to stay strong during his mom's death and through his grief afterwards, then again (selfishly?) asking for this guy to be the One for me because I never felt so happy and special in my life before him - all of which during 5k training runs. My first 10k PR during a training run was because a running buddy frustrated the hell out of me that very morning (I don't think I even said anything to her until she texted me that she was done).

You know, maybe I should just say that my eyes sweat too. Does that sound better than crying?

I have a best friend, K, who is going through a really rough time. It's rough enough that sometimes when I talk to her it puts me into perspective on my recent breakup (I'm not saying that my pain and broken heart don't matter - cause it does - but I have to remember there are worst things out there). She still has a long road ahead of her, but she's finally putting her foot down that make me feel so proud of her.

What also makes me proud is that K even started walking, and confessed to me that she even wants to running. She's starting out very slow and is just walking and isn't ready to run yet. I know that she'll get to that point eventually, and she knows that I'm here to help her. I can't wait till our mutual BFF Jennie and I get her to do a 5k race (2016 Hot Chocolate 5k, anyone?!) with us!.

I can't say for sure, but I like to think that K's new desire to be active is due, in part, to me. I can't say I'm the most inspirational type person out there, but it makes me feel good to know that I can help her through rough patches as we walk and run... and hopefully someday doing it together.

My advise.... Keep Running. Keep Walking.

Source of image found here.

Motivation Monday: I Can Do This... And So Much More!

I find that I'm a better writer than speaker (though writing = visible grammatical errors) as a way to get my thoughts and feelings across. Being a professional and working with a lot of people every single day has changed me for the better, but life can still be a struggle when you lack enough confidence. But what also has made who and what I am today? Yep, you guessed it... Running.

Running has changed me. Running has given me the realization that I can do so much more. People may not know that I run 13.1 miles in just under 3 hours (until I tell them), but :: I :: know that I can. That really isn't something to shrug off as a normal thing. To do something like a half marathon or just going for a run on your day off requires:

dedication,

strength,

courage, 

passion

Let me tell you something... I hated running when I was younger. As a teen, when my fencing coach told us to jog as a warm up I hated it. Felt like I was going to barf. When he told me to try to walk/run 3 miles a couple times a week I tried one day and gave up. Then college and grad school hit. What's exercise?

I never thought I'd be a runner. I was athletic. But. I. Hated. Running!

Boy, how life changes! Now, I am a runner. I know can do it. It's hard sometimes, but I can do it. I can finish it one way or another.

There is a Canadian band called Art of Dying, who has a song entitled "Get Thru This." This song was written when the lead singer learned of his father's cancer. Many AoD fans (myself included) find this song to be inspirational to what is going on in their lives. If you can get through this you can get through anything. If I can get through a run, I can get through a 5k, a half marathon, a good run, a bad run... I can get through anything. I'm going to be thinking of this song when I start my marathon training later this year!

Find out what running can do for you!

Image found here.

Motivation Monday - It's Your Race

Snoopy is good. Snoopy is wise.

5 days left until Austin Half Marathon, people!

It's my race.

Oh, and it's my fan club's race. Big hugs and kisses for those coming down to Austin with me!

Image found here. 

Motivation Monday - Continue

In 2012 my best, best buddy Jennie said she was signing up for a 5k race - where you get chocolate at the end. At the time it was even promoted with have Ghirardelli chocolate to boot! How cool was that?!  It was the Hot Chocolate 15k/5k. Wanting to join in on the fun and wanting to get more active (and not to mention chocolate!) I signed up too.

I remember being a little freaked out concerned after I hit the submit registration button. What was I thinking?!? How am I suppose to run a 5k race? How many miles was it? 3.1 miles? And I had to have a pace of 15min per mile or better?! And I only have one month to get ready for it? What?! Plus, it was going to be cold. I mean, the below-freezing-to-the-point-of-snot-freezing-and-toes-turning-purple-falling-off cold that day! What. Was. I. Thinking???

But, I trained for it, and I did it. It took some time, but I crossed the finish line. It. Was. Amazing! My first ever experienced with runner's high was that day. Wow! Having never experienced anything as awesome (I know what's better than runner's high, now, though. Long story.), I was hooked. When's the next race?

But I didn't run another race (not to mention any major running - it's hard without motivation) until the following year - when a coworker was wanting to join me in the next 5k. It just so happened Jennie and I were laying plans for the the 2013 Hot Chocolate Run. Soon enough more coworkers and my family were joining in and we practically created a training team in the winter of 2012!

Since that first year the Hot Chocolate Run as been the traditional, must-do race with Jennie and my family. And because of peer pressure coworkers I kept up the running and ran more races in the coming years before advancing onto half marathons just this past year. Now I'm looking into running a full marathon this year. That's nuts!

It may be hard to start.

It is easy to stop.

It may be difficult to continue.

But as long as you continue you never know what will happen and where it will take you. (Here's a secret, it generally is to an awesome place!).

Just go for it!

P.S. - For those running the 2015 Hot Chocolate - Dallas Run... see you there!

Image found here,

Motivation Monday - A Good Pick Me Up

Thank you Runner's World for providing with some of the greatest motivation posters!

Today RW and me would like to say... 

Running does make it better... even if it's just for a short while. Often I found myself going for a walk and ended up running because it felt so much better.

Today is a big day for me in a lot of ways, and I'm scared to learn how it's going to end... So I may need to run more than just a mile on Tuesday!

If you want to start this new year after going through a not-so-stellar 2014... try running it out!

Source of image found here.

Motivation Monday - Get Out There!

With these polar vortexes that keeps on slamming Texas (not to mention many other states!) I would prefer to stay in cuddled up in bed or on the couch with lots of blankets, fuzzy socks, a book/TV and coffee until spring arrived.

But alas, I liked running too.

Aaaaand, I too would feel bad that I didn't go running, especially if it justified me eating certain not-so-healthy foods (we all understand that!).

Alright, alright. Time to add another layer and brave that wind chill! 

Get out there and run! You'll thank yourself later!

Image found here.

Motivation Monday

I've seen a lot of motivational posters in my short running time, but this one popped up in my Facebook feed the same day that I was reading about and keeping an eye on friends/acquaintances who ran the 2014 Dallas Marathon and the BCS Marathon. This helped light the fire under my butt to think above and beyond. 

 

Image found here.