My Running Adventures

It has been a long time since I last posted so this might be a very random post of a lot of different adventures I have had. First, my last Half Marathon that I ran was the Farmington Days Half Marathon. It was a very difficult race for me as I had to work a grave shift the night before. I felt like my focus was off and I had a lot of negative self talk throughout the race. I did have a cool experience during the race. I was at mile 6 or 7 and I wasn't feeling motivated..I was at the point of wanting to give up and I just said a prayer in my heart that I needed some extra help. The next thing that I knew a girl that I had seen on the race came by me and told me...we will help each other...It was the motivation that I needed and was able to get a second wind and was able to finish. It was the longest that I had did in a half. It made my day to see not only Phat Josh at the finish line but my family rooting me along. I didn't really experience much pain from this race aside from my toe which is dealing with the fact that it will be losing a toenail soon! Since running this race I have made it a goal to improve my running. I will be running the Layton City Half Marathon for the second time this year. This race is very meaningful to me as it was my first Half I did last year when losing weight. I have made it a goal to improve my time by 20min...which would put me at a 2:34:00 time. I believe I can do it. I recently invested in a Garmin Forerunner watch which is probably the best investment in running I have made as it has helped me with my pace and has helped me to see the runner I truly am.  If you were to ask me a year ago if I would ever be excited to run half marathons I probably would tell you are you kidding me? But now I can't stop thinking about running. It is a thrill and a drive that has changed my life. Running has been a saving grace in my life and has shown me my potential. There were times in my life that I didn't have the strongest confidence and now I have the confidence to say that, " I am a runner." I am so grateful for the people that I have met while running and the motivation and inspiration they are to me.  To the people out there that don't believe they could ever achieve a goal...I will say this, The only thing holding you back is yourself...so stop making excuses and go after your dreams!

Details on the Memorial Day Half Marathon

I loved this half marathon...there were so many experiences along the way that made the day all worth it. I   started off the race feeling confident and strong...I ran the first 6 miles with confidence and didn't seem to be having any pain.. Around mile 6.0 I was able to see the winner of the race coming back...cause it was an out and back race and he told me " you got this girl...good job!" It gave me some extra motivation to keep going...I also was able to see an amazing person...Josh Hansen coming back in his denim and pink in honor of his mother which made me even more motivated to keep going. It was at about mile # 10 that I got a shocking pain in the back muscles and I wasn't sure if I was going to keep going but I called upon my Grandma E that passed away 7 years ago who used to call me "muscles" and I was able to push through the pain a bit. The last couple of miles I had to dig deep within myself to give my all as the pain continued to get worse...It was a great feeling to see my parents at the finish line.. I was glad to be done and glad that I was able to add another race to the races I have ran. It was even better to see Josh Hansen come over and congratulate me... He really has come to far in his journey and is a constant reminder of the will to keep moving forward in my own journey. It was a great experience all together and I will be eternally grateful for the reward of the day. I got a cool shirt, medal and was able to spend the day with a few of my heroes..I couldn't ask for anything better in the day. 

Memorial Day Half

I am so excited to run another half marathon coming up this next monday.. Through all the training that I have endured I feel confident and ready to tackle the 13.1 miles. It is crazy to think of where I was a year ago and where I am today. I remember when running a mile was the hardest thing to endure and now I am running 13 miles with confidence. I am so grateful for my weight loss journey and all that it has done for me. I would have to say if I was asked what were the biggest things that I gained from losing weight they would be.
1. Confidence
2. Strong will
3. Happiness.
Some other things that I have seen change within myself is that I no longer have problems with my knees, I don't have shin splints, and I don't judge myself based on a number on the scale.
Running has become the cheapest form of therapy for me. After a long day at work or just a stressful day I can put on my running shoes and go out into nature and deal with it all.

I am so grateful for the people that always remind me of the importance of moving forward and not having fear. I have learned that everyday I am one step closer to my goals. I don't look back anymore..I only look forward. I hope that as my journey continues that I will be able to help other people see the importance of loving ourselves inside and out and that the only person holding you back is YOU!

I am excited for Monday...maybe I will get a Personal Record for myself!
I will give ya a full report of my adventures on Tuesday

Love ya all....

A Dollar a mile

I have been trying to figure out a way to make my running  more meaningful and to motivate me even more. I was inspired today while running with my friend ashley. I have decided to start a fundraising project called " A dollar a mile". I am going to try to get people to donate a dollar a mile that I run this year. The catch? All the miles that I run and get money for have to be from a race that I have registered for and run. I can't count miles that are used to train for the races.  So if I run a half marathon I will get $13 dollars.
What will the money go towards? Well.. I would like to donate  the money to charities such as make a wish foundation as well as the huntsman cancer foundation. I know of someone who already is raising money for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and his name is Joshua Hansen. I plan to donate some of the money I raise to his goal. I also know of a former co-worker who lost his daughter to a liver tumor a few years ago named Emmallee  Havertz and remember the amazing stories and experiences that he shared with the make a wish foundation.. I am excited for the adventure and experience that will come with this endeavor and am excited to sign up for some more races! May the force be with me...LOL

In Every Difficulty Lies an Opportunity

It has been a long time since I last posted but I am going to be more consistent! This year has been full of opportunities as well as struggles. I have learned through the struggles that  in every difficulty lies an opportunity which has helped me to gain a lot of humility in my life.

Last year, I was able to make a huge decision to lose weight and was able to lose 32 pounds! It really was a great experience that taught me a lot about myself. I learned the things I truly was capably of. I have always love to run but never thought that running a marathon was even a possibility but I proved myself wrong when I was able to complete a half marathon last October. It was such an empowering feeling going across the finish line and knowing that I had finished something I always viewed as an impossibility.

Well onto my singleness... I have had relationships throughout the years that have not gone the way I wished they would go. I have had my heart broken a few times now but through those heart breaks I have learned that I do deserve to be happy and that it was truly their loss! I do have a dream to find my better half who well share the same passions I have and embrace life to the fullest.

Well....  the journey is continuing and am on the adventure to continue to lose weight but something even bigger than that will happen this year and that is....... I AM GOING TO NOT ONLY RUN A HALF MARATHON...BUT A FULL MARATHON! I hope you will follow my blog and the journey that will take place!

The things that Matter :)

I know it has been a long time since my last entry but here it is. I recently just ran a half marathon this past Saturday and it felt amazing. I always thought that running a long race like 13.2 miles would be an impossibility. I have gained so much more motivation in the last few months that I would never have thought would be possible. I am so grateful for all my friends and family that have supported and encouraged me to reach farther and further for things. I have a new found motivation to achieve more things. When I lost the weight I initially thought it was all about a number but I realized that it was more than that....It was about digging deep within myself and finding the person that had been hiding from the world.

I guess the thing that I have to admit is that their are obstacles along the way. There are times that I have fear that I will gain the weight back and let people down but I realize now that it is all about a journey and pushing through the hard times and reaching farther and further ahead of us. We live in a world where people try to make us into people we aren't. I think the most important thing is to realize that we already are important.. We all are beautiful and extraordinary people. We all have our own gifts...We all have our own quirks as well and we need to be proud of the skin we are in and savor the experiences and opportunities we are all given in this life. When we want to give up....we got to just keep fighting and pushing through. We got to keep getting up when we feel like the world has knocked us down and we have to know that in the end the most important thing to remember is that we matter and always matter no matter what!

don't forget to smile and don't forget that I believe in you  and I love you!

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