Being a Part OF

Today was the third year I was able to take part in the Med City Marathon in Rochester, MN ( http://medcitymarathon.com/ ) and this year was different from the other two. The first one, I ran the half on my own, the second one I ran with a good friend for her first and this year, I ran the FULL relay with 3 other women.

It was fun to get up and watch them run, knowing that I was the last runner, fueled my fire. I didn't do so bad, knowing that I ran a half marathon the weekend before and did some heavy leg work this week. ( 6.56 mi in 54 min ) It felt good to know that I had them at the finish line waiting for me to run in with me as well as my children and a good friend waiting for me with their smiling faces at the end. I passed people on their last stretches of their full marathon and I thought to myself -- wow -- I remember that last 10K as Woo told me to do. It was definitely a 10K I'll never forget in my life, esp when seeing someone come in during/from their full marathon.

All in all the team did excellent, not having in all the proper training but knowing full well that we were a team and we needed to finish together. It's always fun running a race or being a participant in one in your home town. I loved all the support along the route - it was absolutely amazing!!!

We had a good time today and did a GREAT Job !! I'm proud to be part of such an amazing running community with people all around me running: their first, second, millionth or just plain ole running to support. I've forgotten how much I love the relay and the team efforts, esp of those that are just beginning and trying their hardest to get to a goal they never even imagined in the first place.

Today I was asked :

"How did you do and what was your time??"

I answered:

"We finished"

Again, they asked and your time was :

Again I answered with knuckles :

"We laughed, We finished and We smiled"

 It's not always about the times or the places in the races ~ Sometimes it's all about the fun time with people and enjoying the exercise together.






Putting pressure on myself and trying to get a certain time during my races had begun to ruin me -- today I did what a good friend told me to once do: " JUST RUN " I think I'll do more of that -- just running stuff. My livelyhood is not shown in times, it's showin in helping others do what they would like to achieve. My passion is not in the times that I set, the medals I gain or the finish lines, it's in the smiles on the peoples faces as I help them to achieve their goals and motivate them to that point. ONWARD TO 2013 -- Which BTW: WILL BE EPIC !!!

~~~ Finding me and finding out what I love and how to be me, is sooo amazing !! I do love exercise, I do need to push myself to my ultimate limits, but MORE IMPORTANTLY I NEED TO HELP OTHERS. It makes me: ME!! ~~~~

Thank you for all the support and appreciation during and for all races, runs and exercises!!!

~ To thy own self be TRUE ~

This weekend, I ran my 16th Half Marathon - 35 Race at the Colfax Half Marathon in Denver Colorado. It was an experience to say the least and now it's time to begin the work on ME and learning MORE!! http://www.runcolfax.org/

During my race, I felt the air thicken, tried to 'suck air' best I could and was not able to maintain a steady breathing pace for myself - as I did that through the course, my body tried to do all it could to push itself, only to find cramps around mile 6/7, worse at mile 9 and then throughout the rest. Pulling in, yet, another slow half for me. YET --it's ANOTHER half !! Not everyone is able to say that they are able to run this many halves in their lives. So, I'm walking away GRATEFUL!! Not only am I walking away GRATEFUL, I'm also walking away proud.

My good friend that traveled with me, PR'd the course!! She and I trained together and she was able to breathe better then I and BAM!! A PR for her !! YAY!!! Now, that - that right there - makes every cramp worth it !! I love it when others do well -- I had to mentally embrace that I was not going to do well in this race when the cramps began and that by pushing myself farther then what my body would handle, was an idiotic move, so .. I let it go. Prayed for her, let her go and BAM !!! She finished with a PR !! WTG lady !!
The course was absolutely AMAZING!!! It was FLAT and beautiful,with so much scenery http://www.runcolfax.org/ . There was also more support, from the local Fire Dept, Police Dept and any other dept - for every, YES EVERY, intersection there was someone supporting it one fashion or another!!! It's definitely a race I'd suggest to someone !! 

After the race, we were also able to meet up with some of the TEAM R.E.D. http://byronteamred.blogspot.com/ members who ALSO traveled to Denver for this race !!! LOVED IT !!

Then there were the two best hosts a girl could ask for !!! Richard and Carlos, who both organized and ran the expo - which, they did an amazing job at and the results show the facts!! They also ran a full marathon after being at the expo for 3 days prior!! NOT ONLY did they do that - they also had TWO groups of runners that they coach/train out there - to see the connections, the reactions, the celebrations, the joys and the accomplishments that they were able to celebrate, was a phenomenal experience to watch unfold!!  My heart melted as the stories came together that day and I was so blessed to be able to witness the end results, where the people that accomplished their goals that day, set into action in their self confidence.

While I was out there, I was able to also volunteer at the expo - which was very rewarding !! I LOVE to Volunteer - if you are not willing to volunteer, maybe you should try to step up and DO it. Give back what others give to you and you WILL be amazed!! I was even blessed to be in a photo op with the http://www.cofirefightercalendar.org/ Colorado Calendar Firefighters ~ Who, BTW, were on the course AND we were able to run through the fire station!! Thank YOU ... that made my race that much better :D

  

Then I need to mention -- a special piece of the Expo for myself. A Reunion of sorts with the previous Sponsored Runners from TEAM MARATHON. Here you see myself, Richard Kalasky and Caolan MacMahon, who'd I'd never actually met, even having had been on a team together for over 2 years together, until this day !!! WE ROCK!!!! And ALL ran the race as well!! :D BOOOM!!!!

 

From the race events, we decided we'd add in a little vacation action and see some wonderful things ~ Such as the Bronco's New Stadium:

Then there was the Stanley Hotel:

Nope, didn't see anything suspicious!! REDRUM...Heerrrreeee comes Jooohhhnnnyyy....

Then there were the Chipmunks and Elk towards the Estes Park and the Rocky National State Park:

 Boat Poses  ... who doesn't need core work after a Half ??

 The Chipmunks literally came up to you and were your buddies, IF you had something for them - their little fingers wrapped around yours to grab the goods. Pretty intense.

 These bad boy elks were EVERYWHERE towards the Parks!! They were HUGE and were pretty much Right There ...

 Then we headed up the mountain side - to experience the view that I'm pretty sure will always leave an impression on my soul. I seen the universe come together, as I seen the amazing scenery that only something much more powerful then I could ever put together. I was in awe and I did NOT want to leave as the snow and winds set in. I wanted more then anything to sit an veg in 'God's Land' and never ever leave. The peace that flowed into my heart that day, well, it filled me up for awhile, knowing that anything that's in front of me is a piece of cake compared to the making of that beauty. Absolutely profound scenery, that's never captured in pictures.

Last, BUT NOT least ~ The HK Ranch and the family behind it.

We were blessed with a wonderful place to stay at the entire time we stayed in Colorado, not only were the hosts amazing  and absolutely welcoming, so was the rest of the family.

Here's the entrance to the welcoming home:

 Above are views of their breath taking back yard.

 Here's PorkChop the PIG - yes, he comes into the home .. he's one of the family. There's also chickens who lay the eggs, Roosters who oh so gracefully crow, as well as Turkeys ( named: Christmas and Thanksgiving - HA ). Oh, I can NOT leave out Buzz -- he LOVED to cuddle!!

 It was absolutely overwhelming meeting a team mate whom I'd felt was a good friend, without ever having had met him physically and confirming this feeling and the thoughts... Richard was all that I had heard and also all that I had learned about him. Driven, Dedicated, Persistent, Hardworking, Talented, Fun, Loving, Exceptional Athlete, a great coach/trainer, a great leader and so on and on and on ...He is definitely a close friend to my heart, as we connected and hope we are able to run together again sooner then later. 

 Carlos was also just as exceptional as he perceived to be, when we met through Face Book!! He was not only welcoming, a kind soul, a hard worker, a wonderful host, he kept track of us girls and made sure that everything was taken care of. Carlos is also a wonderful, talented athlete who is very knowledgeable in nutrition. He warmed my heart with every effort he put forth the entire time we were there. I knew I was in good hands, when I met Carlos. I can NOT forgot to mention his talent in decorating and art -- Oh My Gosh -- The bedroom picture does NO justice to his skills at their home!!! LOVED the STAY !!

 This family has more love and hospitality then many I've ever met !! I felt the love and extremely comfortable in Colorado, so much that I'm actually contemplating the next trip back out there !!

It's not about the successes behind the races that I attend, it's the memories that are made. This was another trip that I do hope that I never forget. There were so many memories that were created and the joy, laughter, love, kindness, accomplishments, goals, dreams, sights, adventures, challenges and so much more that were endured these past few days that I'm forever grateful that my life is what it is.






"Happiness is not what you see, it's how you FEEL"
"It's not the staircase you need sweat about it, its gently attacking that first step"
"How do you KNOW if you don't DO?"





ONWARD TO EPIC!!

~ Gratitude ~

I need to begin this blog with saying how grateful I am to all the wonderful opportunities I've been given and all that continue to surface in my life today!!

What a wonderful week it's been, amongst the fact that I had surgery on my back molar and this has ended up being a complete 'rest' week for the exercise venue.

This week I was honored to be featured in the Debut Magazine of  'The Platform Magazine' (http://www.magcloud.com/webviewer/562302?__r=342166&s=v ) which features inspirational stories from souls all around the world.

I was also able to publish a YouTube video ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmkUs5amFZY ) which includes a few of my exercise routines as well as my information on how you are able to follow my story.

Then to top off the week off, I've been honored and requested as an ambassador to the new Pro Unit Trainer ( http://www.theprounit.com/ ). This trainer is a 5 in 1 unit that will not only work your abs, but one is able to utilize this unit with multiple exercises as well as rolling out your muscles. It's an amazing asset to my fitness regimens.

It's been a very successful week, though the work has only begun. As I'm going to continue on the path that I'm on to promote myself as well as the wonderful products that I've been offered to promote.

Through perseverance, discipline, dedication and hard work, the results are showing. Not only to me, but to the rest of the world. It's through continuing to work on MYSELF and to push myself to the ultimate limits that I'm being recognized by the rest of the world.

If there was anything that anyone ever told me was impossible, I'd highly disagree. As anything, absolutely anything, is POSSIBLE!

~ Impossible is NOTHING ~

Happy May Day to you !!

2.5 yrs ago, I decided that my marriage would never work out and let it go. * He left in '08 for another woman and I tried my hardest to hold onto the false hope that it would work out *
2 yrs ago, I decided to train for a full marathon, as well as look into new options in my life, such as going back to school while working full time and as a single mother, who trained at least 15 to 20 hrs/week.
1 yr ago, I completed my first full marathon followed by my 15th half marathon the beginning of this year totaling over 30 races in 4 yrs.
Last year, I signed up for college.

During those years, I decided it's time for me to live the life I always dreamed of living while sharing it with my children. I decided that I didn't want to work in misery forever to support two children and that those children not only deserve the best Mom they could ever have, they also deserve to see that life doesn't need to be full of sorrow and hopelessness. 




Currently, I'm training around 15 to 20 hrs either in the gym or on the pavement. I'm working to define my body for either life and/or a physique competition as well as maintaining endurance for the upcoming race season. As I have on my schedule a half in May in CO, a half in July in Chicago ( Rock N Roll ) and then another half in Detroit ( International half into Canada ).

My body is continuing to change as well as my nutrition is ever more forming into what is well known for the body builders. As I transform my body, things in my world continue to open up and reveal themselves!!

I continue to seek new goals, new dreams, new aspirations, all the while, taking care of me and looking into a future unknown that I've been dreaming of for years.

Today - I have the opportunities to continue on with those dreams WHILE taking care of my babies, not only because I continue to work at it... and BELIEVE ... I reach out ... stay humble and just keep on keeping on.

* Heres a link to the latest article that I was featured in:

http://www.postbulletin.com/life/lifestyles/for-byron-woman-this-life-was-worth-the-weight/article_8c004fdf-2e2e-55e8-9158-bb321213844c.html