Anything

When I'm running, anything seems possible; because when I'm running, I'm doing what once was impossible. We can all come up with excuses to avoid doing the things in life that scare us. Stop it. Your excuses will become your regrets.

I wish I could explain just how much I used to hate running and how it scared me so that you could understand the feeling of overcoming and conquering that fear. When I would hear people say, "I love running." I would think to myself... "LIAR! They are just saying that because it sounds cool." How could anyone actually love running? A mile seemed like a gargantuan feat and finishing one seemed like an eternity... and now here I am. I love to run. I'm ready to run my first Half Marathon. In fact, I pick up my pace and try to sprint the last mile of my runs... cuz a mile is just a mile.

It was a year ago that I ran in my first official race. It was KC Track Club's 34th Annual St. Patrick's Day Run in Westport. It was four miles long and I ran it with a time of 37:44:9. My goal had been to break a ten min mile pace for it and really I wanted to get below 38 minutes, so I was ecstatic with this time. That was the beginning of me really falling in love with running, because I found that it was fun. YES, fun! At a race my adrenaline is going. I have the energy of the crowd to feed off of, and passing people feels so darn good. Since that first run, I have also completed the Warrior Dash, Color Run, Glow Run, Santa Run, Rodeo Run...

I was thinking of that first run from a year ago this past weekend as I completed my ten miles as part of my half marathon training. What a difference a year makes. What a journey, and it's only the beginning.

It was a rough ten miles. I loved running the nine the weekend before, but I felt every. single. mile. of those ten. Rough, but got it done. Rain and all, ten miles... done. Loved the "Emergency Stopping Only" sign. A good reminder to keep going!

I feel alive when I run. Lost in my thoughts, everything becomes clear. The world around me is white noise and suddenly it's me, my thoughts, and God. And ANYTHING seems possible.

If you want to do something... do it!
Don't just think about it. Don't just talk about it. DO IT!
Be the person you want to be. Do the things you want to do.
And if you're afraid of failure... you have to let that go. Failure is inevitable. Wouldn't you rather fail while chasing wildly after your dreams than to fail sitting on your couch... with your regrets?!
You were made for more and you have it in you.

Chase after your dreams. 

Get rid of your excuses or

YOUR EXCUSES WILL BECOME YOUR REGRETS

Along the way I have had a lot of excuses I could have fallen on. Some frivolous and some very legitimate! When my back went out last February, I couldn't go to the gym like normal, but I walked on the treadmill for as long as my body would let me at a time and worked my way back. A year ago I was out playing catch with my brother and got hit in the eye with the baseball which gave me a huge black eye. It swelled up so I could hardly open that eye and see... and still I went to the gym that Monday to train. I've worked late and have had to rearrange my schedule to fit some kind of a work out in. I've traveled and done my Nike Training Club workouts in the hotel. Oh, and the food!!! Gosh the food! Oh, the temptations. You should see the stuff that comes through my work that I just have to move past. Lordy, lordy, lordy, the food. 

I could go on with excuses that just pile up: job, family, time, etc. But if you want it, you have to find a way to make it work. You have to fight for it. It's not going to happen on it's own. Make a plan, then work the plan. Adjust and change as the world around you changes. But, YOU CAN DO IT!

Attack life the way you were created to!

There was a moment when the switch went off in my head and I knew at that very moment that my life WAS going to change and I've been going full force ever since. Here's the thing, as badly as I'd like to, I can't give that to other people. I can try to motivate and inspire, but they have to turn that switch on their own, no one can do it for them.