Another milestone

Today was a day of epic proportions. I, former fatty, lover of all things edible, completed my first 10k without stopping. Six miles of blistering heat and blinding sun weren't enough to dampen my spirits for completing the goal I set for myself when my alarm sounded at 6:30 this morning. It was do or die today.

Maybe it's because I am a runner, or the fact that I surround myself with people that outrun me by 10+ miles, but six seems like a much smaller number when I compare my distance to others. Regardless, my run this morning was proof to myself that I am capable to going beyond any and all expectations that I've ever had for myself. 117 pounds ago (maybe more, maybe less. I haven't weighed in lately), the idea of running for an entire hour was enough to make me want to crawl back in the bed. I've always had an irrational fear of distance running. Prior to completing my first race, I hadn't run a full 3 miles. I was experiencing some type of strange mental block, let's call it runner's block, where I just couldn't push myself to do 3 miles. I have been itching to run a full 6 miles for a few weeks now, but my runner's block has put a serious damper on my motivation. I can't put it into words. My body would get to a little over 5 miles and my brain would tell it that I just couldn't go any further. Please remember this quote because it changed my life forever:
"Your body can do so much more than your brain ever thought possible." 

So what was my motivation for this run? My beautiful and inspiring best friend, Miss Kelsey Crow. Kelsey is currently teaching children  changing lives in Thailand. I am an avid reader of her blog, and her most recent update set a fire within me. Anytime my dear friends need a quick burst of reassurance and encouragement, I try to go out of my way to give it to them. Kelsey gets all of the credit for my weight loss success. She was my number one motivator, workout buddy, and above all else, my biggest cheerleader. Kelsey is practicing Thai kickboxing while overseas, and if I know her, she is kicking ass and taking names. Her blog reeked of self-motivation. She talked about how determined she's become while living in Thailand to get back into shape. If you've never had the pleasure, or sweaty displeasure of working out with Miss Crow, then you will understand the level of expectations she sets for herself. I remember going to the gym with her in 2006. I was 285 pounds, and she was on a 45 interval run on the treadmill. Just watching her made me want to vomit; that's how hard she was pushing herself. I thought, surely, I'll never be that motivated to do anything in my entire life. With her support and infinite wisdom, Kelsey was my go-to gal for making my big change. I pictured her in the jungles of Thailand, surrounded by elephants a tigers, training one-on-one with a man that strongly resembles the trainer from Karate Kid. In my mind, she was throwing jabs and round house kicks at giant bags of sands that dangle from trees. The entire time I was running, I thought about how hard she must be working and how severely she must be sweating in the muggy climate of Thailand. I figured if she could give 150% under those crazy circumstances, then surely, I could overcome my ridiculous fear of running six miles.

I killed them-all six of them. I kept a fairly steady pace of 9 minutes 30 seconds the entire time. I even purposefully included a few hills in my route. By the time I reached 5 miles, my knees ached and I was raining sweat from every pore on my body. When the lady on my GPS whispered the beautiful number 6 in my ears, I was overcome with emotion. Truth be told, I am a huge cry baby. I cry over everything and for everyone, so it was no surprise that this occasion triggered an all out sob fest. A sweet woman even pulled over to see if I was okay. She asked, "are you okay, baby?"
I responded with "I just ran 6 miles!".
She asked if I needed help and laughed when I told her that I was crying out of pride. It was a ridiculous moment to commemorate the amazing task I had just accomplished.

I've never felt more proud of myself in my entire life. I am so anxious to see just how many miles I have in me.

"Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle."
-Christian D. Larson
Live it.