Thought 10: A new feeling . . .

Hoping to make a difference has always been a part of my core. My parents taught us the importance of giving back as one of their central values. As a young girl, I called the 1-800 number on my own to adopt a child in Africa and contribute to the United Negro College Fund. I am not sure how I did this - did I just take my parent's credit card? Hilarious. My dad still gives to the UNCF to this day. My attempts to enter politics came early too and were short lived. When I was 10 years old, I ran for President of my elementary school against my best friend. We both lost, but I do have our speeches on VHS somewhere. I have never been one to give up as I tried again in middle school to run for Treasurer and in high school to run for Secretary, with no luck. It may not have helped me in high school that my mom misspelled "Sophomore" on all of my campaign tags. To this day, I have never forgotten that second "o." So, not much of a future as an elected official, but I will always be a strong advocate.

One race down, two more to go! I finished the Atlanta Hot Chocolate 15K (9.3 miles) on Sunday morning, January 26. The start and finish was just outside Turner Field. I was standing in my corral in the 20 degree-ish temps and two thoughts came to my mind. First, the sun was up as the 15K did not kickoff until 8:25am. Every race I have ever participated in started in darkness. It was a weird feeling for some reason. Second, I had never started a race by myself. I did not necessarily mind it, but again, it was a weird and noticeable feeling. Although, I certainly did not feel alone with all the inspirational quotes coming my way from my Betsy and Bob. I was shaking from the low temps before they released our corral of runners, but I warmed up pretty quickly and enjoyed the beautiful (and hilly) run through neighborhoods like Grant Park and Virginia Highlands, with the final miles by Georgia State University. I was definitely ready for the chocolate at mile 6!

Before I made the final turn around Turner Field, I ran across the bridge heading toward the Olympic rings. It was a powerful moment for me as I was immediately taken back to the 1996 games when my mom and I walked across this bridge to attend some track and field events. She was wearing brand new tennis shoes that day and had to take them off and walk barefoot because they were hurting her feet so bad. My mom is always with me, but I could feel her smiling down on me at that moment for sure.

It felt great to cross the finish line strong with a time of 1 hour and 34 minutes, a personal record for me. The hot chocolate and chocolate fondue that was handed to me soon after made the moment even sweeter! Thanks to the training help from my rockstar sister-in-law Tiffiny, I was able to pace myself and run the entire 9.3 miles, just making sure I stopped at the water stops every 2 miles to get my fluids. I never thought I would be able to run that far without multiple walk breaks, which is how I have always trained. I have been reminded numerous times in my life under a variety of circumstances that I am capable of much more than I know, as are all of you!

This race gave me a huge confidence boost as I head toward the Atlanta Half Marathon in March and the Chicago Marathon in October. A new feeling came over me as I worked through the very hilly course - I prepared well for this! I have not felt prepared for most things in life it feels like, which I am sure is a shared feeling, so this was both a new and good feeling! Training in the past has been interrupted for one reason or another and my performance and results reflected that lack of proper training. Although I know most of the time those reasons were out of my control, it still felt good to have the room to prepare now and see the results of my hard work at the finish line. I was not familiar with the course ahead of time, so I was nervous about all of the hills I knew were coming - what was going to be around the next corner? As I kept running, my confidence grew and I felt better and better about finishing strong. While I made my way up a long hill by Georgia State, I turned to the girl next to me and gave her a big high five. I thought a lot while I was running, "I am going to do this!" I was a winner just for showing up, but it was a proud moment to see my mind and body come together for a strong performance.

So, now it is time to ramp things up! I now have my sights set on the Atlanta Publix Half Marathon on Sunday, March 23. This will be an emotional race for me as it will be my third attempt. The first time was special as one of my very best friends and I walked the course together, me facing my third round of IVF and her going through a very difficult life transition. We crossed the finish line holding our hands high, but I knew I had more in me to give. I tried it again in 2013, but I was coming off of an injury from the Disney Half Marathon in January and I had to sit it out. So, I am hoping this is my time and I can break my best half marathon time of 2 hours and 21 minutes. I like that I am writing my 10th blog post the same week I ran my first double digit run of 10 miles (for this journey anyway). I also joined Twitter for the first time this week as I am trying to spread the word about my blog and story and learn more from a greater running community (@HubRunLive). It will mean so much more to me if I know this blog has reached someone that can connect with my story and feel comfort that they are not alone.

As I sign off, it always bears repeating that I have the best support at my home base. I did not want Bob to bring Megan out to the Hot Chocolate race as it was too cold and the parking was atrocious. So, I came home to this. Bob took Megan on a date to Waffle House that morning and they stopped to pick up some flowers. Megan told him that she wanted to get me some daffodils. She also picked out the pink plant too, which she will be glad to tell you is her very favorite color. Thank God for my home base!