A tribute to my youngest. . .

My little girl upgraded to a big girl bed last week. I cannot believe how much she has grown up. I know that the second child learns a lot from a older sibling but she is amazing. My baby is slowly growing out of being my baby.
Yes, there is a small tear in my eye at this moment.

My McKenna. . .

• Super sweet and that smile!
• I could just kiss her face!
• Her giggles make you giggle
• She is totally monkey see, monkey do with her brother
• She loves to watch cartoons. She asks every morning, "is it cartoon day?"
• She wants what she wants (period)
• Loves her milky
• Doesn't leave home without her "moo-moo" (aka her little blanket that have a cow head aka a lovely)
• Can total amuse herself.
• Loves to be held tight. 
• Wants to be around her big brother always.
• Has a willingness to be helpful.
• Always wants a song before going to sleep. 

She'll always be my baby. (I think I just quoted a cheesy song.)

Unknown challenges

I have been thinking about the 1/2 marathon and the actual distance I have to run. I have been really good about my training and running my miles. I'm worried about the actual course for this race. I have no idea what the landscape looks like. I have heard that it is hilly and that I should train accordingly. But what does that mean in reality - hilly. Are there rolling hills? Are there steep hills? Is there one hill and then flat terrain for the next mile? Argh. The unknown sucks.

If you're a close friend of mine, you know that I like to be prepared. But the flip side of that is if you know what you are truly getting into, would it even be a challenge at that point? Part of me wants to drive the course and see what I'm in for. The other part wants me to train as if I had to run up hill for 13.1 miles. At that point, wouldn't I be ready for anything? Would the actual course be a surprise and a unknown challenge?

I'm going to hold off on knowing the landscape of the actual course. I'll let you know how that goes :)

What motivates a runner

Running is obviously a solitary sport. There is lots of time for one to get lost in thought as you tick the miles away. Every runner has their own motivations and reasons to do what they do. Since I have been training for the 1/2 marathon, I have to learn a few things to help keep me focused and motivated.

First, I'm motivated because I get to run. I get the opportunity to wake up and run. I recently read Michael Hyatt's blog post on How Shift in Your Vocabulary Can Instantly Change Your Attitude
(http://michaelhyatt.com/how-a-shift-in-your-vocabulary-can-instantly-change-your-attitude.html). This was a revelation to me. I don't have to do fill in the blank. I get to do fill in the blank.  I think about this on every run. Every time I feel like quitting, I think about how lucky I am that I get to do this. That I have two legs that work perfectly (most of the time). That I'm not held back by my health or a disease. And though it might be tough to run 6, 7, 8 miles, I could think of much tougher situations to go through. I'll take the tight hamstrings, blisters on my toes, aches in my knees because all of it makes me feel alive.

My motivation and focus comes from my attitude about what I'm doing. I love the accomplishment of running distances. I love the way I feel while I'm doing it. It's allow me the time to focus on whatever needs my attention - the days goal, this particular run, my family, solutions to any issues going on at the time, working through creative projects. There is such a perfect harmony of exercising your body and your brain and that's what running allows me (and others) to do.

Have I got you motivated yet? What ever you are thinking is impossible, is definitely possible. Just change your vocabulary and watch it happen.

From Awful to Awesome

I woke up this Saturday morning, put on my running clothes, ate a small piece of bread, took some B12 and headed out the door for a long run. The first mile was basically awful and painful. It was about 28 degrees outside this morning and it penetrated my body immediate. My face slowly became numb and my breathing was making everything worse. After the 1st mile, my body was totally cold and numb and finally got into a stride. By mile 3, my body started to warm up particularly because I was running with the sun on my face. I was in the groove. Everything felt wonderful - my stride, my breath, my legs. The cold weather was my friend by the end of the run. So what felt like was going to be the worse run ever in the beginning, ended up being a great run. I didn't let my bad attitude in the beginning continue and that made all the difference. What a way to start your Saturday!

If you haven't read previous posted, I'll bring you up to speed on my running. I'm running the Georgia 1/2 marathon and working to raise money for Rally Foundation (www.rallyfoundation.org). I'm $500 short of my goal. If you get a moment, please go to my donation page and help me get to my goal - http://www.razoo.com/story/Helpcwillardrun. Thanks so much!

New Year & New Challenge

As a new year approaches, millions of people are trying to decide what their new resolutions or goals are going to be. OK - I know those millions of people are probably all Type A personalities such as I. Anyway, my newest challenge is running a the Georgia Half Marathon in March. I have always love to run but my distance has stayed between 1 mile to 3 miles. So the challenge of running 13.1 miles is exciting & scary. I can't believe that I decided to do this. And to keep to this commitment, I have also challenged myself to raise $900 for The Rally Foundation (rallyfoundation.org). Thanks to some very generous friends and family, I'm already a third of the way to my goal. If you would like to help a good cause and help me to my goal, you can donate at http://www.razoo.com/story/Helpcwillardrun.

As far as my running goals, I have a training schedule. I have hit all of my running goals thus far. I have decided to wake up at 5:45 in the morning to knock out my miles as I don't have the evenings to run. Waking up early has been the biggest challenge for me. I'm definitely not a morning person but I have to admit running 4 miles in a morning is really a great way to start the day. I completed my first 6 mile run this passed Saturday (as you can see in the picture). I'm schedule to run 7 miles this Saturday. Wish me luck!