Road to 50k - Commitment & Sacrifice

So every year I set a goal for myself and this one might be my most ambitious one to date.
I promised Eric of Elevation Culture that one day I would do an Ultra Marathon. Mind you only 1% of the world's population have done a Marathon and I've heard that less than 0.5% have done an Ultra Marathon. In October I will be among that group when I complete the Lake Hodges 50k.

Today's post centers around "COMMITMENT" & the sacrifices it takes to really commit to your goals. I thought I knew commitment, this is gonna be a true test.
When I finally decided to start zeroing in on my training for the 50k, first step was bringing in a coach to get me to where I am certain I will achieve my goal. So step one, I brought in my girl Lauren Padula & Movement Space SD to oversee my training (run workouts and non-run workouts).
I don't think I was sure of what all this entailed.
Right off the bat, I had to suspend my membership to my gym Performance 360 to make sure no workouts conflict with my training. So after suspending my membership came the next challenging stuff.

Go through my schedule of workouts (Run Clubs, November Project, Spin Classes, Trail Runs, everything else) and go through them all and decide what you want to keep and what else you're ok NOT doing for the next 4 months to ensure your commitment and focus is on the goal you have set. For me this meant, several run clubs and extra workout drop ins had to be stopped as any non-run workouts would need to be factored in to my training itinerary.

Wait what Itinerary? Yup every week starting next week I'll have ALL my workouts / recovery (running and non running) related programmed for me. Any extra stuff I want to take on, I will have to clear ahead of time to ensure my 50k training is not compromised by doing so.

I'm seeing firsthand now, exactly what commitment means. You HAVE to commit & there will be sacrifices, but finishing this 50k race will be one of the most challenging and rewarding things I've done in my life.....up to this point.

Stay Tuned over the next few months as I take you on my Road to 50k.
Still not that impressive.

Joalby

Reach Out - Get Help / Be Help

It's been a year. June 7, 2017 I was sitting in my friend Blaise's backyard and sang a song to him I had recently started work on. He grabbed his guitar and played some chords while I struggled to keep my composure singing those words to Free Me. I opened up and told him about having been raped a few months earlier. Told him about being afraid to go running by myself, about hardly leaving my house unless it was to go to the gym, about the nightmares that were keeping me from getting any sleep, about freaking out in public places and in being completely open told my best friend I had contemplated taking my life. I opened up about the fact that I was seeing a therapist to come to terms with what happened. And Blaise, my best friend grabbed his guitar and played and let me sing to him what I was feeling. He played the chorus over and over and sang my words with me.
"I'm begging you to free me cos noone really needs me
My future lay before me, but my past still controls me"

This past year has been one of rebirth, of growth, of finding a new way to be me. This past year has been one of many changes and that moment that inspired this song is one that will forever be a part of my journey albeit in the grand scheme of things will not go down as one of big events in my life. I know HE made me for good things. This was a terrible event but it forms a part of my history and will shape the good things of my future.
So when I say reach out if you need help or reach out to see if anyone needs help, I'm saying it because people did reach out to me.
Had my Pastor Kate not asked me why I was acting so strange I would never had gotten the help I needed.
Recording new music is something I never wanted to go back to doing but I feel a need to share this song with you all. Especially because of what my boy Brandon from 5nSlime was able to bring to the track.

If you need help, reach out.
If you suspect someone needs help, reach out.
You'll never know who you may be saving.
And as for me - I've never been happier
I'm dealing with it, but I'm HERE to deal with it

First Half Marathon Post Surgery - PR

#ThrowbackThursday
Throwing it back to October 2013 when I completed my First Half Marathon and back to this past Sunday when I completed my 12th. The difference brings tears to my eyes when I think back to how much work and money and focus amd setbacks and refocusing took place to make this happen. But moreso because I can see in those old photos how unhappy was. There's no hiding it. I was depressed, I was hurting, I had doubts that I would ever be anything more than the fat friend. I felt I had let myself go past the point where anyone could ever possibly love me and that resulted in me not loving myself very much either.
Fast forward 4yrs & 8months. I'm happy. I'm smiling. I'm stronger. I'm not in pain. I'm not im doubt. I'm determined. I'm.... nowhere near being finished. The journey is still in its infancy stages. Stay tuned.