After staring at a computer screen most of the day, I was SO ready for this!! My partners in crime today rocked their run!!! 👍👊👟🏃

 #MarathonHigh

 

5 Miles with Marathon High

My running buddy today did an AWESOME job & cut some time off of his pace per mile!! 👍🏃😀 #MarathonHigh

Marathon High 3 miles

Not my normal pace 😉 ....99% of these kids have never run before starting this program & I was coaching the 11-12 min/mile group today!! And I refuse to buy myself a Garmin until I can get the one I really want 😍....every time I think about it, my kids need to go on a trip or some unexpected expense arrives and I can't bring myself to spend the $$ on....me!! BUT, I did get this one for Jacob & he never uses it, so I "borrowed" it for coaching the kids. I think he might not get it back until I finally get mine!! 😉

Marathon High, 3 miles =)

🏃👍🏃

Unity Day 2016

What better place to take a run selfie on #UnityDay2016 , wearing my orange that's part of it ;) , than at Friendship Fountain??? ;)

Join the movement. Take a stand. Be the change you wish to see. Because it matters, more than you might think.... Most people who know me automatically assume that I was the popular girl growing up. The cheerleader. The one who couldn't possibly understand things that I actually do....until I tell them bits & pieces of my life's story. Such as.....that in elementary school, I was the fat kid. The one who had more going on in her world than she knew how to deal with, so she fed all the hurts that....well, HURT. I was shy, insecure....bullied, teased, called names, laughed at, always the last one picked at PE, the one no one wanted on their team. The overweight, awkward, ugly duckling. By high school, I had lost the weight....but the self image that was down in the depths of the gutter....it stayed for a long, LONG time. I never was one to feel sorry for myself....I never acted out. But the damage done took me years to undo, and even then....I'm now THANKFUL for that part of my story. My kids don't understand when I say that, but I know for a fact that it's part of what has shaped something good in me. Because I went through it, God gave me eyes to see those hurts in others....and a heart that tends to zone in on the ones that don't quite fit in, the ones who are picked on, when I work with youth. Because of what I struggled with, I see things that a lot of other people don't. (Romans 8:28 !!!) I want those girls that stand out to me like glow sticks....who are picked on & called names, who feel like they don't fit in, who feel they're ugly or not pretty or perfect enough because they think they don't measure up to all the crap this world feeds to them and things that are said to them...to know they're AMAZING. To know they're BEAUTIFUL and SPECIAL, WORTHY, VALUED....and LOVED. <3 a="" about="" abuse.="" active="" adopt="" adults.="" adults="" affect="" also="" an="" and.....kids="" and="" are.="" are="" around="" as="" assume="" attempt="" back="" be="" bear="" because="" been="" being="" better.="" born="" both="" bubble="" buffer="" built="" bullied="" bully-ers="" bully....i="" bully="" bullying="" but="" can="" change::="" change="" coin="" comfort="" control="" cycle="" day="" deal="" dealt="" deny="" disagree="" do="" don="" each="" equally="" especially="" every="" everyone.="" everyone="" few="" find="" for="" from="" futures.="" going="" grow="" guarantee="" happen.="" happens.="" hard="" have="" healthy="" help="" hold="" how="" href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" hurtful="" hurting="" i="" if="" in="" insecurity="" instead="" instinct="" intentional="" intervene="" into="" involved="" is="" it="" just="" kids....and="" kids="" know="" lacks="" learn="" little="" live="" lives....or="" lot="" m="" makes="" mama="" man="" matters.="" maturity...and="" mentality="" might="" my="" need="" needed="" never="" not="" of="" often="" on="" one.="" one="" or="" out="" own="" parent="" part="" peer="" powerful....and="" pressure="" ranting="" re="" reach="" reaching="" rescue="" rest="" s="" see="" self-doubt="" self="" sides="" since="" society="" some="" someone="" something="" sometimes="" strong="" struggle="" stuff="" successful="" swoops="" t....ignore="" t...and="" t="" talking="" target="_blank" teach="" teaching....and="" teaching="" tell="" that.="" that="" the="" their="" them.="" them="" themselves.....it="" then="" they="" thing="" think="" this="" those="" to="" treat="" try="" turn="" up.="" up="" ve="" very="" vicious="" victim="" want="" way="" we="" well="" were="" what="" whatever="" when="" who="" why="" will="" with="" woman="" won="" would="" ya.....they="" you="" your="" yours="" yourself......get="" yourself....it="">

Marathon High...warming up =)

Get your warm up on!!

 #MarathonHigh

 

Blingetty Bling...

I'm like a kid at Christmas that lays out all their goodies just to take all that wonderfulness in!!! My favorite kind of blingetty bling!!! 😍😍😉😉

 Got my plank challenge in, too. 👍👊✔

 

Marine Corps Half Marathon

I don't usually do Sunday runs but this one was free for me....so how could I say no ?!?!? Headed to the Marine Corps half!!! 

Happy Sunday!!

Marathon High 2016-2017....1st day!!

❤ There is a girl standing next to me here.
❤ She was the last one to finish her "magic mile" (how we determine groups for pacing).
❤ At an 18 min./mile pace, she gave it all she had & finished with a HUGE smile from ear to ear that made her eyes sparkle.
❤ She said, "I did it"!!!!! "I actually DID IT"!!!!! "And I didn't DIE"!!!!

 ❤❤❤ Ohmygoodness, ohmyGOODNESS....Y'ALL!!!! THAT!!!!! I'm such a female 😉. My heart got stuck in my throat as I watched her and how good she felt about that accomplishment and I told her what a great job she did & how proud of her I am. THAT'S what it's about!!!!

❤ The #FitLife & all the diff. things it leads me to, and that it brings to me.
❤ #TheCoachLife.
❤ Being a #BeachbodyCoach. It's all about helping others find a healthier lifestyle.... and how that impacts SO much more along the way. I **can't** wait to see her progress.... & grow in ways she doesn't even know she will.

❤❤❤
 #MarathonHigh

 

....when my techy kid surprises me by getting up to go with me on my first day of volunteering with Marathon High....not sure if he'll like it enough to stick with it, but I sure am proud of him for being willing to give it a chance!!! (Don't act too excited & play it cool, Mom....😉) 😍❤😍❤😘😘😘 

#MarathonHigh #BeachbodyRunner #CoachLife #RunLife

#Momlife often means catching whatever latest cold or bug your kids bring home to you....but dang, if I haven't had enough of the rest phase of this one!!

 Wasn't feeling it, but my active wear color coordination was on point, and every woman knows that you don't waste a good outfit day!! 😉😉.

Dress the part....it helps get your mind in gear & get your booty out that door. Or movin' indoors. Wherever it is that you find your groove thang, go get it!!!

 Wasn't my best run by far, but that wasn't the goal today. The victory is in the fight...and that finish. 😉😘🏃💪👊
 #CoachLife

 🎵🎶 I want to put on.... my my my my my boogie shoes....
Just to boogie with you....🎶🎵 😉😎👟❤ Sing it with me now...

 

Make Your Future Self Proud

Fall Me is looking back at Summer Me.....& saying, hey you. Thanks for staying consistent. Thanks for getting out there in the heat, listening to your body, throwing out the pace comparisons & just getting it done. Thanks for all the times you did those intervals in the heat & humidity that slow you down, when walking drives you crazy!!! Thanks for all those miles of turtle trots trotted while telling yourself that the pace would get there when the weather was more accommodating, telling yourself to just be happy with the love of the adventures....& of keeping those ankles & knees trained for impact & distance....

 Because starting over is so much more frustrating than just hanging in there, staying consistent & going with the flow, adjusting as needed through the seasons of weather....and of life.

 And, Fall Me is looking at the calendar and seeing my biggest Runventure of 2016 coming up fast & has been looking at "exactly HOW long do I have to cross the finish line before they close the race down"??? ;) .... & has shifted from maintaining to pushing a little harder & working on getting that pace to where I'd prefer it to be. Fall Me has been pleasantly surprised that I'm ahead of where I thought I'd be...& when I look at my splits, I'm clocking in on some of them at paces I haven't hit since early Summer 2015!! Woo Hoo!!! High five to Summer Me!!!! Is it where I want it to be, overall??? No....but I wasn't expecting it to be where it is, so I'm good!! I always need a goal to go after, anyway.... ;)

 Where does YOUR future self want to be.....by Christmas? By the New Year? In 3 mos, 6 mos, or a year from now?? What's stopping you from getting started....NOW?? And, in regards to whatever it is that's stopping you....WHY are you letting it??

 Make yourself proud. I double dog dare ya.

  <3 a="" href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank">

Step Out Into the Sunshine

Let it cast playful, funky shadows on your skin when you're passing through the trees....and don't edit them out because who the heck said every selfie has to be so dadgum perfect?!?!? #BeRealaLittleMoreToo

Embrace the warmth....soak it up....and say Happy First Day of Fall, y'all....feels much like yesterday...😂😂...and you'll hear no complaints from me about that!! 😉

#SunshineAllTheTime if I could have it my way!!

Today, I made huge progress on beating those bridges downtown. 🏃 And progress on that pace. 🏃 But the best part??? Seeing movement in my peripheral vision and being delighted by dolphins swimming, jumping, splashing & feeding so closely that had there not been a wall there, I might have been able to touch one. 😍 No pictorial evidence because I wasn't willing to miss the show to try to get any!!

If I ever get so focused on the pace that I lose my love & delight in the adventure of the run....take my running shoes away from me and don't give them back until I've come to my senses!!!! 🐬🌴🌞🐬

#RunLIFE #50KTraining

.....some runs hit the calm down & breathe button on your Manic Monday morning....😉

Mom taxi hit high intensity levels when 2 loves missed their bus and I had 3 kids to get to 2 diff places, 45 min away from each other with traffic that didn't care about my predicament...we were ALLLL late today..... :/ 😉

#RunItOff

Train Your Mind Well

🏃Very little sleep this week.
🏃Migraine & a touch of vertigo kickin' & trying their best to win the power struggle I'm having with them.
🏃Body didn't want to.
🏃Heart and mind did.

The colors were happy....and I had the matchy matchy goin' on. The sun was shining....and I'm a sucker for that sunshine 🌞 when it calls, so I said..."let's give it a go" and pushed through that feeling of my get up & go having gotten up & went....

Sometimes, this ends up with me going a cpl miles and having to come back home, but I *can't stand* to give up and not try....today, I scored a 10. 😉 Pace suffered, yes it did....but that's not always what winning's about, dontcha know...😘

Some Princesses Wear Running Shoes....

So. I try to plan my runs in the middle-ish parts of my days most days. I'm kinda like a kid whose mind is more alert and sharp in the morning, so that's when I like to get my think-hard work done....but then I hit a point where I need a recess or PE break to shake some of it off, and then refocus for the rest of my day after. It works for me. Don't criticize. wink emoticon

Sometimes, depending on the time I'm able to schedule my PE time & the route I choose, I'm often at the end of my run at just when a nearby elementary school gets out. Today was one of those days. Just as I got to the school and pick-up car line, I switched my runkeeper to walk for the rest of the route home. As I was walking away from the school, I got behind a mom pushing a stroller and a couple of kids walking beside her. She was going pretty s-l-o-w pushing that stroller, so I increased my walk to run past her. As I did, her little girl appeared on the other side. Crazy, wild brown curls going all kinds of which-ways on her cute little head. Disney princess dress with play clothes underneath. Sneakers, or "running shoes". Normally, kids just move away or back up, closer to their moms when I pass them while running. This cutie, however, was in her own little world, bouncing along....and when she saw me, instead of getting that shy little look I'm used to seeing and backing closer to her mama....she grinned and those twinkly eyes lit up. She turned that bounce into a run and started running with me!! As we "ran" together, her smile got bigger and she kept looking at me. We were "racing"!!! We got to the crossroad and of course, she got there first. wink emoticon She was so excited that she won..."I won!!" she said and then looked at me...."We were racing!! Did I win???" I told her "of course you did" and gushed over what a good...and fast... runner she was. As she ran back to her mom, I heard her say, "I won!! I knew I would win!! Because I'm a princess"!!

I love kids and the way they see things. <3heart emoticon

May she always have sparkly eyes with a zest for living each moment to its fullest potential. And let her brown curls get crazy messy, because fun things happen when you let your hair get messy. And may she never doubt herself....not for a second, that she can do things....and and do them well....and even win.

Because princesses like pretty things. Like sparkles & flowers ....& princess dresses....they like to look and be pretty. That's how they're created. And they should be sweet & kind....& loving & gentle. But they should also be strong & smart & capable. And courageous & adventurous. If life doesn't make them forget or convince them otherwise....and if it does that to her....may she find her running shoes again. To help her remember.

Running in the Rain (video)

I've Got Sunshine on a February Day

Florida, you are beautiful & awesome & amazing & wonderful & I am madly in love with you....even though you've had bipolar tendencies lately. I don't even care that the crazy wind & a blister slowed me down. Because today, you let the sunshine in & I got to run outside. And Soak. It. Up.