When my alarm went off this morning, I had no idea that it was going to be a good day.

I knew I was tired and just “didn’t wanna” – so I hit the “snooze” button and went back to sleep.

Nine minutes later, I pulled myself out of my comfy bed and went through the motions of the day.

When I experience days like this, I have to pull myself together and tell myself to focus on ONE THING AT A TIME. Just this moment. Just this breath. Just this one step, one task at a time.

Fast forward a few hours and I was wide awake and truly LIVING! (Strange as it is to say it that way, considering our current “pandemic” situation.) But this is what happens when you focus your attention only on the present moment.

You forget the past and stop worrying about the future. Instead, you simply BE.

Right here. Right now. In this moment.

You stop worrying about what to say or how it will be perceived. You trust yourself, in all your authenticity, to simply be YOU and find that you are received with open arms into the world around you. Because when the energy is positive and the motive is pure, how can it possibly be perceived as anything less than what it is? Genuine and loving.

Sometimes you don’t even know you’re “there” until you’re “here”. When all the “noise” in the world and in your mind settles and all of the sudden you see clearer, hear crisper, and feel everything around you. That’s when you know.

I am still learning and sometimes I struggle to put it into practice (out of fear of being perceived incorrectly) but, as my favorite female elite runner Des Linden says, “Some days it just flows and I feel like I’m born to do this, other days it feels like I’m trudging through hell. Every day I make the choice to show up and see what I’ve got, and to try and be better. My advice: KEEP SHOWING UP!” .

*This quote was, obviously, made about running – but the truth of it is strong enough to impact any/all areas of life and, therefore, can be applied towards anything in this life that you choose to strive for.

#ChasingBoston #ForTheLoveOfTheRun

Today was the day I was to make my first official Boston Qualifying marathon attempt…and, for the first time in my running life, I legitimately had a chance to succeed. Once again, however, “things don’t always go as planned”, and this global pandemic that we are all facing has forced nearly all in person race events to be cancelled for the foreseeable future.

It’s hard not to feel discouraged at times. And TODAY it is hard not to mourn what could have been.

I’ve always been one to look for the bigger picture though so I am choosing to not lose heart. The world needs this time to recover and the lives and health of the people in this world are so much more important than any footrace! In time, I know that we will race again, so I am looking at this time as more of a blessing than a curse. In my eyes, I’ve just received a precious gift: a chance to have a “do-over”; an entire year to become stronger. You see, I may have had the chance to run my BQ today, but it was certainly not going to be easy. In fact, it was going to be a a hard reach and, if I succeeded, it was certainly going to be very close…perhaps TOO close. My biggest fear in the final weeks of training was that every workout was becoming a stretch. There were several workouts where I came close, but still fell short of performing according to plan. Whether the challenge was, in fact, physical or merely mental doesn’t really matter much. When it comes to qualifying for Boston, EVERY SECOND COUNTS. I would much rather miss my qualifying time by 10 minutes than 10 seconds!

So here we are, nearly five months into the 2020 race year, and every organized event (including the majority of the six world marathon majors!) have made changes to cancel and/or postpone. It is uncertain if anyone will have the opportunity to officially race this year but, rather than use this as an excuse to give it all up, to become complacent or lazy, I am choosing to take advantage of this time by taking a step back; allowing my body to recover, my mind to recharge, and teach myself to train a little bit differently. I’m taking my time and repeating the process; embracing not just the monumental, but also the minuscule moments of progress, growth, and change. Every step forward is one step closer to my goal. What a shame it would be for the restrictions upon this world to be lifted, allowing race events to resume and, at that time, find myself regressed so far that I cannot perform in a way that would make myself proud. Therefore, the only “failure” for me this year would be to stop chasing my dream altogether. Right now, the inability to “officially” race is out of my hands. But the will to keep moving forward will always be within my control.

They say that times of crisis always reveal a person’s true character. This year has been and could continue to be the most trying time for us all. But, the way I see it, there is a blessing amongst this curse. We have all been given the chance to strip life down to the basics, the necessities, the things that truly matter the most to us. For me, that will always include inner strength. My running is what cultivates that strength; my ability to persevere. In order to remain strong, mentally and physically, I must keep running. If, athletically, I accomplish nothing else in 2020, I will still consider the year to be a success if I can simply continue to become strong.

✨BOSTON STRONG.✨

#ChasingBoston #ForTheLoveOfTheRun

The luxury of sleeping in. The value of a routine.

The peacefulness of silence. The comfort found in a good conversation.

The freedom of not following a plan. The laziness that comes from having no direction.

The perceived hopelessness of a “down” day while in “isolation”. The power of picking yourself back up with no help from the outside world.

The fear of not knowing. The faith of trusting the process.

The simplicity of stripping life down to the essentials. The privilege of the “extras” which we seem to have taken for granted.

The comfort of staying home. The excitement of travel.

The generosity of a stranger. The gratitude of receiving.

The joy of helping others. The pleasure in “paying it forward”.

The beauty of quieting the noise of the world. The music that can be heard in a walk outdoors.

The questions that only I can ask myself. The answers that only I can define.

The magnitude of a challenge. The satisfaction of rising up to it.

The realization that “Life” has repeatedly knocked me down…but I am resilient enough to stand back up.

Every. Damn. Time.

Times of crisis always reveal a person’s true character. It’s not your job to judge another. It is your responsibility to be honest with yourself. Remove the filter. Abandon the facade. Look in the mirror and be honest about what you see. The ability to change is in your hands. The choice to do so is completely up to you. The effects of what you decide can help (or hurt) the world in which we all live.

#ChasingBoston #ForTheLoveOfTheRun