I quit the Habenero Hundred 20k

Yesterday I posted about the Habenero Hundred 20k and how I quit the race.  Luckily, I was able to jump back in because I learned a lot from this experience.  All week, I talked about this race. Excitement was in the air.  I shed tears on Monday because when I went to sign up for the race the 20K was sold out and I had to “settle” for the 10k.  Ten minutes before the race started, I was able to upgrade my race to the 20K. Ironically, I quit the race at the 10K mark and I just walked away.

i quit Habenero hundred 20k

I walked away and was ok with my decision.  It was hot. The sand was not like a day at the beach.   I couldn’t keep my water cold which was discouraging. There was little to no shade on most of the course and it was middle of a SUMMER day. I knew all of these things before stepping out there.  The truth: I was just uncomfortable. I was at peace with my decision until I started talking through the situation.  The first thing I noticed was there was an only momentary relief when deciding to quit the race.  I took a moment to myself, ate a sandwich, and had a COMPLETE moment to myself. I came to a realization that pulled me out of that car and I was prepared to beg for my spot back.

If my main goal in life is to inspire others to do new things, get out of their comfort zone, and just finish; how can I quit now?  How will I be able to inspire you to go after your goals if I’m not doing that myself?  If I’m learning from situations and trying to share that knowledge with you, I better be practicing what I preach, right?

I’ll be doing a speech next week and I didn’t want my narrative to be, “well, I got a bit uncomfortable so I decided to quit.” That is not acceptable.  You know why?  Leaving your comfort zone means you are growing as a person and willing to take the risk. Every time you step out of your comfort zone, you’re creating new boundaries and opening your mind to new opportunities.

It’s not always bad to feel uncomfortable.

Just because you are uncomfortable, doesn’t mean you NEED to quit. My biggest mistake with quitting this race is I didn’t embrace the fact that I was going to be uncomfortable.  I’ve run this race before (a longer distance) and it was not a cake walk.  It was hard.  It was miserable.  I knew better this time around, but I wanted to push myself out of my comfort zone.  That is the reason I signed up, but when it got uncomfortable I retreated.  I should NEVER have done that.

Chase after your goals.  Achieving your goals should not be easy and those things require work.  If things always came easy, we wouldn’t be challenged.  We would be bored.  Why would we even try?

I quit Habenero hundred 20k

Things I learned along the journey:

  1.  Sometimes it’s just best to take a moment to yourself and just think about the things that are important before quitting.  Taking the time to think things through led me to the conclusion I should get back in the race.  Sometimes you just need to slap yourself around and get your ish together.
  2. Things are not always going to be easy, embrace the challenge and see where it takes you.  In this particular circumstance, I quit before I was really out.  I didn’t even try to go on the second loop. If I would have quit while attempting the second loop this story would have been different because I would have attempted to continue the challenge. I counted myself out before even really trying.
  3. Learn from your mistakes.  I went back on my second loop to change how I entered the race.  The first time I went out, I went into the unknown.  When entering the race again, I knew what I needed to do to make it through the next 6.22 miles.  I put ice in the bottle with no water so the ice would melt into cool water.  I carried and drank coconut water with me to the first aid station.  Defeated at mile 3 of the race,  this made all the difference in the world because I knew what to do at mile 9 (the same place of mile 3). I felt confident I was going to finish.  Learning changed my spirit and my drive and I ended up finishing the race because I learned.
  4. Don’t make excuses for yourself.  You will use those excuses are reasons to pass on a lot of different things.  There is a difference between making an excuse and putting yourself in danger.  During this race, I knew I wasn’t facing any danger.  I was just not having an A++ time.  When I was on my first loop, I justified a lot of things to myself that I didn’t necessarily need to do.  I talked myself out of something that I was so amped about at the beginning of the week FOR NO REASON.

Habenero hundred 20k
In the end, no amount of heat, no shade, or thick sand could stop me from finishing those 12.44 miles.  I needed a moment like this to toughen me up.  Returning to running has been a humbling experience, but a big part of it is a mental toughness.  That is the tool I need to sharpen, my brain to keep fighting even when things get a little sandy (literally and figuratively). I shouldn’t have given myself a reason to give up if it wasn’t necessary.  Don’t talk yourself out of something that you know that you are capable of completing.

Marathon Training Week 2: A HOT week

Marathon Training Week 2: A HOT week

Hey all!  I hope you’re having a Happy Sunday.  I’ve completed my second week of marathon training and I’m here to tell you about it. Now is your chance to read about week one of training. But first, I want to say, I’m not leaving the blog vacant on purpose.  I have blog posts on blog posts, I just haven’t finished them.  Today, I’m taking the time to work on the blog during nap time to get some of those posts finished. But now, you get to talk about my marathon training.  I am pleased to say I had a…

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Start of marathon training

Start of marathon training

You may have missed the news, but I’ve decided to start marathon training.  My first marathon post-baby will be Rock n Roll San Antonio. I’ve run this marathon before and it’s not one of the easiest courses, but the time limit, 7 hours, is the thing that is most important to me.  My PR on the marathon is 4:49:34 and I know I won’t be hitting that time this time around.  I wanted to pick a race that had a “generous” time limit. It’s been a week in my house.  I thought I had everything together and was ready to start…

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Finished #StreakingwiththeCoolKids

Finished #StreakingwiththeCoolKids

On the first day of June, I set out to run or walk a mile every day for the month with the #StreakingWithTheCoolKids challenge. My motivation to run has been completely gone because I’ve been having some trouble with running since having the baby. I’m slower and it’s frustrating. I guess the only reason it’s so upsetting is that I know what I’m capable of doing. I thought I would come back stronger and faster than I did before, but I was wrong. There’s been some pain with the running too but I’ve seemed to have worked through those issues…

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#StreakingwiththeCoolKids

#StreakingwiththeCoolKids

Confession:  I’ve run more in the past nine days than I have in past two months.  I’ve had the baby and things haven’t seemed to be working right since then.  It’s been a struggle for me and I know it’s the culmination of a lot of different things, but I know my running form definitely has something to do with it. Before I always said I didn’t have time to run so it went on the back burner. There’s some truth in that so that’s why I wanted to do this #streakingwiththeCoolKids thing. Basically, I have to run or walk…

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A non running week

A non running week

I have declared this a non-running week and it sucks.  I’m already having a really awesome week so this just tops it off. I have a perfectly valid reason for not running this week, but it doesn’t make it any better.  My hip flexor is pretty torn up and I need it to heal.  I haven’t really run without pain since having the baby but it’s something that is manageable.  I thought I was hitting my running stride in December and then this happened. A couple of weeks ago I ran the Louisiana half marathon and the quarter marathon the day…

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Race Recap: Rock n Roll San Antonio Half …

Race Recap:  Rock n Roll San Antonio Half Marathon

I just wanted to start the blog off by telling you I am a Rock n Roll and Team Chocolate Milk ambassador.  My race entries were paid for by these groups but the opinions expressed on my blog are completely my own.  Dont’ forget to check out my Rock n Roll San Antonio 5k recap first. I didn’t have a chance to run Rock n Roll San Antonio last year because I was very pregnant so running this year wasn’t up for discussion.  It’s something I had to do.  There have been a lot of changes to the race since…

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Race recap: Rock n Roll San Antonio 5k

Race recap: Rock n Roll San Antonio 5k

It’s so sad the weekend has come and gone because the last Rock n Roll Marathon series race is over.  It’s kind of hard for me to handle right now.  I’ve had a wonderful year representing Rock n Roll and Team Chocolate Milk.  I had a slow start to the year, but I’m glad about the way it finished. This weekend I traveled to San Antonio to run the last race of the series.  I had high hopes of being able to run the marathon in this race, but things didn’t work out the way I planned.  I don’t plan…

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Race Recap: Rock n Roll Las Vegas Half …

Race Recap: Rock n Roll Las Vegas Half Marathon

Did you catch my Rock n Roll Las Vegas 5k recap? The Rock n Roll Las Vegas half marathon is one of the best races I’ve ever run. I don’t want to bury the lead. It may not have been my fastest race but I had the best time running down the Las Vegas strip. Remembering the lives that were lost in the tragic events in Las Vegas was the theme of the weekend. This was really a moving experience for me. I was hesitant about coming to the race but ultimately decided I should run. Half marathon day started…

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Race Recap: Rock n Roll Las Vegas 5k

Race Recap: Rock n Roll Las Vegas 5k

I received a Tour Pass to run the Rock n Roll Marathon series races this year. The races may be free, but my opinions are my own. This was my first time visiting Las Vegas and, f course it was to run. I went to Vegas to do the remix challenge, the 5K and the half marathon. Both races were at night which was a challenge for me because I go to sleep way early. We had an early travel day on Saturday and changed time zones so the goal for Saturday night was to just gave a good time. #StripAtNight Race Recap: Rock…

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Race Recap: Rock n Roll Denver Half Marathon

Race Recap: Rock n Roll Denver Half Marathon

I received a Tour Pass to run the Rock n Roll Marathon series races this year.  The races may be free, but my opinions are my own. I hope you didn’t miss my Rock n Roll Denver 5K recap so if you did go back to read. This is the second part of my Rock n Roll Denver recap.  I had a remix weekend which means I ran two races for three medals.  On Saturday I ran the 5K and on Sunday, I ran the half marathon. It was another cold morning in Denver but it was an earlier start…

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