Mom Works It Out by Angela Gillis

Angela January 13, 2015

Race Recap: Mississippi Blues Marathon

This past weekend, I ran the Mississippi Blues Marathon in Jackson, MS. This race made Runner’s World Best Marathons to run this year. I was highly intrigued about this race making the list. Jackson isn’t exactly the travel hot spot so I really wondered what the fuss was about. I quickly learned but I’ll get to that later. This race was also the marathon maniac reunion race of 2015! Last year the reunion race was The Louisiana Marathon, but I was just running my first marathon at that race. It was exciting to be a Marathon Maniac this year and…

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Angela January 12, 2015

Fight the negative to ACCOMPLISH your goals

I don’t know why but this morning I woke up thinking about the things that people said I should/would never do. It’s easy to get wrapped up I. The idea of what others think and say about us. I could sit here and tell you that you shouldn’t care, but I know it’s easier said than done. If I told you I lived like that, it would be a lie. Truth is I do care, but I think that is wrapped up in insecurities. I let it creep into my head and ruin some pretty proud moments for myself. Truth…

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Angela January 9, 2015

Five years of being married…

Five years ago today, I married my best friend. I don’t want to make it about anything other than what it is. This is a day that Willie and I decided that we would become family. We promised to take care of each other and love each other unconditionally. Willie is the kindest, most compassionate person that I know. He’s truly the best and I can’t express how I feel with words. We’ve done some amazing things together and I can’t wait to experience more of life with him. Thank you to my wonderful husband for showing me the best…

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Angela January 7, 2015

Lesson of the week: negativity breeds negativity

The week is almost over and I can’t wait for it to end. It’s been a hard week or a couple of hard weeks have really hit me hard. A lot things haven’t gone right, but I’ve been good at focusing on the good things. This week, I’ve been trying to step my game up. I upped my weights in Group in Power on Monday morning. I’m trying to stay focused on moving forward and not looking back. And then some pretty negative things happened Monday during the day. I thought all types of negative things. I thought about things…

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Angela January 6, 2015

Does the journey ever really end?

This day in 2011, Willie and I decided that it was time for a change. Together we took the steps to lose weight and transform our lifestyle. This morning I woke up to tell Willie today was the day and he didn’t remember. I take that as a good thing because that means we’ve come a long way. I still remember everything about that day. The conversation we had and how I really wanted to get barbecue that day for dinner. I know it sounds silly, but I still remember. The next day Willie and I went to the gym…

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Angela January 2, 2015

Race Recap: Texas Marathon

I wanted to get the new year started off the right way by doing something healthy. New Year’s Day started with a 90 minute drive to run a marathon. The forecast for this race was not ideal but it got better as the day approached. When we arrived, we went to pick up our stuff. We got a huge bag, hat and t-shirt! This bag is seriously huge. I have no idea what I’m going to put in it. Maybe I’ll just use it as my race day bag because I always have so much stuff. I didn’t take any…

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Angela January 2, 2015

2015: A year of new goals

I’ve been contemplating my goals for the new year. I’m taking a new approach to my goals this year. I sat down to think about what I accomplish in the new year and most of them come in the form of being true to myself and using my voice. It seems to be more internal than physical. I don’t know what that really means. 1. I want to stay true to myself. I’m a people pleaser, I don’t want people to be upset or hurt by my actions. That sometimes interferes with my thought making process because I make decisions…

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Angela January 1, 2015

Hello 2015!

The post is late, but I wanted to share how I spent the first day of the year with you. First off, I want to tell you how I spent New Year’s Eve! First I carb loaded and then… I went to sleep at 9pm. This morning we got up early so I could run a marathon. I know you’re shocked, right? The race recap will be up tomorrow but I wanted to show you the medal. It’s the one on left and it weighs 3.1 pounds. It’s kind of heavy. After the race, we stopped by Panera Bread to…

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Angela December 31, 2014

Simply the best of 2014

It’s the last day of the year and I feel like I should put the final stamp on the year so I’m not writing about 2014 tomorrow. I have so many things I want to say but I know it’s stuff that everyone wants to hear/read. 2014 was a great year for me. I found my voice in 2014 so in 2015 I hope I can gain some comfortability with my voice. I traveled across the world and across this great country. I ran two big dream races: The Great Wall of China and Marine Corps Marathon in the SAME…

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Angela December 31, 2014

Approach the New Year with an open mind

The new year is coming which means it’s time to make new plans. It’s time to move forward. It’s time to leave 2014 in the past. The door of possibilities swings open again, so don’t be close minded! Take the time to explore new avenues of in life. Try something that you never thought you would do. Even if you don’t like or love it, at least you tried it! This is the time to start anew. The best piece of advice I can give to you is to set goals and do everything in your power to achieve those…

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Angela December 29, 2014

My year in running 2014

The year is coming to an end so it’s only fitting that I recap my 2014 running. I’ve been running for my former self all year long. Not because I’m afraid of her, but I’m just showing myself how far I’ve come since that January day. In 2014, I ran 13 marathons, some half marathons (I lost count), a couple of 10Ks and a few 5Ks. Obviously, I was only keeping track of my marathons and nothing else, I have no idea why though. I PRed my marathon and half marathon in 2014 too. I think that is the thing…

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