The Joys of Reaching Milestones

Often in life we reach milestones that we are proud of but don't have enough time to appreciate. I find this is especially true as we grow older and our workload increases. Since this blog is about the joys of being in your twenties, I want to truly appreciate a couple milestones I have accomplished in the past month...

A few weeks ago I moved out of my childhood home into a house closer to work and a younger crowd. It was my intention to move out eventually after graduation, but I wasn't sure when and if I was ready. Several months ago, I was told a room in this house would be freed up by the end of the summer, and the tenants would undoubtedly need a roommate. I figured that worked perfectly. Just enough time for me to ready myself with the idea of moving out and on my own. Granted, this was something I've always wanted to do: be completely independent but I just wasn't sure I was ready.

The end of the summer came, and I was able to visit the house. It is quite the beautiful house in a cozy neighborhood and a room with lots of windows and airy space. I thought to myself, "sure, this is great, but do I need to move out now?" I kept toying with the idea until it came time to make the final decision. I was leaning toward a firm no until something (I'm not entirely sure what) made me flip my decision, and I'm so happy I have.

After several days of transporting my belongings back and forth, I am settled into my new home. It's a bit of an adjustment, but I pride myself in being adaptable. I went for a run the other day and really enjoyed exploring my new neighborhood. I take a daily metro ride that is half the length of my previous ride and take a 12 minute walk back home. I get home and don't have to worry about making anyone's dinner or cleaning up anybody else's mess but my own. I can stay up until whenever and not worry about disturbing my roommates. All in all, I'm happy with the decision I made and it was a big one! Milestone #1: moving into my new home; complete!

In front of the new place!

As I mentioned before, I ran around my  neighborhood a couple weeks ago. I ended up running for 3.58 miles according to Nike+, and that was the longest I had ever ran in my life! Things were about to change, though. One week later I was supposed to run a 10k with the Marine Corps Marathon. I had began thinking about running a 10k back in May, when I got more into running and races. I felt I would have enough time to train and prepare myself for the race come October. It was going to be a big test to prove to myself that i'm resilient and strong!

However, as of a week before the race, I had only ran a little over half of what the race entailed. But that didn't stop me. The days leading up to the race, I was so excited and ready! Not an ounce of nervousness remained in my body, as I knew that I was going to finish the race, whether or not I had to walk a few miles. The morning of, I stood by my best friend AE who was going to run it with me with a blood pumping heart, a face full of smiles, and legs that wouldn't stop bouncing around. I was ready. My body may not be ready, but my head and heart were surely in this. The sun looked stunning, rising over the Washington Monument, which got me even more ecstatic about the race. Have I mentioned how much I love sunrises and sunsets? As much as puppies. 

Anyway...AE and I are lined up in the 1:30:00-1:39:59 corral, thinking there is no way we can run these 6.2 miles in less than an hour and a half. I am jumping around grinning from ear to ear, ready to put myself to the test. Once the folks in the front of the corrals begin, "Happy" begins playing. I am not the biggest fan of that song, but in that moment, it totally explained how I was feeling: "can't nothing, bring me down..." and then and there as I focused on the music and dancing around (I was the only person dancing...is nobody else as excited to run 6 miles?!) all my remaining nervousness and stress melted away.

Big smiles over the bridge!

Mile 1 was great, I was feeling healthy and egged on by spectators. Mile 2, not so much. My feet and ankles began burning up, which is an alarming feeling when you've had a foot injury. Regardless, I pushed myself to continue. I knew the bridge over the Potomac was coming up, and I was so genuinely excited to run across it smiling, full well knowing how beautiful it will be. Soon enough, we did see the bridge and I was grinning like a fat kid on Halloween. "Can't nothing...bring me down.." well, we finished mile 2 and mile 3 became even harder at that point. Man, did that bridge taper on. I knew AE and I had to keep running until we hit the 5k mark. Unfortunately at one point, I found myself walking-something must have been miscommunicated between my legs and brain! But those 30 seconds were all I needed....

We were back to running, and we sure enough passed the bridge and hit the 5k mark. After pretending like I was a super runner, drinking my Gatorade in the sexiest way and thus spilling it on myself, we were back to running. To say I was excited to hit the 4th mile marker is an understatement. I thought I may cry at how proud I was to finally have ran 4 miles! And so we did pass it. And I was grinning again. Then we ran to 5, huzzah! "Even longer I have ran:)" I thought to myself. However, since the designers of the race decided to have us runners constantly running at an incline (didn't realize that bridge was constantly inclining...) my feet, ankles, and knees BURNED! It was an awful feeling but I had to continue and I really couldn't let myself down.

AE and I post race!

But then came the most grueling moment: between 5 and 6, my lower body just wanted to quit. Instead of having a grin plastered to my face, I looked like I was in anguish. I quickly tried to change my appearance but to no avail. We had to slow down and my legs were about to give out. We walked for about 2 minutes and then forced ourself to begin running again. We could tell we were nearing the end of the race. We saw Marines on the side of the road and I began high-fiving for strength (which ended up with me having a high five slapped in my face!) But finally we hit the 6 mile marker! Even though you couldn't see it in my face, I know my brain was registering faint feelings of ecstasy "can't nothing..bring me down......" I felt a surge of power when I heard the Marine yell it was our final stretch. I could do this. It was an amazing feeling, until I saw the incredibly steep incline. But above that? The beautiful FINISH line! 

My feet turned vertical. I was running with every part of my body, trying to block out the Marines yelling for us to stay to one side. Trying to will my body NOT to stop. This was no time to pansy out! We plateaud, and we were even closer to the finish line. All of a sudden there were so many spectators and the end was in sight that I genuinely thought I may relieve myself from both ends. Oh dear! Nerves! Excitement! What if I can't make it?! I began high-fiving the Marines on the side to get myself ready to cross the line and all of a sudden? That was it. We finished. I looked over to the clock and saw 1:19. WOW! We did it in less than our corral time! And to top it off? Our net time was 1:12:09.

He gave me my medal!

To say I am happy, overjoyed, and pleased by this race would be an understatement. I never thought I would be able to run 6 miles in my LIFE. Without having trained, we were able to run it in a decent time and stop only for 2 and a half minutes to walk. Milestone #2: complete a 10k, COMPLETE! I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm ready to "train" for a 10-miler. Tip to anybody who wants to run a race: don't forget to smile! That's what got me through it!

Just when you think you can't achieve something big, take a leap, and you'll be surprised by the view :)

The view from the Memorial was worth it :)

Can't nothing...bring me down...

The Joys of Finding Happiness in Your Life

Ever since I can remember, I was called the “happy child” in my family. I guess I would always be smiling or be in an upbeat mood but I couldn’t help it; I hated when there was strife in my family. I realized a smile could go a long way when my parents were fighting or my sisters were in bad moods. However, as I grew older, life’s challenges became more difficult to conquer with just a smile.

During the first four months of this year, my life felt turned upside down. My happiness was gone, and I couldn’t find a solution for it. Long story short, the fact that I didn’t have a job, was dealing with a minor foot injury, and a few other factors left my outlook on life a bit bleak. I got a job (yay!!!!) but still didn’t feel satisfied. A bit later, a person who was very close and important to me ceased to be close. I was at a standstill and everything came to a head. This person who was supposed to be there for me no longer was, and I was left wondering what to do.

*Note: this blog entry isn’t a sob story, but a story of my journey to find happiness...

One of my favorite quotes is by Eleanor Roosevelt, who coincidentally is one of my favorite First Ladies: “Happiness is not a goal, it’s a by-product.” This quote is pretty insightful, and I find that it’s 100% true. Happiness is a feeling, and it’s produced in reaction to an event, a situation, and an action. When I was left wondering what to do, I went through feelings of disbelief, anger, sadness, and then acceptance of my situation. I eventually decided to be proactive in my life instead of reactive. I knew that I wouldn’t be immediately happy, but I would have to work to find that happiness. After all, it’s a by-product of my choices, right?

With Kirsten after our 5k!

I can’t say that I had a grand plan for my journey to happiness. But I can say that I had a fighting spirit. I knew that I value health and fitness, volunteering, and friendships so I began working on those aspects in my life. I signed up for a 5k as a volunteer runner for a girl with a nonprofit that promotes fitness among adolescent girls to boost their confidence. On race day, I had a grand time running alongside Kirsten, knowing that my presence was [hopefully] helping her feel motivated to finish the longest run she’s done in her life. I began eating healthier; taking salads for lunch and running 5ks on my own after work. Knowing that I was in control of my body helped me feel more in control of my life. I also began spending more time with friends and family. The simple realization that there are people in this life that care for you in your times of need is pretty powerful. I love my friends and family for that.

As time passed, I focused on myself and harnessing that happiness that I absentmindedly lost. I appreciated the sunshine on a beautiful day, the small interactions with strangers, and the milestones I was reaching with my running. In the past two months, I've ran two 5k races, tried three different kinds of exercise classes, made new friends, and sang songs at the top of my lungs with the windows rolled down in the car. I've never let a sunny day pass without noting how happy I am to be alive and seeing the sun shining down on me. Although this sounds perfectly packaged and wrapped up with a bow, there were hard days for me, too. But I have found that every bad day you have is a reminder of how good things can be. And how good they will be, the next day.

Feeling confident after my 5k!

Tonight I was sitting out on the lawn at a town center, enjoying the USA World Cup game against Portugal. For a brief moment I looked down at my dress and thought that I was happy with my body. It was the briefest, most inconsequential moment. But upon realization, that small thought that passed was one of the most defining moments of this journey. For the first time that I can remember, I’m happy with my body and it came from within. I dislike arrogance and self-promotion, so I keep these thoughts to myself. But tonight as I walked away from the game, I ran into a friend’s mom, who hasn’t seen me since graduation over a year ago. The first thing she said to me was “you look great! Have you been working out?” which has become what people tend to say when they see me for the first time in a while. It’s rather humbling to hear that, as I shy away from compliments, but it’s equally as wonderful!

Hearing that I look healthier doesn’t make me wonder what I used to look like before (like every other girl…), it makes me realize that my hard work has paid off. I’ve tried my best to be proactive to life’s challenges, and there are some days I am just as happy as that happy child once was. For me, happiness is a goal, but I must remember it is actually a by-product of my choices and decisions in this life. As I go forward in life, I will try and stay “on top of the world”* instead of lying conquered by it. There will be unbearable days, but those will be the days that remind you of how much better life really can be. It’s all about perspective, and I challenge you to change yours to find the happiness in your life :).

P.S.: the best part is, I’m in charge of my own happiness :)

*Quite possibly the best “happy” songs, and one that’s been on repeat for the past couple months :)

The Joys of Compromise and Resilience

If you've read my blog, you know that I took up running over the summer and started working toward meeting running and fitness goals. I began meeting these goals, losing body fat % and increasing my pace. It was a great hobby that was both healthy and fulfilling and I was seeing great success. However, once I started my internship, I began running less often; running only a few times a month. It became difficult to manage a full time work schedule and exercise (no excuses...) but inevitably my running hobby got pushed to the side. But this blog post isn't about how I started running less, it's about something that came from it.

Lots of walking NYC!

On the last day of my internship in late December, I walked from downtown DC to Georgetown, where Jeremy works to meet up with him. Halfway through the 25 minute walk, I began feeling pain in my right heel. Granted, I was wearing unsupportive flats, but it was an unfamiliar and strange bruise-like pain. I ignored it, but it persisted. A week later, my family went to Manhattan and as tourists we walked. A lot. Half the time we were there, we were walking. My foot pain continued but I ignored it. 

After the race all smiles :)

Less than a week later I ran a New Year's 5k with Jeremy. He was so wonderfully understanding, maintaining my slow pace and never once running ahead of me. We ended up running through the finish line together (Which was very exciting! I completed a 5k!) However, about halfway through the race my foot pain flared up. My ankle felt so weak and I was getting stabbing pains in my right foot. This was bad, and I knew it. I ended up resting my foot for a few days and when the heel pain persisted, I visited a podiatrist.

After an x-ray that proved no serious issues and a close inspection of my foot, my doctor announced that I have plantar fasciitis, an inflammation of the band under my foot. I got prescribed anti-inflammatories and given some foot exercises to alleviate the pain. After ten days of medication and exercises, I was left with persistent pain. A couple painful weeks, disappointed days, and a follow up later, I didn't know what to do next. Anti-inflammatories didn't help, I couldn't go back to running even though my internship was finished, and it was painful to walk long distances. I decided to do some research on my own and learned plantar fasciitis can persist for years. But I also learned that exercising my foot helps alleviate the pain and biking is a "safe" cardio exercise for a person with plantar fasciitis. So last week I entered the gym determined to successfully bike. And I am happy to say that I have taken up bike riding at my gym! Although I still love taking spin classes, at times the pressure I place on my foot when spinning uphill can be painful, so having the stationary bike option is great.

15 miles in 45 minutes!

Most recently, Jeremy and I have decided to have a "bike challenge." He's training for a triathlon and I am trying to get better at bike riding, so this works great for us both. In one week, we have a goal of biking 60 miles. Whoever gets to 60 first wins, and chooses the penalty for the loser. I'm excited to kick his butt and win!

Although plantar fasciitis is a common injury, having a physical weakness runs the risk of breaking down your emotional strength. There were times I was down that I couldn't go to the gym and go for a run, or stand for hours in the kitchen cooking without experiencing foot pain. But I learned that when faced with a difficult and unsolvable condition, it's important to find a positive in your situation. For me, it was compromising and learning that I can still exercise. Although I can't run anymore, I can bike and my resilience has given me my emotional strength back. I'm going to be just as successful at biking as I was at running! I'm excited for our bike challenge and I'm grateful Jeremy is just as supportive of my biking as he was of my running. Stay tuned to see who wins... :)