You never know! — THAT PRETTY RUNNER

In 2018, I had planned on running the NYC Marathon, but due to an injury it just did not work out and happen for me. I felt absolutely devastated, talked my coach’s ear off for weeks with negativity, because I felt like an awful lot of work happened and went out the window. Marathon training is like selling your soul to the devil. World majors are dream races that every runner wants to run, and I thought it was my time when it wasn’t, which is fine. Hundred mile weeks ending in injury and no race is never a fun thing, especially after years of running & being very strict. High mileage at high altitude in Alaska was what made me injured. I really did everything humanly possible my coach told me to do, to run well and stress fractures got the best of me. However, all this made me take three steps back figuratively, and take a deep calming relaxing breath.

The way I made lemonade out of those lemons was doing a fun race completely non-competitively three months later. I planned on a January half-marathon in Florida, but missed my flight and had to recalculate again with the work schedule and such. February 2019, I ran the NOLA marathon and really had the time of my life. Flew out Saturday morning from JFK and flew back Sunday night after the race. All of that hard work happened, so I could have extra fun, and I just didn't see it that way in the moment three months before. I really had the time of my life running NOLA. Marathons are only fun if you run a lot. If NYC had worked out that year, I never would have discovered my love of New Orleans! It was like a magical dream come true weekend for me, I was never expecting! 🎊😁🎇

I loved everyone sharing their stories at the marathon expo in the Convention Center, seeing college friends, martinis half way through the race, bands every mile, running around the water, beads on beads, running by haunted mansions, the trees at the finish line, walking up and down Royal Street, shopping in a flea market, buying hand made sparkly shoes, buying a silver sequence dress just because, listening to all the music, dancing in the streets, buying hot sauce, going to Bourbon Street, getting my beignets on at Café du Monde, oysters, going to Emeril's for dinner, hopping around everywhere, eating everything, making new friends, going to a parade Saturday night getting all the beads and drinking all the hurricanes. Nothing will ever top that weekend.😻

Plus, I made it to work that Monday morning regardless of how much fun I had and how far I had run which was the real marathon! 🙈 It was right up there with making it to my 8am class the morning after my first marathon in college, and my friends throwing me a pizza party with vanilla vodka that night.😂

Sometimes, you just need your best friends instead of your parents or coach! Not taking myself too seriously for a second, and taking a step back helped me move on from a big plan not working out at all even though I did everything I was supposed to do... 😽 You never know if you're going to run fast, place high, both, or have a fabulous time being non-competitive too. There's a time for everything, keep the passion going and something will work!😉

I have found true happiness through suffering and success in running, it’s inexplicable. Kiss me, kill me running…🖤