Our family is a circle of strength and love.

Less than 24 hours until Anthony and I take off to conquer our first marathon.  It’s funny how much can change over just a few years.  I remember the emotions I felt before my first half marathon…I thought running 13.1 miles was, well, kind of crazy.  Now, I have this total sense of calm about me knowing that I am running 26.2 miles tomorrow morning.  While I do have a TON of thoughts swirling on what my time might be, I am calm.  I know that I put in the work and I am both mentally and physically ready.  Tomorrow is going to be a fabulous day!!

The rest of the thoughts swirling in my head are centered around our honeymoon in Costa Rica, holidays with family, and how amazing and challenging 2014 is going to be.  Anthony and I have really changed our lifestyle a LOT this year.  We have always been active and loved being outside, running and racing, but this year we introduced ourselves to the world of triathlon.  Little did we know that triathlon would not become just a hobby, but rather a lifestyle and quite frankly, an addiction.  With our last race of the year tomorrow, I am SO excited to relax and enjoy the off season, but I can’t stop thinking about training for Ironman Lake Placid!

                Training is not going to be easy and it’s not going to just be about putting in laps in the pool and miles on the bike and on the road.  Nutrition becomes more important, sleep becomes more important, and time becomes harder to come by.  Getting ready for IMLP is not going to be easy… it’s a good thing Anthony and I both love a challenge!  While we don’t get to see our family and close friends all the time, I can’t imagine approaching this journey without their support.  I know most of our family and friends don’t fully grasp what goes into training for and executing an Ironman (and I’m pretty sure they don’t want to!), but they are so supportive, loving, and encouraging.  I already imagine what it’s going to be like to see loved ones along the course in July and how much happier that will make the day! 

                I recently saw a quote that started with: “Our family is a circle of strength and love.”  This could not be more true of our family.  I feel like the luckiest girl in the world when I think of how amazing our family is.  I find strength, encouragement, love, and inspiration in our family.  Without that strength and love, the journey to tomorrow’s marathon would not have been quite as enjoyable and our upcoming journey to Lake Placid would surely not be as happy as I’m sure it will prove to be!  I know that because of the support that our family gives us, the challenges that we have set up for ourselves in 2014, IMLP in particular, will be conquered and we will do it with a smile on our faces and lots of hugs at the finish line!

I would list all of the amazing family members and friends and thank you for all of your support, but there are too many! You all know who you are – we love you and we’ll have bigger smiles as we finish tomorrow because of you all!

Mantras for tomorrow:  “When it hurts, just find a rhythm and pound away,”  “Attitude is everything,” & “You are only as fast as you make up your mind to be.”