Run or Die!

Channeling Oprah!
That's right! It is mental armor time and let's get this mission nailed down. The Metro Health Grand Rapids Marathon has celebrity pace groups and it has been a goal all summer to finish in the "Team Oprah" pace group—4:29:20 finish time / 10:16 pace. That will be 10 minutes off my last PR in the Spring. Training for this goal has not gone as planned with PF and ITBS issues having me ditch my "Own It" plan from Train Like A Mother, and just getting the miles in without the tough runs for speed in the last month. A real shame as I was really feeling a surge on the plan and believing that more growth was possible. P. Diddy will be a far distant bouncing sign in this marathon. I will be picking back up the "Own It" plan after recovering in the next couple months and rebuilding some weaknesses—like fudge, cookies and cakes oh my!

I am still on the fence, but I have a hard time backing off of goals. So I may play it by ear and hang with "Team Oprah" for as long as I can without causing injury or making myself completely miserable. Yeah right…I am going to make myself miserable because that's how I roll and this is a marathon people.

Beyond the access to personal trainers and professional insight, Oprah has brass knuckles to fight the demons of self doubt and excel. I better get mine if I want to hang. I found the perfect shirt for such a mission. Run or Die! by www.inknburn.com, which actually means something true to my heart. When I run, I am truly living and taking my journey. My life is measured between the moments I am engaged with my husband, children and close friends, and those moments when I am free and on the run—sometimes both worlds come together. My heart races equally from the run and from seeing my son kick his first goal ever—which was last week! This is living. The way I see it, Live or Die—or Run and Die, I am just not choosing to die.

Find your Focused Drive and stay in the journey.