Gone Coastal OBX

A hummingbird. Well lots of hummingbirds, almost 20 of them to be exact, and they aren't really all that small and they are a bit stinky but they are the sweetest darn hummingbirds you ever will meet. The hummingbirds I speak of don't have wings that you can see, but I have seen them soar to heights they never thought imaginable. Oddly they do have wings in this photo I have had the immense pleasure of assisting Coach Matt Costa and Bootcamp Bob with the Outer Banks Bootcamp Night Camp, Team Hummingbird for the last five weeks. In that time I have watched this group of amazing people grow stronger both physically and mentally. Just tonight as we were headed up the last hill of Jockey's Ridge, after putting in 3 good hard miles up and down and all around,  I ran beside one camper who was making her way up the hill and I could hear her repeating over and over "I can do this, I am doing this, I can do this, I am doing this". I know this probably doesn...

Good Morning my beautiful friends and family! As you can see from the title I have yet another run coming up, this one is for in support of breast cancer. This is a run near and dear to my heart as I have watched and supported one of my best friends deal with this not once but twice, stood by in silent horror as another girlfriend battled it shortly after (yes I was a wimp and couldn't deal with it)  and countless others that battle it each day. I am not one to ask for hand outs or contributions for things but this time, well sorry but I am. I am currently signed up to run the 5k but if I can raise $200 dollars between now and August 29th I will ask to be changed over the to the 8 mile run. 100% of event proceeds stay local to the OBX to provide mammograms to women and men without access to health care.  Even if all you can give is $5 all of it adds up quickly and can mean a life saving test to someone who is in need.  If you are in text, call, email, smoke si...

It's been awhile since I have really had much to report or say for that matter so I just didn't. Deanna and I are both still Bootcamping. She is doing really great, I am very proud of the effort she has put in. Me, well I am doubling up and now doing Bootcamp Monday thru Thursday and I wish I could say I am doing great but that would be like ... well lying. I am doing what I can and trying to leave it all out there, but the 5 inches between my ears keep telling me I am not doing enough and not keeping up and not getting any better. Yea it is a brain thing I get that but it is still frustrating. The cramps in my calves are back with the vengeance and I don't know if it is due to pushing to hard or not pushing hard enough in the past. It's just one of those days.

Bootcampers Storm the Hill. On Friday Deanna and I graduated our first bootcamp that we did together. I am incredibly proud that she did this and stuck to it and is down a total of 16 lbs. I am not down anything because well summer hit and I decided to party too much, more on that later. Deanna and me Thursday night late I received a text message from my good friend Amy telling me that we were going to run to the monument in record time the next morning. My first reaction was "Hahahahaha NOT!" then I figured oh what the heck.. why not. So I went to sleep in fear of the next morning after setting TWO alarm clocks and reminding Deanna to set hers as well. Turned out to be a really good thing I asked her, because neither of mine went off! After jumping up 20 minutes late and rushing around like a mad woman I got to the meeting spot on time and sent Deanna off in search of the Middle School, imagine my horror as I watched her pull out of the parking lot going the wron...

Thanks Jay!  Today we tackled Jockey's Ridge ... again. Again I wasn't my best out there in that sand pit. The first time I ran it was the week after my foot tried to rot off, this time I am dead in the middle of a week long "feel like total crap and exhaustion" session! Monday I felt the same way out there on the beach running and swimming for bootcamp then followed up by my worst 5K to date. Again like I said I have felt like crap. The thought right now is low potassium so I am trying to work on that and making sure I am doing what need to be done to keep me healthy and headed in the right direction. It is incredibly hard feeling like each time you work out you are going backwards. I KNOW I am not and I know that even though I am not feeling my best that getting out there and working out gets me one step farther than I would be if I had remained sitting on my butt. I know that when I get to feeling like me again I will be a bit faster and stronger than I was...

After what feels like to have been 2 months "off" (it was 3 days) I have spent some time reevaluating and rethinking things. None of my goals have changed, I still have the desire and the determination to make them happen. Some days it is just hard. Yes I have come a long way in 5 months but the bottom line is I still have MUCH farther to go. When I looked at the numbers there are 50 more pounds to lose, which means I am not even half way through my journey. When your body just plain hurts just about 24/7 and you are giving it your all it is a tough pill to swallow. There is no real end to this particular road, it is an on going one of health and fitness but let me tell you it would be much healthier and fitter if I didn't have this other 50 lbs to lug around. While I am working hard and I know I am working hard (even when I don't show up for the Sunday runs) I never feel like what I am doing is enough. Like why can't I do 15 kickboxing classes a week, 4 bootc...

Let me tell you about my best friend, I do suppose the first thing I need to tell you is that he is well a he. Most girls I know their best bestest friend is a she, not me, but as he will quickly tell you I have never been one to exactly follow the rules. You know how when someone asks how long you have known your best friend and it feels like your whole life so you just say "oh forever", I am lucky enough that I actually have. He has been there through good things and bad and never once did I ever question how much exactly he loved me, even when he didn't particularly like me very much. I am sure when I was younger there were times he thought to himself "Lord what in the world did I ever do bad enough to have to put up with this?" I can't say I can blame him cause there were times I was really not the nicest person in the world, but not once did he ever give up on me. Oh, who am I kidding, he has probably thought that recently. I can say with complete...