I AM OFFICIALLY AN IRON MOM NOW

I am officially an Iron Mom now instead of a future Iron Mom!! I completed my very 1st 1/2 marathon in about 3 hrs and 40 minutes at the age of 45 but in 6 days will be 46. I am the mother of 4 with a daughter-in-law and a son-in-law and am raising my 2 grandsons. I believe all of that together along with completing the Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon constitutes me the right to say, "I am an IRON MOM!"

I still am in shock that I did complete it as a severe thunderstorm decided to approach us during the race. I did the last 3.5 to 4 miles in the pouring down rain with lots of lightning. For those of you that know I can get emotional at times YES, I did cry when I crossed the finish line but not because I was hurting but because I crossed the finish line. I also ran the last block and a half to finish.

I already have a new goal since I accomplished this one because goals help mold you. I do want to do another one but my goal is to have my husband participate with me in the next one.

Thanks to EVERYONE for the Love and Support to help me through this. If only all of you knew actually how important this was to me. I didn't let this last year of health issues get in my way and that was really important. I had 2 HUGE diagnosis' in the past year that I have had to come to terms with. The 1st one being that my heart is backwards. I have a "Right Sided Aortic Arch" and it occurs in less than 1% of the population and I obviously was born with it but had never been ill so it had not been caught. Most infants do not live with this diagnosis however, the ones that do are usually found or caught after the age of 40. That being me at the age of 45. Then less than 3 months after I found that out what I thought was maybe "carpal tunnel" in my right hand was Rheumatoid Arthritis. My counts were severely high and had not had any symptoms until all of the sudden. Months of medication that worked somewhat but not really caused increased frustration, sadness, huge amounts of pain, loss of sleep just kept haunting me more and more as I had never been sick as a child or an adult. There would be weeks where I would have to have Paul help me get dressed and undressed. I couldn't do simple things like turn a door knob, open a soda bottle, button or zip. I was in a down spiral. Finally, the insurance allowed me to be put on a new medication that costs $20,000 a year (Humara) and instantly the pain decreased. The problem was I still couldn't sleep. My confidence had completely went down hill which has taken me over 20 years to build to where I was at. So I read a news article one day on "West Kentucky Star" online about a 1/2 marathon called the Iron Mom. I right away liked the sound of it and thought you know that would be perfect for me to strive to achieve. I had thought about the previous year doing a 1/2 marathon but convinced myself there was no way I could do it. I was too old, too fat, too out of shape, etc. So I thought with the name that it had I could call myself the "Future Iron Mom". So now from my blog as you can see is now history because I achieved that goal.

I want everyone to know how important it is to not let people, events, illness, things (materially or mentally) to get you down to where you cannot rise. Everyone is worth something and it is your job to let others know that you know you are worth something!! Set goals that are achievable but not too easy and strive to reach those goals because setting them and achieving them makes yourself know that you have lots of worth and you will be an inspiration to others while you are helping yourself.

I do have a secret to tell. I called my husband less than a mile into the race and was crying and wanted to quit!! Yep, not even a mile into the race. There was over 750 people at this race and when they said "GO" everyone took off. They took off at a pace that I don't like to take off at. However, I tried to do what everyone else was doing and it didn't help whatsoever. It made me miserable. I hurt and I knew I couldn't keep up. I had a game plan and did not want to detour from that. The problem was I also did not want to be last. So it was all conflicting because I was trying to be like everyone else. Paul calmed me down on the phone and said "Stick to your game plan". You know what you can do and what you can't. You want to finish don't you so quit trying to do what everyone else was doing. I listened to him and I was the actual very last person for the 1st 4.5 miles. I could hear the running of the vehicle behind me bringing up the rear and I kept thinking, "Oh I bet they are wishing I would just quit." Well, I kept my same pace and eventually passed 3 people and got a 1/4 to 1/2 mile distance between us. Sticking to my game plan help me achieve success because I did my best to keep my own pace except during the STUPID storm and I was successful in my own eyes because I did cross the finish line.

So if anyone gets anything out of my traveled road to being an Iron Mom I'm kind of hoping that it would be to NEVER GIVE UP and to be yourself not what others want!! It took me a very long time to do both of these. If something gets in your way and begins to bring you down set a goal to you can achieve it to bring you back up.

Love to all my family and friends! Thanks for everything!!

THE DAY HAS ARRIVED!!

I think I have passed the nervous stage now and am at the EXCITED stage! It is official I picked up my race packet tonight in Paducah. My official race number is 337. I get to wear what they call a bib with it's own special timer in it. The funniest part about my packet was my label on the outside said I wore a "WS" which would be a woman's small.....I told them not since about 4th grade and my age was "31".....I told them that would make me a pretty young grandma and I might like to be "31" again! I believe I ended their day in a very humerus way and definitely was a great way to end already a good day for me.

I have really good feelings about my adventure as a "Future Iron Mom". If tomorrow is anything like today it will be ON tomorrow. I will have my alarm set for 4am. I would like to be there no later than 5:30am and the opening with the National Anthem is at 6:20am with the race beginning at 6:30am. The course closes officially at 10:30am however, my goal is to be done by 9:30am when the awards ceremony starts.

My Walkman is charging and my 80's playlist is ready for the adventure tomorrow. I will have my phone attached to me as well. The funny part being I wasn't going to have it but Paul is insisting on me having it because he wants to be able to check on me....LOL Much to everyone's surprise the one thing I am not taking with me on my adventure is my "camera". Don't fret however I will be turning over the operation rights temporarily to Paul expecting him to get some good pics on my camera.

Let me say THANKS to all my family and friends for all of the positive support I have received in my adventure. I guarantee you I would have not been able to do this on my own! I do have strong thoughts and a very strong will but EVERYONE has their weak moments and I have recently had mine. This is what this race is all about for me is overpowering my weaknesses. I am going to do that tomorrow no matter where or how I finish and I WILL FINISH!

Again my simple goals for tomorrow are:
1) Show up for the race
2) Finish the race
3) Finish the race in 3 hours or less
4) NOT TO BE LAST

"Goals are not only absolutely necesary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive." Robert H. Schuller

"For me, goals are my road map to the life I want. They have helped me accomplish things I once thought were impossible." Catherine Pulsifer, from Wings of Wisdom

"Choosing a goal and sticking to it changes everything." Scott Reed

"You have to set goals that are almost out of reach. If you set a goal that is attainable without much work or thought, you are stuck with something below your true talent and potential." Steve Garvey

"Crystallize your goals. Make a plan for achieving them and set yourself a deadline. Then, with supreme confidence, determination and disregard for obstacles and other people's criticisms, carry out your plan." Paul Meyer

"The trouble with not having a goal is that you can spend your life running up and down the field and never score." Bill Copeland

I can't wait to see that finish line and to be able to say "I DID IT!"

Most people know that I am straight forward as they come. I encourage people to be that way also. One thing I learned a long time ago was I needed to be myself no matter what others wanted me to be. I have come a LONG way in the last 25 years of trying to live that lesson I learned. One of the ways to do that is to surround yourself with ENCOURAGING people. If you feel yourself trying to be something different take a good look at yourself and figure out why YOU are unhappy with yourself. Once you come to terms with that then others won't try to make you something you are not!

I found this cute wall plaque at a yard sale a couple weeks ago and I believe it says it all. It took to my office to share with my co-workers and my student workers because I believe it states the truth. It goes something like this "In this free world, be what you can be, BE YOURSELF!"

Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. ~Judy Garland

We are so accustomed to disguise ourselves to others that in the end we become disguised to ourselves. ~François Duc de La Rochefoucauld

It takes courage to grow up and become who you really are. ~e.e. cummings

Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself. ~Harvey Fierstein

With all of that said, I'm headed to bed to TRY and rest and overcome the excitement of my new adventure tomorrow. Remember what I have said and take heart to it.


"We all have ability. The difference is how we use it." ~~Stevie Wonder

"People who have done big things are those who were not afraid to attempt big things, who were not afraid to risk failure in order to gain success." -- B. C. Forbes

I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time. Anna Freud (1895 - 1982)

Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up. Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931)

Since I am not giving up I will experience success tomorrow in more than one way and failure will pass on by!!

SO CLOSE!

It is SO CLOSE!!

I'm a little more excited as the day approaches. Tonight I took advantage of free time while the boys were at VBS. I walked 4 miles in 72 minutes. I did the first 2 miles in 33 minutes and the 2nd 2 miles in 39 minutes. That was walking by myself with only my music. I'm thinking that is pretty good without an adrenaline rush and no one else to walk with and it was 85 degrees. I felt good when I got done to top it off. If I can come close to that pace on Saturday I'm thinking that I can come close to finishing the 1/2 marathon in 3 hours which is one of my new goals.

I am so grateful to have so many family and friends that are supporting me through this!! The next 2 days I am focusing on hydration and getting plenty of water in me so I can sweat it all away on Saturday in the 95+ degree weather.

SCARED/NERVOUS/UNSURE

The title completely describes how I'm feeling at the moment. The final week leading up to the 1/2 marathon. I am completely unsure about myself and whether I can do this 1/2 marathon. I'm scared to death that I'm going to make a fool of myself and not even make it a few miles let alone the whole 13 miles. I'm also nervous about the whole venture in general. I want all of my "positive" feelings to overwhelm me this week.

My life has always had stumbling blocks especially when it comes to important things or events. Due to the flooding the 1/2 marathon got postponed. I had mixed feelings because I was excited but then thought maybe an extra month would be good. During all of this my youngest graduated from Murray State University and got married all within 7 days. So I got off track with working out then I haven't felt up to par over the last month either. I'm going to contribute some of that to the weather changes. Stumbling blocks are never easy to conquer but I'm determined to not let these stand in my way. So this week not only do I continue to physically prepare but I'm trying to mentally prepare for my big event on Saturday.

The organizers have decided to start the 1/2 marathon 1 hour earlier than originally scheduled in May which is 6:30am because of the heat. I think this will really help because the race has a 4 hour time limit which means everyone has to be done by 10:30am.

My goals for the race on Saturday are short and sweet.
1) To actually participate
2) To complete the course
3) To finish within the 4 hour time limit
4) To not be last

My extra goals:
** That I am done in 3 hours when they have the awards ceremony.
** That I make my family proud.
** That I am glad that I participated after finishing.

Please keep me in your thoughts and prayers this week as I finalize my preparations to overcome more than just a race at the end of this week.

EXCITED

Well, first I am totally excited because I made it official today. I am an official participant of the Paducah Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon on Mother's Day weekend. There is no backing out now. I put my money down and I DON"T waste money!!

I hit the road again tonight but this time with 2 cute guardsman. Leonard and Ulysses rode their bicycles along side of me while I walked. So it was a different path tonight with different hills. I couldn't be on the major highway, Kirksey Hwy! Which you would think was an interstate down here as fast as people drive on that road. So we hit the back roads where they could zig zag and do circles around me while I walked. We mileaged it out afterward and from our driveway to our turnaround location was 2.2 miles. We did that in 43 minutes and managed to do the 2nd half home in the exact same amount of time. Nobody can say that I'm not consistent. So tonight I got in 4.4 miles in 86 minutes or 1 hour 26 minutes. I didn't think that was to bad with 2 tag alongs.

My daughter has been doing this count down because she thinks there are some important events in her life coming up. So I have decided to add on to her countdown now. Today her status on Facebook was:
A) 30 days from today I will be walking across a stage to get my fake diploma and in 37 days I will be saying "I do" and become Mrs. Brad Wyatt. So I will add to her countdown: B) in 23 days her mom, Rhonda, will change from a "Future Iron Mom" to a full fledge "Iron Mom". I hope my heart can take 3 crazy weekends in a row in May.

The boys and I had a conversation in the van while we were mileaging off the route we walked. They were asking about the race. So I told them it was 13 miles. I said it would be like me leaving home and walking to work. I believe it is right at 13 miles from my driveway to my office. They said, "Can we walk to school one day?" "Uh, don't think so." Then I tried to explain to them especially Leonard that I was not entering this race to win at least not to win against the other people in the race. He is really caught up into the winning so much that he will change the rules in the middle of the game so it makes him win. So we have frequent discussions about it isn't all about the winning. So I tried to explain to them that I was going there for me and no one else. That I only had to win myself and that I was setting only 2 goals for myself that day.
1) I will finish in the 4 hour alotted time limit ~ whether I walk the whole way or am able to run part of it. AND
2) I will not be the last person to cross the finish line.
I told them I am pretty convinced that those are both very attainable goals and do not think I will be disappointed at all that day. I explained to them how so many things have happened in the last few years.
A) My son growing up and moving out and getting married
B) My daughter growing up, graduating from college, moving out, and now getting married.
C) The boys coming to live with us on a short notice that was not in any of ours plans except for God's plan. Which we have discussed numerous times.
D) Me turning 45
E) Me being overweight
F) Me finding out numerous health diagnosis' in one year and I had never been sick before not even the flu. I found out last year my heart was wired backwards and was born with it. Because I had never been sick it had never been caught. I was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis and it hit me like a bombshell and the medicine worked but not like it should. There were days when Paul would have to help me get dressed because I just wasn't able. This sent me into being depressed, not being able to sleep. I had the acutal FLU for the very first time in my life. I had some back problems that lingered for months. And now today I find out I have a small tear in my rotator cuff area that has caused me some serious pain at times and the Rheumatoid makes it worse.
So I told the boys that this race was about all the changes I have had to deal with in the last few years and not done a very good job dealing with them. I need to get my confidence back that I had worked many years at attaining because it is not something I have always possessed. I did not want to go back to where I had been. This is a HUGE fear of mine. So I explained to them that this race was for ME.
To make me feel better.
To make me proud of myself.
To make me more healthy.
To help me gain more confidence.
To make me more happy.
To help me defeat all of the negatives and to show to the boys it isn't all about winning and beating other people at games and races.

For my family and my friends that have known me for years they know where I come from and how I used to be and how weak of a person I was. Because of some very bad (incidences) for a lack of a better word I am who I am today and very thankful of who I am and for my 2 children that I raised and truly adore to this very day. I feel like I am going through another one of those (incidences) but on a much smaller scale and more with things that are completely out of my control such as the diagnosis'. Where 20 years ago I had the ability to take control and make something of it.

With that all said I believe that this is what this 1/2 marathon is for me. Everyone that knows me knows I like control. If I train for this marathon and I reach my goals and conquer it I feel like I have taken back over control of my life at least health wise, attitude wise, and spiritual wise and then all the other physical stuff such as my kids growing up and becoming adults and Paul and I taking on the huge responsibility of raising our grandchildren will all fall into place.

My positive healthy endorphins will suffocate out all those negative unhealthy endorphins that make me feel like crap in the mornings sometimes. I worked in health care for over 10 years and I have seen this attitude work.

I'm thinking today my Stevie Wonder quote is appropriate.
"We all have ability. The difference is how we use it." ~~Stevie Wonder

CRAZY

Something different happened to me yesterday. I have been down for several weeks. I have been tired not feeling quite up to par. Work has been picking up gearing up with pre-registration and I have been busy with Whitney's wedding fastly approaching. I try very hard to live by certain standards and by that I mean trying very hard not being mean to people intentionally. I try very hard to make a difference in people's lives even if it is in a small way. I love seeing others smile especially if they are having a bad day. Well, I had the tables turned yesterday and the people that did had NO idea what they had done. Alot of times what I do is very unintentional because it has become a way of life for me and I believe this is the case in these 2 individuals lives also. At the time that I ran into them completely different times of the day I wasn't even aware of what they had done. But my attitude changed. The way I was thinking changed. The way I felt about myself changed. My plans for after work changed. All I can say is CRAZY!! Very strange for me to be in this place!! I emailed both of these young ladies today to let them be aware of what they had done because I think it is important to let people know the difference they are making in other's lives! I'm feeling a little weepy as I write this because these two ladies are very important people to me and have always been but became more special to me yesterday. The strange thing is I still can't put my finger on the exact thing they did. I know it sounds weird. But if it ever happens to you I guarantee you will know what I'm talking about.
Anyway, I left work drove straight home and changed into my workout clothes. I put my music in my ears and I hit the pavement. Mind you I had been scared to death to do my workout outside. To this point I had not left the treadmill so this was one accomplishment in itself. The next being I managed to walk 7.8 miles in 148 minutes which is 2 1/2 hours. My driveway to the end of Kirksey Hwy (Marshall County end) is 3.9 miles. That split was 74 minutes and my 2nd split happen to be exactly the same. In that 3.9 miles is 4 treacherous hills that I did not stop once. Yes, I was sore and was hurting when I finished. But let me tell you how good I felt. I felt COMPLETELY AWESOME!! I'm walking today and yeah I'm a little sore but not bad. That was all walking no running in that time and I forgot to take water with me so that was a dry walk. So for a 45 year old who has some issues I didn't think that was bad at all. I am going to take credit for it but I am sharing the credit with my 2 friends from yesterday whom I believe was the "difference" in things for me. I could never say thank you enough to get me over the hump because I was a little worried with myself. I potray alot confidence to alot of people but ones that REALLY know me know that is lacking at times for me. This is one of the reasons why this 1/2 marathon is so important to ME.
To end my walk I had an 8 year old waiting at my bushes which is as far as he is allowed to go. He stated, "Grandma, I was worried someone was going to kidnap you." That ended almost a "perfect" walk.

So once again I will end with one of my favorite quotes which I believe is very applicable to my day.

"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time." Anna Freud (1895 - 1982)

Thanks to all for the love and support!
The Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon will be here before you know it!!

One Surprise After Another

Each day as I continue my quest on this new adventure I find myself discovering one surprise after another. This quest, the Iron Mom 1/2 Marathon in Paducah on Mother's Day weekend, has truly shown me things of myself that I wasn't completely aware of. One thing it has shown me is that I, myself, can do what I set my mind to. I have to believe in myself no matter the obstacles. This reminded me of one of my favorite quotes.

"I was always looking outside myself for strength and confidence, but it comes from within. It is there all the time." Anna Freud (1895 - 1982)

As I train myself for this 1/2 marathon I have found this quote to be true of myself in more ways than one. This training is effecting in other parts of my life physically, mentally, & socially and all in a positive way. Who ever dreamed such a small decision could make such a difference in so many directions. But I think I'm liking it!! As I continue I hope I can get out of bed in the morning after my hour of Zumba tonight which thouroughly enojoyed but totally kicked my butt. It made muscles hurt that I didn't know I had. The best part about it was that I never felt uncomfortable while doing it. It was a very relaxed atmosphere. Until next time:

"People may not remember exactly what you did or what you said"
=But=
"They will always remember how you made them feel." (unknown)