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.