Another Year of Change

     I've been meaning to write this post for weeks, but life has been crazy.  One of the best things that have helped me on my journey this past year is being a part of an accountability group.  Last summer I got hooked up with a group of amazing women that share in the same passions as me:  Disney and getting healthy.  I have grown to love these women so much.  We can be real with each other.  We share our victories and our hard days.  We are always there to encourage each other.  There are many of us that check in with each other daily.  These women are the ones that have kept me focused on my journey the past year.  Do you have someone like that in your life?  If not, please find someone. You won't regret it!

     Back at the end of December, beginning of January, one of the ladies in our group had a friend that had to cancel on her at the Hotcake Hustle in Addison.  She reached out to our group and for whatever reason I said yes to joining her in the race.  There ended up being two of us (Cori & I) that joined Kelly in this race.  This was my first 5K ever.  I didn't have much time to train (about two weeks).  I took advantage of the track and exercise room at school.  Race day came!  It was so awesome to finally meet some of my "Skinnies" in person!

My sweet Skinnies, Kelly & Cori

It was also great to have my baby girls there too!

I survived my first race!!  My pace was 12:25 and my time was 38:29.  I ran the first 8 minutes without stopping and walked/ran the rest.  The Hotcakes were delish at the end too!!

It was fun getting to hang out with my sweet Cori that afternoon too!!

     Well, I guess I got the bug because my good friend Yolanda talked me into the Hot Chocolate Run at Fair Park.  I did it!  The three great things about this race were that I got to meet two more of my sweet Skinny Minnie friends, my girls were at the finish line cheering for me, and I ran WITHOUT stopping!!  That's right, you read that right...there was NO walking!!!  

Katie was willing to crash on my couch the night before the race.

My sweet Skinny, Allison, before the race.

About to start the race.  The leader in the race had already crossed the finish line before I started running.  Ha!

This sweet girl met me at the finish line.

It made my heart so happy to cross the finish line and see these girls cheering for me!

Allison and I after the race!!

Will Run for Chocolate!!!

My sweet friend Yolanda!  Thanks for encouraging me to do this Yolanda!!

Yummy Chocolate goodness at the finish line!!

Waving and blowing kissed to my sweet girls at the finish line!

This is what happens when your mommy wakes you up early to watch her race, you then go to gymnastics, and then you help our friend Jordan with the Foster Animals while mommy worked.

The next race is in March...The Color Run.  Ya'll!  I'm 43 and made it happen!!!  If I can do it, so can you!  Make your desire stronger than your excuses!  I still feel so exhilarated and I have to admit...proud of myself.  I kept thinking the whole race how proud my brother would be of me if I ran without stopping (he was).  More importantly, the sense of accomplishment I feel is what made it worth it!  What is holding you back?  Don't let fear or your excuses get in the way!!