Day 3: Coming Clean

RAIN DROPS & ALL!

 

 

So here we are, morning of Day 3 and the rain was coming down and I was wondering if the run was even going to happen. I finally decided that the rain was light enough that it had to be now or never and Berk and I would just have to enjoy the cool rain. As the garage door went up, I jumped. Standing on the other side was a pair of running shoes and a welcomed familiar face. I know running is not top on her list…nor do I think it’s even ever come anywhere near her list…but after reading Day 1, she decided that if I could do it, she could do it. I was so excited to have the company. Berk is great to have along, but it is also nice to have someone with a little more experience with the distracting girl talk. I am happy to say, that after we hit the 1 mile mark, we weren’t quite done, so we did it again...2 MILES!! I couldn't believe it.

 

It’s the decisions I stress over for days and/or weeks that make me crazy and tend to never really come to fruition. Then there are those ideas and choices that seem second nature. There’s typically not much thought, it’s a knee jerk reaction. In hindsight though, I realize that those “easy decisions” are the ones straight from the Holy Spirit.

 

I believe this is one of those moments. There was not too much thought or prep that went into the decision of blogging this experience and “coming clean”. When the idea originally came to me, I knew for certain that this time HAD to be different. This time I needed accountability, eyes and ears, cheerleaders and drill sergeants. I needed friends to stop me at school pick up or in the grocery aisle and ask me how it was going. I needed help. I needed support… physically, mentally, and emotionally. I needed this time to be different.

 

I did not take time to process how others might respond or not respond. This decision was purely selfish….this time, it was going to be about me. It wasn’t until the morning of Day 2 when my Facebook page was lit up like a Christmas tree that I realized just how much accountability and support there would be. I have received so many messages of encouragement, as well as others sharing their own “come back” stories. Who knew that so many others walked in the same shoes and that feeling of isolation or shame I had was no longer an issue.

 

I even connected with a high school friend from 20 years ago (yikes, that makes me sound older than I’d like) that is walking in similar shoes. We may be separated by over 200 miles, but we have agreed to run and hold each other accountable. For the grand finale, we have decided to meet in Tampa to run the Gasparilla 15K in February 2014 (Julie, this is just another way to hold us to this challenge now that I’ve put it in writing J). I am so excited to rekindle an old friendship and I’m sure we will not run out of things to talk about during the race. We just may need to do a full marathon though in order to catch up on the last 20 years.

 

It truly is the support from my community of friends and family both near and far that has encouraged me beyond my wildest imagination. And just think, this is only day 3!From the bottom of my heart…thank you!

Kelly

xoxo