I love seeking out adventure and living life to its fullest. I refer to myself as a “Lionheart” – brave and willing to try things that pull me outside of my comfort zone.

I ran my first 5K in March of 2018. I had never run prior to that, save a mile in gym class during school growing up. I did a half marathon last year (January 2019) with my dad who, like my husband, is an Ironman triathlete.

My dad told me he would race the marathon with me if I had signed up again, so I did. I hadn’t trained at all and was having second thoughts about racing in the weeks before the race, but I decided to go for it anyway.

Accomplished! I ran the first 8 miles and then started experiencing pain in my knee. I was glad I hadn’t completely blown out my knee – instead, it just hurt.

It wasn’t a pretty finish, but I did it. I can always say that “I’ve completed a marathon” and I got my money’s worth on the course that day!

Staying focused. There was a loop in the course around the 15 mile mark. When I rounded the corner to come back, they were picking up barricades and opening up parts of the road where I had just been.

Panic was setting in. I knew I was running out of time. I had to keep reminding myself to just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, even though I was tired, a little embarrassed and wanted to stop.

I crave those experiences in life which require you to dig deep and confront self-doubt.

For the majority of the race, my brain was trying to convince me to give up. I found it rewarding that I was able to accomplish my goal even though it would have been so easy to quit.

It was great having my dad by my side.

Even though it was a very long day (seven hours!), I got to spend the entire time chatting with him. That’s a memory I’ll never forget.

I love the quote “we only regret what we don’t do in life.” If there is something you want to do, do it!

Even failing can be a lot of fun and sometimes you might surprise yourself with what you are able to accomplish.