what it feels like.

the first thing i did was stare at the time on my nike plus application. 2:13:58. damn. nice job tiff. my goal was to just finish, but here i am finishing with a good time.

#kanyeshrug

i hit the home button on  my iphone and called mom. the same mom that asked me why in the hell i was running so far everyday. "you got bad knees little girl! go swimming, not running! you need to be careful." she picked up the phone all the way from houston, texas with a calm "hello." all i did was breath... like the crazy person that i am. after 5 long seconds, i said, "momma, i did it. i just ran a half marathon. mom! i just ran 13.1 miles!"

tears ran down my face. the people and music around me me didn't matter. all i wanted to do was tell my mom how happy i was. this was a very emotional moment. the 1 person in all of the world that believed in me needed to know that anything is possible.

you see, there comes a time in life when even the closest people to you will not understand your goals. you may be a little extreme to them. there even comes a time in life when you may be accomplishing that goal solo dolo. it became very apparent to me that being an extremist is ok. people say "no" because they don't know. and that's ok. i love my mom, but she doesn't understand what running has contributed to my life. she doesn't understand how happy running makes me feel. all she wants is for me to be safe.

stand strong on your goals. do what YOU have to do to be happy. because at the end of the day, i looked around, and i was the only one (from my world) standing there celebrating. this was an intimate moment that i shared with myself. running my first half marathon made me love tiffany more.

on mile 2, i wanted to cry because my nike plus application started to freeze and mess up my pace. but then i thought, "there's no crying in running!" well...not that kind of crying. so i sucked it up, and got through the race. on mile 5 i thought, "hell yeah, i got this!"

at this moment, my power song was kid cudi's "pursuit of happiness." straight up, these words go hand in hand when it comes to my running world...
 
"I'm on the pursuit of happiness and I know everything that shine ain't always gonna be gold. I'll be fine once I get it, I'll be good."

the journey was rough. my left knee was sore, and my body wanted to quit. for me, it was mind over body until the lady said in my ear, "congratulations, you've reached your goal of 13.1 miles."

all i could think about was 13.1 needing to flash on facebook and twitter. i know this sounds funny to you....but i know for a fact that i can help people by setting an example. of course i ran this race for me, but i also ran it for the out of shape mother of 2 that is looking for a starting point. i ran this race for the person that thinks they will always be fat and running is impossible to do. i am running this race for the old me, the runner that is afraid to run anything over 4 miles in one day.

believe it or not, on mile 2, i thought about you and how i was going to get you out there on the pavement. it's time to push yourself. stop creating excuses. just start by apologizing to yourself for not being happy sooner.

after the 13.1 flashed on my profile, my inbox flooded with questions about running. is it hard? when did you start? what was your time? how many miles did you run before the half marathon?

i sat there in my ice bath, believe it or not, with my iphone in my hand answering each message. i was sore as hell, tired, and of course freezing my a$$ off (literally)...but the only thing i could think about was motivating at least 1 person to change their lifestyle.

friends brought me flowers and thanked me for inspiring them. i guess running does have it's perks. (smile)

now, back to us. you and me. what are your goals? define them. remember them. celebrate them.

as for me, i've entered into a whole new world of running. it's amazing. i've got my whole life ahead of me to run. who knows, i may become an ultra runner one day. all i know is that i am going to keep this running thing going, perhaps a full marathon this year? hehe.

peace,

t.