Hood to Coast

the time was 720pm. i rolled into the movie theater, solo dolo style. yep, that's right. i had the guts to go to the movies by myself. i had to get my fix. the wisdom of running fix. i had to see exactly how a 197 mile relay race looked and felt.

i found my seat and quickly noticed that i was the only one in jeans. everyone else was in either running gear or lounge wear. awesome! quickly i told myself, "welcome to the movie theater of running." this was awesome! i was in the midst of people who shared the same passion as i do! where were my business cards?! (www.laceupcrew.com) LOL.


i got comfortable watching previews, and one after another, race promos popped up on the screen. "yep, i'm going to portland this spring, and i'm running!" i was over joyed that the nike store blasted the info on facebook so i could catch the encore showing in phoenix! moreover, i'm so proud of myself for buying a ticket and going even though others around me weren't so interested. this is called growth. expanding my horizons. challenging myself to learn something new. (these were the thoughts in my head)

this documentary follows different running crews that set out to embark upon a 197mi long journey, starting at mt. hood, ending at the beautiful coast of portland. each running crew has their unique story to share, and in the end, you as the viewer connect with all of them.

i cannot ruin it for you, and tell you the story...but i must say that you have to see it when it comes out on dvd. i walked out of that theater motivated, inspired, and humbled. this movie was thought provoking and emotional. it challenged my love and passion for running. it is still out in theaters in select cities, click here for more info.

Hood to Coast Trailer

peace,

t.

happily ever after

with today being valentine's day, i've had the opportunity to stop and reflect on all the love that consumes me. i am in love, deep love with myself. i mean, i don't need a day on the calendar to do this, i do it daily, but really today is a day that i set aside to really reflect on the love that i have inside and around me.

running is a big part of this.

we all know from our dear mother that, "you have to love yourself in order to be loved." today i asked my student if she was enjoying valentine's day. she replied, "no, i hate this day." i simply told her that this was a day that she could take to love on herself.

there are so many different types of love! for me, today i'm celebrating agape love. it is a type of love that is not limited to being held hostage by its environment and someone's perception. agape love is based upon the commitment of a decision. it entails the decision to proactively seek someone's well-being.

you and i must both love ourselves so much that we want to take care of our bodies. years have gone by, where i have been insecure about my health. instead of being insecure,so with those running shoes i made the decision to start showing love toward myself with every stride across the pavement. i am too beautiful to be unhealthy. i love myself too much to let my health go down south. more importantly, i love God too much to waste His greatest gift, LIFE.


take this blog to heart (literally), find something cute to buy at the nike or running store, and get out there and hit the pavement. go on. do it.

happy valentines bloggie. love you!

iPhone SOS

Hey Bloggies !!

Boy have I got a story to tell you....! So last week I ran to the bathroom in between teaching classes and decided to take my phone with me in case any kids wanted to steal Ms.Harris's phone. I told myself to just leave it in my desk...but I decided to put my phone in my back pocket. After handling my business, of course I pulled up my pants and heard a thump!

You won't believe this...my iPhone fell in the school toilet! GROSS. (well, I actually dropped the F bomb)

How unfortunate. I had to put my hands in the toilet that tons of dirty kids have used. Ok. I'll stop here with painting ugly pictures.

Long story short, my iPhone still works, it just shuts down randomly. So what does this mean for running with my Nike Plus application? (sheds tear) I immediately became discouraged. I sold all my iPods when I got my iPhone in hopes of getting rid of clutter and getting cash. I'm waiting desperately for the new Nike Watchband to come out...so in the meantime I have decided to run with my iPhone even though it was a hot mess, minus the hot.

Then last night happened.

I went to the gym to get a 5 mile run out of the way before tuning into the Bad Girls Club on Oxygen (don't judge me). On mile 2, the lady said in my ear, "2 miles completed." I was in the zone listening to Nicki Minaj's "Save Me." I just knew this 5 mile run was going to be successful. I was looking forward to syncing my run with nikeplus.com because I'm trying to get to the blue level. 200 yards later, my iPhone just powered off. I hit the stop button the treadmill and stormed out of that gym. I had a "f the world" mentality. No, really.

Now, I could've stayed on that treadmill and just ran until the minutes on the treadmill said 45:00min. But instead I stormed out of there like someone had stolen my bike. I was frustrated and discouraged.

Moral of the Story
(this is where the music plays)

You see, there will be times when you are discouraged or things will get in the way of you accomplishing your goals, but you have to stay focused and determined. If you are a real athlete/runner, you will do whatever it takes to get your run in. Who needs an iPod to run anyway? Who even needs a treadmill? Some people don't even need their Nikes (shout out to barefoot running). If running is in your heart, you'll do whatever you need to do to run. I could've kept running! Why did I throw in the towel on myself?

Now the issue here was technology. Your issue could be no money for a gym membership. My answer to that is run outside.Your issue could be horrible snowy weather. My answer to that is to find a treadmill indoors. Your issue could be lack of time. My answer to that is to get over it and start investing in your health.

I think that I have gone to a new level here. I'll name it the,  
"whatever it takes" level of running.


Tonight, you might see me running from Arizona to California...with or without that damn iPhone. I don't care. I've got a full marathon to train for, and you've got a future full of awesome health to look forward to. Let's both scratch the dramatics and be the masters of our fate. What do ya say?

see you here,

t.