The Definition of Brave

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brave/brāv/

Adjective:
Ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage.

From Dictionary.com

You might not guess this from meeting me, but it’s true. People terrify me. Attribute it to years of being bullied, or whatever. But to this day, my teeth still chatter when I have to meet new people. And if the topic of conversation is me? Well, let’s just say there had better be a bathroom nearby.

Today, my publisher called to say that a reporter wanted to do an interview with me about Finishing. I smiled (not that they could tell on the phone) and said I’d be happy to. Then I hung up and wanted to toss my cookies.

What if froze or sounded stupid? What if I ruined any possible chance for the book’s success before it was even out?!

A mini freak out later, I called a very delightful reporter, by the name of Cody Clark from the Daily Herald. He asked some great questions about how to finish and reach your goals. Within minutes, my stomach unclenched and I was at ease talking about my passion — finishing. The interview was actually fun, not really scary at all.

The point of this story is to talk about being brave. I’m going to disagree with dictionary.com. For me, being brave is when there’s something I don’t want to do, or that scares the jellybeans out of me — and I do it anyway. 

There’s a lot of those moments on the way to reaching our goals. You can either turn tail and run for the safety under the bed, or close your eyes and step forward anyway. And when it’s over, you might wonder what the big deal was in the first place — like me with the interview. Or you still might be terrified. In the case of the latter, you get extra bonus stars and finishing it should be that much sweeter. 

Fighting lions and tigers sometimes isn’t nearly as tough as fighting the demons that tell us that we can’t. And to those of you that do battle with those negative voices everyday, you have my admiration and utmost respect. You are brave, and you totally rock.
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Park City Half Marathon and the Philosophy of Finishing

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So yesterday was the Park City Half. Nothing particularly worth noting about the race itself. My knee hurt when I started, it hurt worse when I finished.

What I thought about while I ran was more than the beautiful scenery, even though Park City is a gorgeous race. It was more than, “Wow I really hate these hills”.  I was thinking about how exactly one year ago, I reached my goal weight and my goal of running a full marathon here in Park City. And that in the one year since, I have kept the weight off and kept running. This race gives me my 6th finisher’s medal. They are a constant reminder to me of my Philosophy of Finishing, “Not everyone can win the race, but everyone can finish.”

My husband was there with me last year and ran the marathon as well. He hasn’t run a step since, but he was waiting for me at the finish line. Because he also believes in the power of the finish. It’s not just about fitness or weight goals. Finishing should be applied to any aspect of your life. He really set this to work by going back to college after he quit 10 years ago. Now he’s ripping through all the classes he needs to get a degree in Biology with a Computer Science minor.

So I want to take this moment and tell you, the reader, that whatever you have left undone in your life —  you can finish it. It doesn’t matter if you’re not the fastest, or a spring chick any more. Just get it done. Get that finisher’s medal around your neck – either real or metaphorical – and you will find that the weight of your accomplishment will lift a weight that has burdening your spirit.

2 more days until … Gulp.

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2 more days until I run the marathon. I’m going to be getting up a 3:15 to catch a 3:45 bus. Then I’ll get to wait by a fire in a barrel, trying not to freeze up Provo Canyon. Then, I can get smooshed like a sardine with the other 2000 people at the starting line. All so I can run for 5+ hours and burn roughly the equavilent calories to one pound of fat.

Why?

To prove I can. To prove to myself that I can do something that’s hard, painful, and sometimes makes me cry… and still push through and finish. It’s my reminder that I can beat anything. One step at a time. With lots of walking breaks. 😉

I’ll post all about the race either late Saturday or Sunday. Assuming my legs haven’t fallen off.

And in case you are wondering, the best things running a marathon? The finishers medal… And the after marathon meal. I’ve just burned 3500 calories. I can eat ANYTHING ;p