What Is Your Biggest Regret?

So this video popped up on my FB feed and I started to share it, but the my comment was SO long and I thought... might as well make that a blog post instead! Here is the video:

I love this so much. What are things you WANT to do but you DON'T because you are afraid? 

Truth time: This is one of the biggest reasons I started working out, and why I still do it on a regular basis. I am young. My body is capable of doing so much. SO IS YOURS. I don't want to turn 40, 50, 60, 70... and look back and WISH I had taken better care of myself. WISH that I had signed up for crazy races and taken chances even though I was afraid of failure. 

How many times have you looked back on a photo of yourself when you thought you were "fat" and thought... "Man, I wish I was as 'fat' now as I was back then!" I've seen that quote on Pinterest, I know you have too. And I have totally been there. I don't want to live like that. I will never be 100% satisfied with my body, but I am SO PROUD of what my body has accomplished over the past few years! My body made a another human being. My body ran 3 half marathons. My body learned how to do bar muscle-ups. My body runs and does CrossFit. I don't regret ANY of that! 

Here are some things I DO regret:

1) Making decisions based on what other people think. I do this on a daily basis. I'm talking LIFE decisions! I hate letting people down, saying no. I've taken jobs before because I thought I would feel guilty applying for something and then turning it down. WHA?? Who does that!? 

2) I regret not being a better friend. I am so selfish and so in the "now" all the time. I'm friends with whoever is around me at the time, and I am terrible about staying in touch with those I don't see very often. If that's you, I'm so sorry. I'm working on it. 

3) I regret not taking better care of my shoulder. I should have went to a different doctor for a second opinion when I first injured it! But I didn't, and I made it worse, and now here I am 6 months out from surgery with at least 6 months of recovery remaining. If you have an injury, even if you don't think it's serious, have it checked out. What's the worst that could happen? For me it was about money. But had I sucked it up and paid for the initial MRI all those years ago, I probably could have avoided a VERY expensive surgery later down the road. 

4) I regret not being a more understanding step-parent when my husband and I first got married. I love my little girl like she is my own! I've always treated her like she's "mine"... and I never even considered how it all would make a biological mom feel. I wish I could go back and be more understanding and considerate in that situation.

5) I regret all the years I strayed from God. I regret not listening to what He wanted me to do with my life, and I regret how bad I made being a Christian "look" during my college days! 

I could go on and on about the things I regret! I 'm sure you could, too!

Regret happens in so many areas of life. Going back to school, finishing a degree, applying for the dream job, moving, traveling, starting a family, saying "I'm sorry," volunteering, getting healthy, losing weight, going to church. 

Take a minute. Think about your life, your dreams. Think about the regrets you already have now and realize that you CAN do something about them! What are some things you want to accomplish that you're not because you're afraid of what people might think? Afraid it might be too hard? Afraid you might fail? That's no way to live! 

Everyday you wake up is another opportunity to DO SOMETHING. 

Don't live a life of regret. 

GO LIVE YOUR LIFE! 

13.1 DONE

Woohoo! I am so glad to be finished with the half marathon! I'm never running again! HA

I wish I had more pictures to share but... It was SO COLD and all I could think from 6 a.m. till "finish-line" a.m. was coffee coffee coffee pancakes pancakes warm warm warm. I hate cold so much!

So, how'd it go?

Confession: I was never able to consistently run further than 8 miles during my training. Don't get me wrong, I tried. I stuck to my training plan, but my body for unknown reasons this time around did not want to cooperate. I kept getting an unbearable side stitch during the first TWO miles of every single long run. I don't know why!! All my "short" speed runs were fine. A 4 mile run followed by 2 miles of speed work didn't bother me, but an 8 mile run would each time result in a side stitch within the first few miles. WHY!? So anyway, I tried 8 miles 3 different times and was only able to do it once, and I tried 10 miles twice and couldn't get further than 8 on either of those, either.

So I went into this race knowing I wasn't going to get a PR. Oh well...

My sister Angela and I agreed to stay together (we discussed it after the gun had gone off, not a very lengthy conversation)... this was a mistake for me. She was MUCH better prepared than I was! This was her first half marathon and she killed it. She also killed me. I kept telling her, "We're going too fast," and she'd say, "We'll walk eventually." Well, liar liar pants on fire, she never walked!

At mile 2 or 3, I had to stop and pee. I blame the side stitch paranoia. I hydrated REALLY well the days leading up this race. I thought maybe I wasn't hydrating well enough and that was what was causing all those side stitches? IDK. So yes, I had to stop very early. And by this point my hands were already crazy numb and useless. I go to take off my shorts and guess what... I had accidentally pinned my race bib through my shirt AND shorts. So I had to get the stupid pin opened, then re-pin it... the whole process took about 5 minutes. My sister was beginning to think I was never coming out of the porta potty.

The next few miles felt really good. No side stitch, lungs felt great (which was surprising since I forgot my inhaler), my legs felt strong... And then...

At mile 8, my legs decided to show me pain that they normally keep hidden. I had KNEE pain so bad I had to LIMP up every hill. I'VE NEVER HAD KNEE PROBLEMS! But it was like all my body parts had a secret meeting without me and decided to make running this race as miserable as possible. EVIL. My hips felt so tight that even walking hurt. It was so frustrating! At this point I graciously bowed out and allowed my sister to run off and leave me. In those last 5 miles she put herself a full 13 MINUTES AHEAD OF ME. Her pace was much faster without me dragging her down. Brat! But no really, I'm super proud of her. Also super jealous.

Maybe it's because I turn 30 this year. Maybe it's because it was cold. Maybe it's because I'm a big baby and I don't handle pain well... But I have vowed to never do another half marathon. And no, I'm not doing a full, either. I used to think I was a runner, but now... maybe I've just been pretending all these years! I mean--regardless of how much I train, my pace has gradually gotten slower and slower over time. My first 5K I ever ran was my fastest. My first half marathon was my fastest. I know that a fast pace isn't what defines a runner, but I am a competitive person, and I'd like to at least beat myself occasionally! You know, the whole, "Today I'll be better than I was yesterday, and tomorrow I'll be better than I am today" kind of thing.

Okay, I'm being dramatic. I am still a runner and I will continue to run, but I think 8 miles is my body's wall. Give me a week or two, I'll change my mind and probably sign up for another half marathon. But as of right now... NEVER AGAIN!

Final time: 2.26.32 (10 minutes slower than PR). Whatever.