Push It To The Limit

     Hello all, I hope you guys enjoyed your Thanksgiving holiday and that you have much to be thankful for, I know I sure do. I have a little bit to catch you up on in my journey to remain healthy and strong.

     A few weeks ago, I calculated all of the miles I ran since April, which turned out to be 191 miles. How I got that far in just a few short months is beyond me, but I made it happen. My friend Noereem also reached the same number of miles. Then of course, my competitive nature kicked in and a challenge was initiated: The first person to reach 200 miles gets a free meal from the loser and also has to complete 30 burpees. Because I'm always up for a challenge, I said to myself I'm gonna run nine miles in one day in order to win. You ever say something out loud and regret it later? Yup, that moment.

     So I woke up early Friday morning, the day of reckoning came too soon. I definitely said a little prayer before I headed out to make sure that my legs and lungs don't collapse. As I'm walking down the hill to stretch, I saw that Noereem had already ran about six or seven miles on my MapMyRun app. To which I said "DAMNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN"!!!! I'm pretty sure my neighbors heard me, but it's all good. So I put on my headphones (MJ playlist of course) and I started running.

     I didn't know how I would map out my run, I only put in my mind that I would make my way to the east side and run up and down some hills and take it from there. Ohhh man what the hell was I thinking? I have never stopped to gasp for air so many times in my life. After awhile, I just running around in circles looking all types of stupid (dumb as hell really).

     Noereem had already finished by the time I reached six miles, but I wasn't gonna stop there. I put in my mind that if I finished, I would be personally satisfied as well as the bragging rights and social media appeal of this story, so I had to make it happen.

     I never thought those three miles would end, but when I finished mannnnn, I'm sure you'd like a motivational climax but in actuality, my legs were on FIRE!!!!!! I went to the store and got me a gatorade and took the bus home cuz I was not trying to run back. Ain't nobody got time for that!! For the next few days, movement was limited. I was tempted to invest in a power walker, but I toughed it out.

     Overall, I'm proud of myself for not giving up and completing the nine miles. My time ended up being 1:45:55. I'll definitely do another major run when the weather allows for it, basically in March. I never imagined myself saying oh I'm gonna run nine miles and actually do it. At this point in my life, I'm focused on bettering myself physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually. This was yet another example of what I can accomplish when I put my mind to use and focus on the goal at hand. If I can do it guys, there's no stopping anyone that reads this blog.

(I really had no idea where to go after awhile, as you can see from my frantic gps tracking)