Be Uplifting (Without Weights)

Good morning! 

(Wordy not so many pictures post FYI!)

First and foremost I have to say how glad I am that I am not training for a marathon right now.  I initially had the Sunriver Marathon for a Cause planned for Labor Day weekend but that I am going to drop to the half.  This summer has become full to the brim and I am glad to not have a marathon to be training for on top of everything else.  To be honest with you I really didn't enjoy marathon training last summer, I found it to be really stressful.  Even though my long training run was only one day a week it consumed my whole weekend. Needless to say I am perfectly content running half marathons right now, it is a manageable distance for me and I am not toast after every race and training run.  I am sure I'll run another marathon at some point but not anytime soon, for now I am focusing on the joy of running.  

This picture reminds me to have fun with running

To continue with the slacker theme of this post I'll share with you that I ran a whopping 2.5 miles last week!  Granted I wasn't sitting around doing nothing but obviously not much running happened.  We went to Montana for the week and it is always a challenge for me to get out for a run while we are there.  We stay up late and our days are filled with family and lots of driving which make getting out for a run difficult.  We did go on lots of hikes, lots of yard work and digging up sage brush so it wasn't a complete loss.  I also fell off of my fitness challenges and hit every branch on the way down.  I am guilty of always trying to take on too much and I definitely did that with all of the June challenges.  I was so excited to take on something new I didn't take into account how crazy June and July is for our family.  

This last week was actually a good re-focus for me.  I was able to think about what I want out of my blog and where I want to take my writing.  Getting out of my usual pattern really helps me to refocus and figure things out.  I am able to see the forest through the trees and do some soul searching.  We went to a family reunion on our 1st Saturday in Montana and celebrated Jesse's Aunt and Uncle's 40 year wedding anniversary.  Their 4 children put together a photo book documenting their life thus far and watching the two of them go through it and cry was so touching.  Being able to be part of that experience really opened my eyes to what I want out of my life with the girls and with Jess.  

1st day of Preschool 2012

I like to run and eat healthy but I love my family.  I don't want a big house with a fancy kitchen, I want 40+ years of a life together with Jess and I want my marriage to be an example to my girls.  They had photos up for everyone to admire and nobody was looking for what car they were driving or what clothes they were wearing, all everyone saw was how big their smiles were when they were together.  That is what I want more than anything, more than flat abs or a fast half marathon time LOL!  This isn't a post declaring that I am retiring from running but just a mental dump of everything that has been floating in my head the last few weeks.  I was shown this week some people's priorities and it opened my eyes to my own.  We have to remember to keep family first before all things.  Family isn't always the family you were born into, family are the people who are walking in the door when everyone is walking out.  I know who I can count on to be walking in that door and that is where I'll be focusing my energy.  It is okay to let go of the people who bring negativity and sometimes we just have to clean them out of our lives.  I have to remember to always be an example to the girls and that means the people I surround myself with also will be an example.  I want to be someone who brings good into others lives and lifts them up.  I am a constant work in progress and am slipping up on my goals daily but I just have to keep moving forward.  

Okay I could go on and on forever!  My brain is just on overdrive today.  Make sure you come back tomorrow after all of my ramblings today because I'll have my final Time Management post up and the information on my GIVEAWAY! 

I ask these questions at the bottom of the post because I really like to get your opinions and ideas.  Trust me if I didn't care I wouldn't ask :) 

Do you hold on to people in your life who don't lift you up? 

Do you try to lift up others in your life? 

Have you every had an experience that completely caught you off guard and ended up really affecting you?