Week 6, Day 1 and a little recognition!

Well, I got through it.  Week 6, day 1.  Seems like it should have been easier than it was.  I did great for the first two legs and even did OK the first 2 minutes of the last 5 minute leg, but then I was really feeling it.  I know that the third leg must have been comical to watch from the outside.  I know I wasn't walking, but I wonder if everyone else watching did!  I had Chubby Jones with me though, and her encouragement to keep it up kept me going.  I will say that when she announced we had only one minute to go and pushed us to sprint it if we could, I could only stare at the hill before me and let out a laugh.  Thanks for trying Chubby, but not this time!

I also ran on Tuesday of this week.  I went out to run the 20 straight minutes again and ended up walking for a minute or two after the first 10 minutes before finishing the last 10 minutes.  I intended to blog about it, but it has been a crazy week and my computer has been a bit in limbo, so no go on Tuesday.  C'est la vie...

Despite my frustration over feeling like this process is a puzzle with a missing piece, I continue to look for it and strive for completion.  But more than that, I strive to get back to that place I was in my head where I looked forward to running and felt exuberant about it.  I liked how that made me feel and I won't give up until I have it back.  I am so thankful for this blog and all of you who read it because it is helping to keep me honest and forcing me to keep thinking about this and not pushing it to the side.

On that note, I move on to some recognition I have received!  Tara from So Skinny On the Inside nominated me for a blog award called The Versatile Blogger.  I've never received any kind of recognition like this, so it is kind of exciting!  It isn't a contest with winners and losers, just a way for bloggers to recognize each other.  There are a lot of amazing blogs out there covering every topic under the sun and this award is a great way for people to share some of the great ones they know.  I think it is great!

So here are the rules that go along with this particular award:

Thank the person who gave you the award.

1. Share seven things about yourself.
2. Nominate bloggers who you have recently discovered and who you think are   fantastic! 
3. Let your nominees know about the award.

 And so with that:

1. THANK YOU TARA!!!   You like me, you really like me!  I can't tell you how much I appreciate your recognition and praise.  There are so many blogs out there and it means a lot to me that you chose mine to honor.  I love writing the blog and it is enough motivation in and of itself, but I love that it is helping and inspiring others.  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  Your blog is also great and I encourage my blog readers to check yours out too:  http://soskinnyontheinside.blogspot.com/

2. Seven things about me:

• I can't even remember what my true hair color looks like anymore.  Between the hair dye color that changes every other month (because I can never remember the brand or exact color from last time) and the almost full head of grays I have now, the truth is likely to remain a mystery until the end of time.
• I like to play the guitar.  I used to do it far more often, but my time is in high demand these days.  I look forward to getting back to it more in the future.
• I am 35 and have lived at one point in time in all of the following cities:  Peabody, MA, Allenstown, NH, Manchester, NH, Durham, NH, Dover, NH, Portland, OR, Chicago, IL, Oakland, CA, Berkeley, CA, Sacramento, CA, Fair Oaks, CA, Orangevale, CA, Bayside, CA and McKinleyville, CA...those of you who have been in my life long enough started using pencil in your address books for my info long ago.
• I met my husband in Las Vegas in early summer of 1999.  We were married on September 8, 2001
• I love to play board games.  Scrabble is my favorite, but love any game that challenges my mind
• I am a life-long, die-hard Red Sox fan and therefor hate, loathe, detest the Yankees.
• My favorite flavor of ice cream is Ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby:  vanilla ice cream with ripples of peanut butter and fudge throughout and chocolate covered, peanut butter filled pretzels throughout...it is salty and sweet heaven in a carton.

3. I wish I had more time to read more blogs.  I know there is so much out there that inspires, motivates and helps people through their day.  I will nominate some now, but in the future, if I come across more that are deserving, I'll take the time to recognize them too.  Without further ado:

• Kudos to Meredith at The Next Installment is... 
• I love the positivity of the Street Guru at http://always-something-there-to-remind-me.blogspot.com/
• For the humorous candor about being a stay at home mom and raising children, thumbs up to Christa at MushBrain

There are so many more, but I'm feeling like a mushbrain now and need to go to bed.  I will finish step four tomorrow and let my nominees know.  In the meantime, as always, discouraged or not, don't forget that we are all capable of acts of strength bigger than we can imagine.  That's what it feels like I need to channel some mornings to finish a run, but the bottom line is that I CAN DO IT!  And so can you :-)