Ok, so I know I missed a day. I felt oddly guilty about it, as if anyone would notice. Yesterday was supposed to be a cross training day, and I had every intention of getting my butt moving. My butt, along with the rest of my body, on the other hand, had very different plans.

I got home from my Wednesday overnight shift on the ambulance at 6 am Thursday morning. I could barely keep my eyes open. I collapsed into bed, and slipped into a 2 hour coma. Before I knew it the alarm was screaming, and I was running late. I made myself presentable, and hurried off to the fairgrounds. I pulled through my little four hour shift, and headed right home. By the time I pulled into my driveway, my eyes were glazing over. My legs felt like they were made of lead and my feet were sore from standing. I managed to exert just enough energy to get myself changed and crawl under the covers. After that, I was spent. Out cold. I woke up with only 30 minutes to get ready for work. I barely made it there on time. Last night was my "short shift" clocking in at 10 hours. It kind of dragged, but was made better by my favorite dispatcher and a good partner to work with. Even still, when 3 am hit, I was ready for bed. Yesterday wasn't supposed to be a rest day, but sometimes, ya just gotta listen to your body, and mine was screaming at the top of its lungs.

So today, I was bound and determined not to slack, and get the ball rolling again. Two days without running made me fell lazy, and honestly, really cranky. By this afternoon, I was agitated and a little anxious. My legs are still sore from Trainer Jenny's latest workout, but I really needed to get moving. Lucky for me, I have a friend that wanted to move too.

Enter the lovely Kristina. Kristina has decided to take on this half marathon challenge with me (God bless her). I met Kristina at the University at Buffalo last year through my American Sign Language course and club. She and her husband rode in the Tour de Cure, and she did a Color Run with some of our other friends. Knowing that she dabbled in running, I asked if she wanted to join me. When she said yes, I was excited and surprised (why would anyone want to torture themselves with me?!). We decide to train together when we could, and motivate each other when we couldn't. Today was our first day running together. Kristina had been away camping and returned earlier this week. She had text me last night confirming our running rendezvous. I was suddenly even more pumped to have company on this journey. So many times people say they want to do something like this with you, and back out. She really was going to run with me (hearts and stars in my eyes)! But that wasn't the kicker; last night she had text me that she had run/walked three miles on Wednesday, and was feeling discouraged and began questioning her decision to do this. She then said that she read my blog and all its posts and felt inspired and realized that she could, in fact, do this, and she would be successful. I wish I could put into words how overwhelmed with happiness and joy I was at that moment. This blog may seem silly to most people, but if I managed to inspire one person even once, then all the running and typing is completely worth it. So thank you Kristina, for not only reading this, but for embarking on this awful/wonderful journey with me! We will be successful and we will be proud of ourselves!

Kristina and I met at Delaware Park this evening, and set out on our run. She was concerned because she said she had not made it very far without stopping and walking.  So we set goals: we would run for one mile, without stopping (this included a decent incline) and then take a short walk, and start again. The loop around the park is 1.7 miles. I told her that was our big goal, and one mile was our small goal. Not only did she rock the small goal, we also managed to make it a total of 3.75 miles (2 and a half laps), with very minimal walking periods! We smoked our goals and felt awesome! The smile on her face when we were finished was the best inspiration for me. I was so inspired, I came home and ran with Layla for another 3 miles! While I am now exhausted again, I feel great.

Running with Kristina today reminded how important it is not just to set goals, but to set attainable goals, and celebrate them when reached. Saying I am going to run 13.1 miles is great, but if I don't start small and work my way to that big goal, all while setting smaller goals along the way, and celebrating each victory, then I will never get to that finish line. I am happy every day that I run, and happier when push myself farther, or encourage someone else to push themselves.

Remember: