Race

Asking for prayers!

Sunday Morning

Wakey wakey... 3:15 AM

A little food, a little coffee, and out the door by 4:15 AM to pick up my sister for our Med City Half Marathon adventure. She got her own “wakey wakey” call at 4:00 AM — “Marie, I’m on my way!”

We drove to Rochester, picked up our packets, sat in the car for a while, talked about life, the race, and honestly just enjoyed being together. Before we knew it, race time was here.

One of my favorite moments happened before we even started. My sister accidentally lined up in the 2-hour starting corral because she had no idea what it meant Since it was chip timing, we just stayed back and laughed about it.

Now I’ll be honest... she definitely did not train for this race. We both knew it. But she still wanted to do it, and that was all that mattered.

We started with some run/walk intervals, but before long we were mostly walking — and I was perfectly OK with that. We had a 4 hour and 20 minute cutoff and plenty of time. What ended up being so special was all the people we met along the way.

We listened to stories and reasons people signed up:

One man was out there because running helped him through depression.

One was out there to lose weight and feel better about himself.

One woman said she signed up because she was out at a bar and got challenged to do it

Others just wanted to prove something to themselves or simply have fun.

That’s what I love about races — everyone is carrying a different story.

Around mile 5 I realized I had made a huge mistake. I had two shirts and a long sleeve on expecting to run more than walk. Since my heart rate stayed so low, I was freezing. I started shivering, my fingers and lips were starting to turn a little blue, and on top of all that we heard thunder in the distance.

Then came a first in all my years of racing...

I picked up a sweatshirt someone had left on the side of the road Marie almost passed out she couldn’t believe it “No way your putting that on”

Yes... I smelled it first.

THANKFULLY it smelled like Downy.

So whoever owned that extra-large Nike sweatshirt and washed it with Downy... THANK YOU. You saved me. I wore that thing until mile 12 and looked like I was racing in a dress, but I did not care one bit

As the miles clicked by, we slowed from around a 14-minute pace to 17-minute miles. My sister was hurting and cramping badly around mile 11. At one point she got confused and forgot where she was, which honestly concerned me.

I kept reminding her:

"One foot in front of the other."

I kept her drinking Gatorade and just stayed beside her. We talked about stopping if she needed to because finishing only matters if you're OK.

Then we reached the finish line...

Only to find out they had run out of half marathon medals.

Yep... they handed us 5K medals.

I was absolutely livid because every athlete out there earned their finish, including the people behind us.

However, after sitting with it, I realized the medal really wasn't the best part of the day.

The best part was the miles.

The conversations.

The stories.

And the time with my sister.

It reminded me of being young and dragging my siblings out to the track to run with me. Now I get to watch them choose to do hard things, and I get the privilege of running beside them.

I've told both of my siblings this:

I don't care if we're first or last were crossing the same finish line as everyone else and still

getting the same medal... unless you're doing Med City Marathon as they hand us a 5K medal because they ran out of half marathon medals (Yes... an email has been sent. Mmmmmmmmmm.)

Every mile spent together is a blessing.

Little did we know how much those miles and moments would mean.

Tuesday Morning-

As I sit here writing this, I’m sitting beside my sister in the hospital, they found an aneurysm in her brain. It’s amazing how life can change in a matter of moments. One minute we’re laughing, walking miles together, crossing finish lines, and talking about life... and the next minute we’re sitting in a hospital room praying and waiting.

I’m thanking God that they found it before something happened.

Sometimes we get so caught up in things like medals, Marie Jones, drama, and little inconveniences that we forget what truly matters:

Time.

Time together.

Conversations.

Memories.

Love you, sister Marie Jones

Asking for prayers.

AKA Big

#SisterSquad

 

Just a thought

I’m just going to put this out there…

Do you ever have those days… or even months… where you feel low on yourself? Like no matter how much you do, it still doesn’t feel like enough?

You start questioning everything.
“Am I doing enough?”
“Why did God put me here?”
“What’s my purpose?”

Even when you have an incredible family, a beautiful life, and so much to be thankful for… those feelings can still sneak in.

I’ll be honest — I have those days too.

Every day I try to change lives through my classes, my coaching, my social media, and by encouraging people to get out there and LIVE. I want people to try new things, believe in themselves, help others, and create a life they’re proud of.

Most importantly, I want my kids to look at me one day and say:
“That was my mom. She gave everything she had — not just for herself, but for others too. She did it all and more.”

But even positive people struggle.

This morning, I was deep in my thoughts and honestly just prayed:
“God… what am I here for? Why do I feel like I’m not enough sometimes?”

Then something incredible happened later that morning - 

In class I asked one of my clients how was your Mother's Day she continued to tell me she didn’t receive flowers for Mother’s Day. and her husband and child didn't do anything for her. I decided I was going to change that after class, so I went to Walmart and bought flowers for her, then I remembered my neighbor had been sick on Mother’s Day and didn’t receive flowers either, so I grabbed flowers for her too.

While checking out, I saw a friend who works there. She was buying a bottle of water, so I added it to my bill.

At another register, an older woman realized she was at a card-only checkout and only had cash. I told her,
“I’ve got it. Don’t worry about it.”

She looked shocked and quietly told me that was her last $1.50 until her check came.

My heart sank.

Without even thinking, I grabbed a $20 gift card and handed it to her.

And in that moment… everything changed.

It reminded me that sometimes God puts us exactly where we need to be — not always for huge moments, but for small ones that become huge to someone else.

That was my reminder today.

Maybe my purpose isn’t always in the big things.
Maybe it’s simply showing up, loving people, helping where I can, and using the blessings I’ve been given to make someone else feel seen.

If you’re struggling today or any day questioning yourself or feeling like you’re not enough… you’re not alone.

The best thing you can do is go do something for someone else. You’d be amazed how quickly your heart changes when you see what even a small act of kindness can mean to another person.

Sometimes God answers us in the smallest moments. ❤️☀️

 

I get to do this!

 Plankstar Finish! 

What a morning—truly one I won’t forget. I feel so incredibly blessed to be able to run, and even more so to share it with family and friends. It’s been a couple of years since my Irish Twin Bethanne and I raced together, so getting to run side by side again meant everything “love you!”

Taking in the scenery, passing mile markers, connecting with people along the course—whether it was friends, familiar faces from my classes, or just exchanging smiles and encouragement with fellow runners—made the experience that much more special.

The course was absolutely beautiful, the volunteers were phenomenal, and the entire morning felt priceless. This is definitely a race I’ll be doing again.

Now… time to gear up for tomorrow, it's only 15 miles!

#NoThyroidAthlete #EnduranceAthlete #sistersquad #Grandmasrun #StrongOver50

Morning before the fun!

2:13:49 Not to bad for my sister who never trains for a half NEVER LOL!

Nothing like sweat and taking a bite out of the medal "hypothetically"

The Jacket!

 

This photo holds so many memories—miles shared, finish lines crossed, and people I’ve had the honor of running alongside.

I’ve completed 25+ marathons, including 15 Ironman races (Including Kona) … but qualifying for the Boston Marathon with a 3:47 has been a challenge. Not because I can’t—but because I choose to run with others, to help them reach their goals.

So, one day, I ran Boston virtually on @iFIT with Ashley Jensen Paulson… and even got a “congratulations” email from there and yes ai posted it on April 7th.

Then my incredible sibling surprised me with a 2025 Boston Marathon jacket—and it felt like it found me for a reason. I’m so thankful she would do that for me!

But I’ve been sitting with this…

Would you wear it? or continue to keep trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon or get in through a charity?

I love changing people lives with what I do and to focus on just me attempting that goal might be tougher than I think. Thoughts?