monday motivation.

i'll be honest with you all. after my half marathon, i was told to rest my ankle and i turned in to the laziest. person. ever. for the past two weeks, i haven't run or power walked or swam or biked or done barre. initially, it was because any weight on my left foot made my ankle ache. but then, as the pain lessened, i was still paranoid about re-injury and, well, frustrated. this is the second year in a row that i've headed in to fall with an injury, and i was starting to feel like hitting my goals was never going to be possible for me.

enter the most motivational weekend ever.

on saturday morning, i turned on a stream of the ironman world championships. it was so crazy to see those athletes not only take on one of the most intense competitions i've ever heard of, but also see them do it so fast! the idea of running a marathon alone makes me feel overwhelmed, and these people do it after swimming 2.4 miles and biking 112! and they still manage to run BQ times! what?!

the winner crossed the finish line and kissed his wife's pregnant belly <3

but more motivational than that are the non-champions. the people who get there due to smaller competitions or amazing life circumstances. yes, it's fun to watch the champions come through and see them celebrate. but my favorite part is watching that last person cross the finish line right around midnight. to me, those people are the most inspirational. they took the full 17 hours to finish, but they did finish. they persevered through the craziest circumstances and made their bodies keep moving for over a thousand minutes. crazy. it reminded me that i can persevere through this injury as long as i want those goals enough.

the last finisher! this photo and the previous from here

then, on sunday morning, i walked a few blocks from my apartment to watch the chicago marathon. it was crazy to think that just seven months ago, i was feeling like this was a challenge i was ready to take on. instead, the universe told me no, and thank god, because this was definitely not the right time for me. instead, i got to use sunday to cheer on colleagues, neighbors, and bloggers!

i set myself up just past the 9 mile marker as the 3:00 hour pace group was passing. i couldn't believe how effortless that pace seemed for some of them! i tried to keep an eye out for amber around the 3:20 pacer, but the group was huge and speedy and went right on by (she ended up with a pr and a 3:19 finish time! go give her props!)

the 3:20 group speeding right on by.

not too long after, it was time to keep an eye out for jenny. luckily, i had checked her instagram and knew to look for a purple shirt. and sure enough (almost missed her, too!) there she was, looking strong and happy. she also finished, despite the rising temps of chicago's fickle weather, and also deserves all the props!

marathon #3 for jenny!

watching these two conquer the chicago marathon after following their training all these months just reminded me that i do want to finish this marathon one day, whenever the time is right. but i can't do that if i give up now!

so i'm back at it! i'm going to slowly build myself back up with the help of a pt, and i'm already cooking up goals for the 2016 season!

what motivates you?

-b