run, run as fast as you can, you can't catch me I'm the....

i ran track in high school. to be more specific, i ran HURDLES in track in high school. oh, p.s. i'm 5'1"...on a good day.  here, i'll wait a minute and let you make the jokes...

did you run under them? did they lower the hurdles especially for you? laugh it up chuckles. much to the surprise of everyone around me, i made varsity as a freshman and went on to win "hurdler of the year"...the classic underdog-wouldn't-expect-for-a-second success story. moral of the story? don't let people lower the bar for you.

it was there in those awkward teen years that my love for running was born, and i haven't stopped running since. i randomly ran a 5k (3.1 miles) two years ago, but that's it. about a month ago i decided i was going to run a half-marathon. i googled races in the area and signed up for one that was nearby...oh, and happening in 3 weeks from then. so, what did i do? be sensible and realize that running 13.1 miles takes training and look for one further out? of course not. do you know me? i signed up...then went, "wait. what did i just do?"

i trained as much as i could in the little time i had and tried to mentally prepare myself for the hell my body was going to endure. race day arrived and i woke up ready to run and run fast..or so i told myself.

after listening to "fighter" by christina aguilera (insert your judgment here) on repeat 4 times and one bloody toe nail later (don't ask), i crossed the finish line. after giving a kiss to bee and high-fiving my parents, the race coordinator came up to me and said, "I think you're forgetting something." gasping for air, i said, "huh?" he then proceeded to hand me a 3rd place trophy. WHAT?! i won't tell you there was only 30 people in the race. still. i'll take it. here are the race results if you're a skeptic and don't believe me. i still don't believe me.

hey there sweaty and gross

after my impulsive 1:55 long run, i decided what any rational 23-year-old woman who works full-time, is planning a wedding, has two leadership roles and other commitments and absolutely no free time does...i signed up for another one! :) if there was any doubt in your mind that i was a little off my rocker, i'm sure it has now been erased.

now, give me a moment to explain my insanity. i love running. i loved running that half-marathon. sure, there were moments when i wanted to pull a britney spears and basically give up on the good gig i had going (minus the cheeto glow fingers, no shoes in gas stations and overall apathy toward personal hygiene)..but, i didn't...i kept going and the feeling afterward is a-mazing. real talk.

i'm running the OC Half-Marathon on May 1st and I can't even wait! but this time it's even better.. this time, i'm running for a reason. a reason beyond just seeing if i can beat my time. who cares. i'm running to raise money for kids in kenya who have stolen my heart. i'm going to be raising money for Oasis of Hope, which is a drop-in center in Kitale, Kenya, where kids who have no family and live on the streets are able to come in and be educated, given food and water and eventually a home to live in...i have spent much time there...on three separate trips..one of the trips, i lived there for three months and worked every day with those beautiful faces. it is run by my friend, Lydia Monroe, or Mama Oasis as many call her, and she is stinkin' rad.

here's the scoop: i'm going to be doing bake sales and stuff up until my race and every single penny will go straight to Oasis. if you want to give and support this amazing cause that gives kids a home and a hope...please let me know! oh, and if you have ideas of how i can represent the organization when i run, let me know those too in the comments section. i'm thinking of painting my body black. too soon?

i'm sleep deprived. good night, world.