Running Free....

I can hear his voice as if it were yesterday....

It was my first epic fall...

And of course, I called my Daddy for encouragement...

Sympathy...Support....

What I got was...

“you run enough mountains , you are bound to fall down sometime...”.

I had scree rash up my back right leg... my butt... lower back... shoulder and arm...

And I was hurting....

Even better...

I finished the run...

Bleeding...

Stinky...

And exhausted..

Only to end up finding a sign at the bottom of the trail reading...

“caution.. BEAR IN AREA”.

I still get a bubble of laughter each time I think about that adventure...

The thrill...

My first summer chasing mountain trails...

My first summer of freedom...

Finding myself at the end of each exhausting adventure...

Learning to “run free”...

And again tonight, as I lay in my bed... pouting...

Those same words echo in my memory...

“You run enough mountains... you are bound to fall down sometime...”

And fall I did....

It was the classic kind...

A creative...

Crazy...

Once in a lifetime tumble...

A face plant....

Covering you from toe to neck in glorious mud...

With no one around to youtube...

Yet, the innocence and hilarity of it has long since past...

And I sit here... restless... longing...

After 3 weeks of treatment and one week of approved yoga...

A torn knee.... and a broken spirit...

There are moments I feel 100%....

And I’m dying to get back out there and strive for my carefully laid out goals...

And there are moments...

That lead into days...

That feel like today...

A sharpness...

And swelling...

A constant pain to remind me that I am not there yet...

And it’s in those moments that I struggle to remain focused...

Positive...

Cheerful...

It’s in those moments that I want to just let it break me down...

I want to succumb to the disappointment...

The pain...

To cry...

Yet,

They are only moments...

And along with the bad there are many good.... encouraging....

So I will re-focus my energies on healing...

I will remind myself that tomorrow will come...

And I will look to the freedom of that summer...

The summer I first learned what it was like to fall down...

I will shed the stresses of always improving for others eyes...

And I will once again learn what it means to...

“run free”

No One Runs Alone - NORA - Intro

I'll never forget the first day I met barefoot Jake....

He was This gypsy looking man....

The kind you'd walk by on the street and want to toss your change at....

His bare feet were leather tough...

And Dirty.....

He had nothing but the pack he carried, the clothing on his back.... and a smile.....

It was Fate really.....

He saw my little tent area and thought I looked innocent enough to leave his pack by...

The rest, as they say, is history....

We shared my little camping area... Jake using my tent as the desert got so cold at night....

Me not being kind enough to share the glory of my heated seats in the car...

A few cheers as we went around the dusty one mile loop.....

And months of emails....

Little jabs on Facebook....

And inspiration....

Jake lives his life as I could only dream...

Following his passion and inspiring others....

I am so excited to watch this new journey unfold....

His ability to touch peoples lives...

And make a difference in our world is a true gift....

I hope you will take the time to Follow "barefoot Jake" on this journey...

And all his other adventures....

Let him inspire you...

As much as he has already inspired the rest of us....



Twitter @jakeOruns

Accepting The challenge: letting go of the story.

54 months....

4.5 years......

1642 day’s.....

To some....

A lifetime....

To me...

A journey.....

Yes...

There have been a few short stumbles along the way.....

But I always found myself again....

Better...

Stronger....

Me....

The gift of taking the time to really find yourself...

Nothing clouding your judgment....

Learning what makes you the best you....

The best version of who you dream you could be....

Learning to love every little imperfection....

Oddity....

Unforgiving curve....

Every bad joke...

Embarrassing moment...

Embracing it all...

And learning to laugh at it...

Realizing all that matters in this life is you..

How well you lived...

The lives you touched...

And what you learned along the way....

Laughter....

Adventure....

Letting go of the past....

The fears...

The shadows....

The broken bannisters and bruises....

And embracing the reality of who you are....

Living with Laughter...

Joy....

Purity....

54 months....

4.5 years......

1642 day’s.....

A gift....

The greatest gift.....

The realization of life...

Gratitude....

Self-reliance...

Strength...

And beauty...

For all the heart aches...

The bumps...

The bruises...

The broken moments...

The shattered woman who I once was....

I am thankful....

Because who I am now...

Is far better....

Stronger...

Confident....

Loving....

Happy...

So much more then I ever imagined I would be....

54 months....

4.5 years...

1642 day’s...

The gift of time....

Time you can never take back from me....

#silencekills
#nomore
#Whiteribboncampaign 

White Mugs... and memories....

There is a certain magic found in the simple things....

Today it’s a white coffee mug....

Accented with a gold rim and a pink flamingo....

Stamped from the Bahamas....

And I am transported to a humid market....

Smells foreign yet comforting...

Excitement....

And energy....

Thick accented voices reaching out to me “Hey Lady....”

Cheap trinkets and souvenirs....

Lined in rows...

Each hopeful vendor vying for my precious few dollars....

The feel of the boat rocking gently in the port...

A bucket of beer’s on the deck...

The band playing reggae....

The heat of the sun...

The smell of the oil glistening on my body....

Adventure.....

The simplicity of this moment....

The stillness of my mind....

And I am Renewed....

Refreshed....

And content.....

And all it took was one silly white mug.....

Life........Derailed

Sometimes in life.....

You are forced to stop....

To take a moment...

To breath.....

It comes in many forms...

Loss of a job...

A break up....

The loss of a friendship.....

Or In my case the un-expected.....

A bum knee....

All of the above are never planned for.....

And at times....

Poorly timed....

Life is going good...

Training...

A relationship...

The job....

All seems to fit...

And bammm!

There you are sitting on the sidelines....

Not sure which way is up...

And which is down....
It just is....

Life...

Derailed....

Lisa on the run: Adventure...

Lisa on the run: Adventure...:  There is frost on my car windows... A chill in the air.... It’s hard to imagine that just yesterday I was w...

Adventure...

 There is frost on my car windows...

A chill in the air....

It’s hard to imagine that just yesterday I was waking up to sunshine...

Mountains....

Flip-flops....

And the company of a good friend....

That’s the beauty of a running trip....

It’s a magical adventure that can carry you a thousand miles away...

To a place close enough,

Yet so foreign....

Its shared laughter....

Victories...

And failures....

Bumps...

Bruises...

Tight It Bands....

Warm hugs...

Epic aid stations....

And finish line stories....

Unkempt Bands...

And wood fired pizza...

hypothermia...

And new connections...

It’s a world that removes you from the mundane...

The stressed of every day and puts you in that magical moment where, if you could, you would exist forever....

It’s the jokes and stories from hours in a car....

The sights...

The food....

A bowl of soul....

And warm cheesecake....

The smell of funky shoes....

Wet Gear....

And Post run beers....

Hours of Playlists....

And laughter...

As I sit here this morning prompting myself to prepare for my daily life...

I cannot help but sink back into that feeling for just a moment....

The joy of an adventure well done....

And the anticipation of preparing for the next one....

(Rainshadow Running Gorge falls Ultra March 29 2014)

Accepting the challenge....

It’s there.....

In black and white print.....

That one question....

The one I don’t really want to address...

The one I don’t want to look at...

To consider...

To let go of....

On the quest for a new level....

Level of what???

Growth...

The ability to live in love, freedom, happiness....

Laughter.... abundance....

Success.... as determined by a full life....

They say in order to grow...

One must break through the few layers that are holding them back...

That self-imposed ceiling...

The fear that holds us back...

The stories we hide behind...

As they become a security blanket, no matter how smothering....

And so I’ve been challenged....

“What stories do you have to give up in order to find happiness?”....

And I’m left really looking at things....

Maybe in order to give up the story I need to share it?

And is it just one story....

Or is there several that have led me to this place?

We all have stories...

You don’t get to this place in life without a few along the way...

Some bring joy,

Laughter,

Warm memories....

And then there are those that leave us with a brokenness....

Believing we deserve less then life wants to give us....

We stand in our own way...

On the path to “abundance”.....

So let me ask you....

What stories do you have to let go of to find happiness...?

Catalyst....

Where do you go when your perception does not meet your reality....

When you think you’re an integral part....

And yet, time has shown you your value has been easily replaced....

How do you hold on to that hearts desire...

The thing you longed most for...

How do you make your perception a reality?

I don’t know about anyone else...

But this girl takes a good long look at herself...

And then decides if her hearts desire is still her “hearts desire”....

The excitement...

The anticipation of what will come....

If it’s no longer there does it really change things???

No....

No, it doesn’t....

Because these things were nothing more then a perception...

An anticipation...

But not yet a reality....

And if they are not your reality...

Yours to build on...

That is ok....

You make a new reality....

A new adventure...

You create a new path for your soul to soar across....

Something that is yours to hold onto...

With anticipation...

The dreams....

The excitement of what is to come....

Life takes turns...

Ups,

Downs....

Sometimes we think one thing...

We believe we are a value to something...

And the reality is we were not originally considered in the design....

We were a catalyst and nothing more...

And that is ok....

Because even catalysts are important...

Catalyst:

3. a person or thing that precipitates an event or change: His imprisonment by the government served as the catalyst that helped transform social unrest into revolution.

4.

a person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic, or energetic.

Yes.....

In this life...

I should be so lucky as to be considered a catalyst.....

Ghosts.....

BP’s....

Tropical Chicken pizza, with extra black olives and jalapenos.....

Crushed red peppershakers and Parm Cheese....

Not the real parm... oh no.... that’s not good enough....

The cheap powder that gets clumped up in the shaker.....

The largest glass of horrible red wine possible.....

While you’re at it.... Lets make that 2 glasses of red.... and a warm ginger cake chaser.....

Monday night wings.....

The crispy breaded salt and pepper kind...

With hot sauce and blue cheese for dipping....

A side Cesar salad.... with another LARGE glass of red wine....

Mini doughnuts with caramel sauce and powdered sugar.... more wine for dessert....

Enough to make you fuzzy around the edges....

Deep fried pickles and hot fudge Sundays.....

Beer.....

I’ve not had pizza.... my BP’s date in over 2 years.....

My Monday night Wings and wine in a full year

Dessert..... only a few times in this past year.....

It’s been over 18 months since I went vegetarian and 10 months Vegan....

Yet tonight....

As the snow swirled around....

I passed and old haunting of mine....

A few blocks from my loved (and often missed) little condo....

BP’s....

Pizza called my name as I recalled a night a few years back... where the roads were crappy....

The snow piling up....

And I pulled in for a personal pizza and wine....

It was there that I saw a future vision of myself....

Me with my nora roberts book waiting for my pizza.....

A woman... maybe 30 years older then me....

Shoulder length blonde hair....

Dressed up for a date....

A date with herself...

Wine....

And a book.....

As I got up to leave she stopped me....

Asked me if we knew each other....

Maybe she saw in me what I was seeing in her....

A vision of ourselves.....

In a different life...

A different stage.....

Still lonely.....

But not alone.....

I left that night not knowing the impact that vision would have on me....

How a few years later I would drive by that exact same spot....

Craving a taste of my old life....

And seeing a vision of what could be....

As I sit here at my kitchen table with my vegan pattie and salad long since gone....

I’m still feeling her hand on my arm...

The sad look in her eye....

And I recall the promise I made myself....

I may choose to live life single...

But I will never choose to live my life alone...

When the numbers fail

Friday.....

The most feared day....

A day of truth.....

Naked...

Brutal...

Honest....

Truth....

No hiding....

No lies....

No, one more bite, I’ll work it off tomorrow....

Fridays tell the naked, naked truth....

Of success...

Of failure...

Of honest weeks, and sinful moments....

Fridays....

I started this program 2 months ago.....

Strict, clean eating....

Training....

And naked Fridays....

This week I looked to Friday with excitement.

I had upped my training intensity.

I had major successes in the gym and in the conditioning class I joined....

My diet had been flawless....

And I knew.... Friday would bring me rewards....

Beyond imagination...

I was ready to blow my mentors mind with my numbers....

Inches lost....

Pounds melted away....

And then came Friday...

Without a change....

Except the pounds that added themselves to my weigh in...

The inches remaining stubbornly on my body....

Every muscle screaming, “We are sore.... and for what????”

My heart breaking a little as I sat down to write my weekly report....

An email filled with frustration....

The anger at being the fat girl...

The one who doesn’t take the moment to indulge with everyone else...

Who stay on the strict meal plans...

Who does her best to train with her whole heart...

To leave the gym...the trail... with nothing left...

100% spent....

The girl who took all wine out of her house to ensure there would be no temptations....

After a long morning of mentally defeating myself....

I realized....

I didn’t loose....

There was no defeat.....

The scale happens sometimes....

But this week....

I know...

I pushed harder....

I got stronger....

I got faster....

I found my vision again....

The belief in my goal....

My passion was re-ignited...

100 time over....

And as I prepare to get my ass handed to me in my “Dojoyoass” conditioning class I know....

I’m on target.....

I may never be a skinny girl.....

But I can be a strong woman...

A woman of endurance...

Self value....

And strong spirit....

So....

Even when the numbers may fail...

This athlete’s heart still wins....

Sore.... Sore.... feet!

“And what do you expect to get from this...” asked my Grandma as we sat around the dinner table...confusion and disbelief over my upcoming 72 hour adventure....

“Sore Feet” Chimed my grandpa.. with sparkle and laughter in his eyes....

“Yes, Sore feet!!.” I chimed back....

Sore... sore... feet.....

What do you expect to get from this??? Why do you do that?? Your crazy....!! Why do you punish yourself???

The age old question.... Why???

Why do we do what we do?

Why do we look at the simple marathon and scream to ourselves...

IT’S NOT ENOUGH!!

What is it we are lacking in our lives that compels us to push our body’s harder... further... up steeper and steeper inclines....

Past the point of fatigue and pain...

Beyond the boundaries of what the mind and the world say is our limits????

Yes.... what is it we are lacking???

Enlighten me...

Or perhaps for a moment indulge me...

For what you see as lacking...

I see as full....

The famous quote says....

“Run the first third with your legs...

The second third with your mind....

And the Last third....

That you run with your heart....”

As I was laying on the famous Dr. Dan's table... having him work on my Sore.. Sore feet, he commented... “those work injuries seem like nothing”.... meaning in comparison the things us crazy runners bring him.....

Recently I’ve been referring him my "WCB" employee’s...

With their tweaks, and pinches....

What the normal person sees as a major issue... a light sprain...

A pulled muscles.... we runners tend to ignore....

Bringing ourselves in only when we need it most....

Because we understand our bodies...

We know what they are capable of...

How they heal themselves...

 We are at one with ourselves....

As we discussed the minor pains Dan said something that struck me...

Work injuries are major... only because they are far away from the heart....

We chatted about that statement a few moments...

As I pointed to the painful top of my foot...

And for the first time in 7 years Dan asked me the age old question....

Why, do you do this? What do you get from it....

“I suppose the endorphin rush is crazy”...

Again I was left with a lackluster response....

The “I cannot describe it... it’s the oneness with yourself...”

That is why I do it....

I pondered the question on my drive home....

Mulling over my recent run...

The accomplishments of defeat...

The moments I faced my demons head on....

And laid them to rest....

The bonds formed over 30minute miles...

The laughter....

The tears...

And then the more tears....

The ability to see someone you admire... who is so strong.... and amazing... and to look them in the eye when they are struggling.... put a hand on their shoulder and urge them forward....

To have them urge you forward in your dark moments..

For the sunrise and sunsets.... the star filled nights...

The wild lightening storms...

The mountain trails.... and the insane views....

To see the world in a way so many will never encounter...

Because when I run my senses are sharper....

Life tastes better.....

Because it makes me whole....

It completes me in a way I cannot describe to you....

Because it is “close to my heart....”

Hell...

It is my heart.....

That is why I do it.....

Because to me...

It’s as natural as breathing...

And more fulfilling than anything this world can offer....

That...

And as my grandpa said...

It gives me Sore... Sore.... Feet!