2 > 1

It's a miracle... I FINALLY got my best friend to run with me!! In an earlier post, I explained that she agreed to do a race with me, but our schedules don't work out for us to train together often.

I got a text from her at work today asking if I wanted to run afterward. I so badly wanted to say, "Nah, I've had a busy day, and I'm tired." But I didn't. I'm the one who's been begging her to run with me, so I agreed.

I had 5 massages to get through, and I wouldn't get home from work 'til almost 7:30... I literally finished at work, sped home, changed, and walked out the door because she was here...

We ran 3 miles in 42:14--not bad, considering she has NEVER run 3 miles! It was a little challenging, of course, because we'd both worked all day. BUT! It was time to spend together, and I'll take that with my best friend any day!

M had dinner done when I got home. Seriously, some days I think he's perfect! (some days ;) ) It was chicken noodle soup (he opened the can so I didn't get cut...again) and turkey croissanwiches. Uh, YUM!!

I'm now showered and totally ready for bed! My friend "L" (who's blog is here) and her running pal "C" ran 11.16 miles tonight! WAY TO GO LADIES!!!!!!! I'm excited for tomorrow, I'm planning to get up and run early, do a little shopping, and head to work for the afternoon.

Thanking God for the energy and the willpower to do everything I got to do today!!

I Knead Knotty People!

It just donned on me that I have yet to explain a little bit about what I do! (Or talk up my business, whichever :-D)


I'm a Certified Massage Therapist and a muscle specialist. My training was completed at the Alexandria School of Scientific Therapeutics  in June 2008, where I obtained a degree in Swedish Massage Therapy and Pfrimmer Deep Muscle Therapy. ASSTI taught me many techniques, such as:


--Swedish Massage, Therapeutic Massage, Hot Stone Massage, Chair Massage, Pfrimmer Deep Muscle Therapy, Active Isolated Stretching, Isolated Joint Therapy, and Honey Facials.
I am a member of the American Massage Therapy Association, licensed by the Indiana Professional Licensing Agency, and a member of Nature's Sunshine Products.


My career as a Certified Professional Massage Therapist and muscle specialist began at Lyon's Chiropractic Health & Rehab in Fort Wayne, Indiana. From Dr. Perry Lyons I was trained in Trigger Point Therapy, Trans-Fiber Friction Therapy, and proper weight-training etiquette.


Currently, I'm an independently contracted massage therapist at Sell Chiropractic Clinic in Bluffton, Indiana. I have the pleasure of working with 2 wonderful doctors : Dr. Marica Sell & Dr. Daryl Coty, and (normally) 5 awesome women. This is office is an upbeat, Christian environment that I look forward to being in on a daily basis.


In a normal week, I may have anywhere from 10-30 massages, depending on things like the weather and the time of year. Most clients choose the therapeutic massage as their primary care, although there are some Swedish strokes incorporated. A huge favorite is the hot stone massage... This massage uses water heated, lava-based stones to deepen relaxation of superficial muscles. It also promotes circulation, releases tension and stress, releases toxins, and relieves pain. Hot stone massage has been proven beneficial for conditions such as fibromyalgia, arthritis, depression, muscle aches and pains, and many more.
 ::Side note:: The hot stones feel WONDERFUL :0)


I work Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday by appointment only. Go here to view my hours and guidelines for scheduling a massage.


I hope this gives you a little insight into what I love to do! I really do love my job, and I know I made the right choice in careers. So, to sum things up :: I knead knotty people.

Groceries & Bandaids

Today is one of those days that I want to go out in the country, stand in the middle of a field, and scream at the top of my lungs. Really, it wasn't that bad. Just the 2nd Monday of the week, is all.
I woke up late(r than I planned). Still managed to shower, do hair and makeup, and look halfway decent for my 8:30 massage appointment. Morning was fine. -Had a new client who's one of those people that can make your day better, no matter how it's going! Lunch was a little rushed, but I got to eat with Mitch, and that always brightens my day. My afternoon was a little hectic--more like busy--but I should be thankful. I got to see a few clients I haven't seen in a while, yay! I worked late, which is irritating because dinner is usually not healthy on late nights. McDonald's. See? Not healthy. I had to make a grocery list, always a chore.
The grocery store was actually not a horrible experience. Spent too much, got too little-- isn't that how it always goes? After I got home...this is when the "I want to scream" mood came about...
I had a very busy day planned tomorrow with a couple of friends. In a matter of 5 minutes, both plans were canceled. They both had things that HAD to be done, so it's understandable, I just have no clue what to do with my only day off tomorrow. THEN I was putting away groceries, and I re-opened my "soup can cut" from Friday... This thing has been a royal pain in the you-know-what. It's on the bend of my right thumb--meaning I cannot use my primary hand/thumb for massage (in case you're wondering, this is incredibly tough!) I screamed, a little, but not as loud as I wanted to. Hence, the "groceries" and "band aids" that were good enough to make the title today.
Annddd.... my husband's best friend, who's also a great friend of mine, sent me a sarcastic text that didn't sit so well. He meant nothing rude by it, but I was definitely not in the mood to deal with sarcasm.
So tonight, as I'm writing and unwinding, I'm reminded, again, of a verse from the greatest book of all time : The B-I-B-L-E.
  ---"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
Today, I'm grateful for God's patience and ability to calm me, even if I'm irritated about the most ridiculous things :-D
God Bless!

38:23

What a day! My massage this morning was AMAZING! I would've liked a little more deep pressure attention, but hey, I relaxed! It felt wonderful to have the hot stones during the massage. Afterward, I had one appointment at work, so a pretty easy afternoon... ...Got home and hubby decided we were going to run. Yay... Ok, so I was not enthused and definitely not looking forward to it. I just ran 5 miles on Saturday for goodness sake! BUT I have a hard time saying no when I know it'll be good for me...actually, more like I FEEL GUILTY saying no :-D
So I changed and off we went. I decided I wanted to improve my mile time, even if just by a few seconds. We ran 3 miles, and at times we ran 4 walked 2, which made me feel like a real runner!! Don't get me wrong, there were times that we did 2:2 as well, but running 4 every so often? GO US!! There were times that I thought, "I cannot do this! I have to stop or I really will die." I didn't die. Obviously. Thank you to my incredible husband for knowing and understanding my limits, and pushing me to AND BEYOND them!
The last block of the race (we live in town, so coming up to the house), Mitch says, "Give it all you got, leave nothing behind!" Well, I left HIM behind! I sprinted, if only for a block!!! My time for 3 miles was 38 minutes 23 seconds... That's a 12:47 mile!!! SAAWWEEEEETTTTT!!!! Really, I was excited! My quickest mile had been 13:19, so not only did I shave off a few seconds, I got rid of a half a minute!! Saturday's race really kicked my butt, and I ran a 14:something mile, but it was hilly, cold, and windy!

So tonight as I sit blogging about my day, I'm reminded of a Bible verse that I've tried really hard to keep in my mind. Philippians 4:13 states "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." When I was running today, during those 4 minutes stretches, I ask God to give me the strange, the endurance, and the WILL do make this happen! And guess what... HE DID!! We serve one awesome God!

Helllllooooo Hot Stones!

Since I started and finished my first race on Saturday, I've decided to reward myself tomorrow with a hot stone massage! Being a massage therapist myself, I understand not only the relaxation hot stone massage provides, but the therapeutic benefits as well! Hot stones allow the superficial muscle layers to loosen, giving the therapist more time to work into the deeper muscles--where the real problem ususally lies. This type of massage is beneficial for many conditions from fibromyalgia to chronic headaches to every day aches and pains. And they feel WONDERFUL, too! I'm going to a place in Fort Wayne to have mine done tomorrow, so I'll post about how great it feels!
Click here to go to my massage website and check out the hot stone massage! They feel wonderful, and they're the perfect way to reward yourself after a run! Head on over HERE to find out how to schedule your massage!

I DID IT!!!

I ran my first race!!! So much to talk about in this post...Let's get started!
A couple of weeks ago I agreed to run a 5 mile race with a friend of mine (I talked about all that). I'd been training and doing shorter 1-2 mile runs. Then I got sick.... I only got to run once this week before the race! I was incredibly nervous about the race, since I hadn't trained much, so Wednesday night when I got home from work, my hubby says to me, "I've got a surprise for ya!" Um, SWEET! I love surprises! What was it?... Um a map of a 4 mile run we were going to do. Good surprise. I guess. So off we go. There were  soooo many times I said 'I can't run anymore, I'm done!' and of course he tells me I am NOT done and that I CAN do this. --AND I DID!-- So thanks to my wonderful hubby for pushing me.
Now for the race!! I only ran 4 miles the week of so that when I crossed the finish line, it would be the first time in my life that I'd ever run 5 miles outside! Race day details : 26 degrees at start, sunny, VERY windy. The race itself was full of hills, which were a little challenging, but we made it! We had snot dripping from our noses (I know you're saying 'eww!' but it was below freezing!!) and our faces were almost numb, but we finished that race! "L" told me she was going to let me go ahead of her to finish. I think I might've crossed a tenth of a second in front of her--she ran the whole way with me, so I REALLY appreciated that, being my first race! I have no idea what our places were, but our time was 1:13 and some seconds. Impressive, I thought! Anyway, we got bread from Panera, a drinking glass, and some free smoothies!
We took lots of pictures, of course, to remember my very first race! I'm so so excited that I've started this journey, and I can't wait to keep going!!

P.S. I slept 3 hours this afternoon. That 5 miles kicked my booty!!

Lisa & I after our goodies after the race!

Right, Left, Right, Left

Oh! My! GOODNESS! I finally got to run outside today, and I just don't even know what to say about it! It was gorgeous, no doubt, but definitely so much different than a treadmill! I really had to convince myself at first, saying in my head 'right, left, right, left'... "M" went with me, but he's so much taller and faster than me, I think it bored him a little, to be honest... We did the run 2, walk 2 program, and I did better than I thought, overall. I have to make myself run outside every day until Friday so that I don't slow "L" down at our 5 miler on Sunday! "M" made a good point during the run, and I've been thinking about it all day... He said, "Think about all those lazy people sitting on their couches watching March Madness!" Ya know, I AM proud of me!! I could've sat on the couch watching basketball, too, but I got up, put on my running shoes and off I went! I may be slow, for now, but at least I'm doing it! Looking forward to the race Sunday and thanking the good Lord for this AMAZING weather!! God Bless!

Committed!

Finally committed to the 2011 Nutri Run in Fort Wayne!! Thanks to my girl "L", I got the guts to do it! It'll be my first real race, so I gotta say, I'm a little nervous. I've been slacking in the gym department for the past week--using the "my hubby can't go with me" excuse. He's busy, so I think I should just sit on my butt, too...or something! Anyway, we ran to my parents tonight, which is just across town, but it was great! I haven't learned to love running, yet, so I wasn't thinking it was so awesome while I was out there, but I feel good about myself after running it!
"L" came in for a massage today, and we talked about the goods, the bads, and the uglies of running races. She convinced me to run the above run with her on March 26. In case you hadn't noticed, that's only 8 days away, and I can't train for the 2 days before it, SO! I have to get to it, and fast! I'm hoping I don't slow her down, but my only goal for this race is literally to finish. I've been reading a book "L" gave me, and it talks about having the courage to START the race, not just to finish (hence my blog name!). I thought that was incredibly important. Most people don't ever even start the race! I'm registered now, though, so I'll be there! It may be Sunday before I finish, but I WILL FINISH!!
So excited to do this thang with "L"!!

She Said Yes!

I cannot even explain how excited I am! I've been asking (more like BEGGING) my best friend to run with me. Run anything--a 5k, a 10k, a half marathon--and she swore it would kill her. I've been pressing her a little bit, mostly because I know she's healthy and capable enough to do this with me, and I had almost given up! ...Until tonight! I logged on to facebook and saw that I had a "wall post" from her... It said, "Soooo I jus want you to kno I think ur nuts for wanting to run a half marathon..... BUTTTTTTTT....... I MIGHT consider something of a shorter distance.... say a 10K............ ok we can talk about this soon..... ♥ u "... Silly, I know, but this is us, and it made my night! A 10k is STILL a great distance, so I'm just stoked! We're planning to train together as often as we can, but because we both work, have families, all that good stuff, we are really going to have to press ourselves to do it alone while being accountable. I've been looking into relaxing places to go to reward ourselves for doing this, so hopefully that'll make it a little more bearable for her! :-D
Planned on going to the gym this weekend, but some things happened, and we didn't make it there... I did get some new running capris at Dick's Sporting Goods tonight...Priced at $40, got 'em for $9!! So, hoping to get back to the gym tomorrow and continue this training. For tonight.... God Bless!

Overcoming Obstacles

FINALLY made it back to the gym tonight!! This week has been more stress filled than the week before I got married! Monday, we woke up to "M"s busted truck window. Tuesday we found out the truck we just bought Monday had a blown motor. Wednesday we found out the guy we bought the truck from wasn't going to do anything about selling us a bad truck... Oh, and Tuesday I discovered I have yet another kidney stone! Needless to say, we haven't made it to the gym until tonight. I really did not want to go, but I felt guilty, so off we went. Jumped on the elliptical as soon as we got in and did 2.18 miles in 28:00 minutes... Not bad for running with a kidney stone, right?! We did our weights and all that hype, headed to Subway, and now here I sit. Reflecting on the week (and the evening), I'm thankful... Thankful that "M" has another truck window to replace the broken one...Thankful that "M" and "J" can fix the motor in the new truck...Thankful for health insurance so that I can see the doctors I need... And most of all, today, thankful for my overall health! There are so many people who can't/won't get to a gym and do anything on a machine. I need to remember that I'm fortunate enough to have a gym to go to, a husband who encourages me to go, even when I really don't want to, and that I'm healthy enough to participate in physical activities! Life is all about overcoming obstacles, and this week has reminded me of that in a whole new way!

In the beginning...

It's a Sunday night in March... In Indiana. I've been thinking about this blog thing for a while, and I finally decided there isn't much else to do on a cold winter night, so what the heck?! I'm starting a new thing in my life, and to be completely honest, it's incredibly scary! Running. Always something I wanted to do, but I never had the courage to get out and do it. Sports were always a big part of my life through school and for a few years after, but once the sports stopped, so did the running. I became unhealthy, thicker than I ever wanted to be, and probably a little depressed. Fast forward a few years... A friend of mine, Lisa, came in to my place of employment and was SO EXCITED about training for a 5k! She's always such an upbeat person, anyway, so of course her excitement was contagious. I started thinking about running again and decided I wanted to do it. My husband agreed to begin running with me, and so it began... For a while! He was in a car wreck and I got my oh-so-frequent kidney stones, so running abruptly stopped. Here came the discouragement. Much longer story short, I've recently been convinced, by Lisa (of course), to start again! I have 2 goals this year. To start AND FINISH 2 half marathons. I've been running now for about 3 weeks, and I'm doing alright so far. Stay tuned!