My Half-Marathon Post Mortem

THE BIG DAY!  

Post Race with my orange hat buddy Adam!

I can't believe it, but somehow the big day has come and gone and I managed to get my body from the start line to the finish line of the Goodlife Half-Marathon.  First of all, kudos to all the other runners and thank you to all of the amazing people pumping me up along the way.  At one point I had a raging cramp and this nice lady stopped and asked if i was ok.  Such a small gesture but it really meant the world to me at the time.  I was lucky enough to have my friend/lil sister's boyfriend, Adam, join me for the run and it really helped having someone there to calm my nerves before the start.  Of course, about 5 minutes before go time, I had to pee like a racehorse and had to run into the bushes, narrowly avoiding a cop and another runner.  I tried to be as stealth as possible in my neon hat but I think they just chose to ignore me, to which I say, thank you kindly! 


So now it's two days post run and my legs are feeling better than yesterday but still, pretty darn sore.  My blisters are healing, and my joints feel pretty good.  More than anything though, I just feel happy. I am happy that I pushed myself to achieve a goal which for a long time, made me too nervous to even commit to.  I am happy that both my body and mind were able to accept this challenge.  My sisters, brother in law,boyfriend, mom and her partner Ted were all there cheering me along.  Them being there and supporting me along the way meant more to me than I can say.  They believed I could do it, even when I didn't.  I realized about 10K into the run I wasn't really doing it to prove to anyone that I could, except for myself.  I needed to do it for me.  And that is the most satisfying part of all.  I proved myself wrong.  I can be a runner (despite the fact that as a child I hated all sports event and picked dandelions in the fields rather than participating).  I've realized that we put limitations on ourselves, and those are the ones that really hurt.  By saying "I'm not a runner" or "I'm not really an athlete" we put ourselves in these little boxes and don't see the world of opportunity around us.  So if you're reading this and thinking "I'm in my own box", open it.  You are the only one who can do so and it is so freeing.  Realize that your own fear is holding you back, but it has no real power over you.  You can do whatever it is you want to do and no one is responsible for your own physical condition or your own happiness but yourself.  Be your own life coach.  Believe.


Wow, ok that may have been an intense paragraph but I'm fairly certain it communicates the essence of what this Half-Marathon brought to light for me.  


I still don't know whether a full marathon is in my future or not but I would do another Half.  But now, it's time to focus on METCONBLUE!  And it starts tomorrow, with a recovery yoga class, and I can't wait.


ACTING ETC.
I booted it to a print-ad "go see" audition this morning which seemed to go well but it's hard to tell when the directions are to jump up and down screaming like you're at a soccer game and your team just scored.  I find it hilarious how often I find myself in these brutally awkward scenarios in commercial audition settings but somehow my brain flicks a switch and I just giver.  I guess that's an essential part of being an actor - being able to disregard the fact that you look like a complete maniac sometimes.

On the way out of the audition I got an email from my agency that I booked a part in a multi-media project that I auditioned for initially in November and was called back for last week.  The project has some really cool aspects to it.  The characters will all infiltrate various social media venues (ie twitter, facebook etc) and the "episodes" will be on youtube.  It's fairly improvisational which I love and the director has some great ideas to work off of.  

FOODIE PEN PALS!

I've been matched up with my Foodie Pen Pals and have really been enjoying chatting with them via email.  It's amazing to connect with these people and listen to their stories and experiences.  I can't wait to get Nikki's package together!  I've already got some great ideas just from the couple of emails we've sent back and forth.

Take care, comb your hair, and enjoy this lovely tune by Great Lake Swimmers.

xoxo,

Allie