Running…On The Beach and Up Currahee!

Holy smokes has life been crazy! Summer is officially here for the boys. They got out of school about a week and a half ago. Thank goodness! I love summertime with my men. We immediately headed to the beach for a very short, but incredibly sweet trip. There is nothing more amazing than an ocean sunrise.

Seriously, as I watched it each morning, I felt an amazing calm come over me.

Maybe it's a state of mind, maybe it's the breath taking view and maybe it was the amazing company?

Whatever it was, it was AMAZING.

We wasted no time getting thrown back into reality. Work was begun immediately upon arrival back home. Darn responsibility…

Oh well, I like to eat and well, I like having a roof over my head, so, you know…I needed to get over it.

Tony and I decided a few months ago to do something a little crazy. My husband is a serious history buff. I have since become somewhat of one too. We live about an hour outside of Toccoa, GA which is where the paratroopers from WWII trained. This year marked the 70th Anniversary of D-Day and so we decided to sign up for the Currahee 10k. Ya'll, that run is no joke. I have a whole new respect for those men that ran that beast of a mountain twice a day. "3 miles up, 3 miles down". The first two miles were hard, but nothing compared to the last mile. That climb was darn near vertical. I have never seen something like that before. I had every emotion imaginable going on inside of me through that run. I am in awe and humbled by the men that ran there before me.

This view from the top was magnificent. It was brutal and beautiful all at the same time. As we were running up the mountain, we were talking about running. I realized that around the last part of May two years ago, that was when I started running for the first time. What started as a way to understand what clients were going through has turned into a love of mine. I always hated running and never thought I would even slightly like it. I can now, without a doubt say that I'm a runner. I am in love with it. The adventures it has taken me on (especially the past two weeks from running on the beach and then up Currahee), to the peace of mind through run therapy, to the amazing chats I have with my husband while we're out for our runs, I am absolutely, head over heals in love with running. When I first started running, I always said that when I would sign up for a race, I wanted it to be for a good cause. I think the preservation of the Toccoa Military Museum (which we viewed after the run after our whore baths in the car and a quick change of clothes) was a great cause for us. I've actually never ran a race before where people were thanking you for running. Military men and those that had family members in wars were thanking us for participating. We both have had family in the military so hopefully, that small thing we did by running and remembering them, demonstrated our way of honoring them and thanking them for their service. 

As we were driving away from our Currahee run on Saturday, Tony and I looked back in the rear view mirror and realized what we had just run up. That mountain in the background, that is the beast. We are already talking about doing it again next year! Yeah, we are that crazy…CURRAHEE!

I will be sharing this on this week's Marvelous In My Monday (which will be on Tuesday). Make sure you check out Katie's inspirational post. It's a great way to start your week!