I have always been a leftover. You know the ones, not just picked last in gym class – but the kid that actually has to get assigned to a team because everyone else has been picked. The one that is left leaning against the wall waiting and hoping that she won’t be left there standing alone but knowing that it will be the case. I don’t blame them, more often I dropped the ball than caught it, that is if anyone threw it to me. Needless to say I dreaded gym class, so much so that I managed to smooth talk my way out of a semesters worth in high school by taking extra electives. But I was never one to let something get the best of me so I kept trying – even joining an Ultimate Frisbee team in college – but it just kept being hard.
There is a single common denominator that strings through [almost] all sports: RUNNING. And boy was I horrible at it! I would loose my breath before I reached the other end of the court, let alone the field. After countless times always being the one to come in last, usually miles behind the rest, I came to the conclusion that I just could not run. And I was okay with that fact, see there are many things that I consider myself fairly talented at – I was okay not being good at running. That was until December 2012.
I decided that it was time I looked this big hairy monster of self-doubt in the face. I was going to run. I don’t know where it got planted in my head but once I get my mind set on something, world watch out because it will happen! So I dusted off my gym card that I had been paying for years, dug some sneakers from the depths of the closet, and hit the treadmill. Now I bet you are waiting for me to tell you that it felt awesome and I had a magical “I can do this” moment but let me tell you, it was HARD. Harder than anything I have ever tried at before – that’s for sure.
Walking out of the gym that day sweat running down my face whilst chugging down what seemed like a gallon of water, I wanted anything but to return. Yet, there I was the next day, and the day after that. I managed to return the day after I fell of the treadmill because I wasn’t running fast enough, and the day that I busted both of my knee caps on a cement staircase (well, not THE day after but you get my point). I wanted to quit often, I wanted to run slower and end sooner. Every. Single. Time.
But I didn’t, and slowly 3 minutes of running seemed easy – than 5 – than 8 and before I knew it I had reached 30 minutes. 30 minutes of running! But I didn’t feel like a runner still, not until the week after my busted knees incident. My nutritionist told me that I should take it easy and I will never forget the words that responded to him: “I have to run.” I didn’t know where it came from but as soon as I said it I knew that it was true. And I did, even through the snow storms and the “I want to quit days.”
Today I ran my first 5K. Did I finish first? Certainly not. Did it matter? Certainly not. Because today I ran. No one picked me for any team but I became something that I had never been before – a runner. Today I was not a leftover.
(And if we are keeping track, I rocked it by running 2’03″/mi faster than my average!!)
Special thanks to my fiancee Kim for her support and love!
A gorgeous summer day with lemonade, gerber daisies, and tractors; the slight waft of hay in the air and laughter echoing though the fields into the distant Mountain Peaks. Love bursted from every seam at Kelli & Kanny’s Sugar Hill Farm wedding in Hebron, Maine. Just a stones throw away from Kelli’s parents house in Auburn, there was no shortage of family or friends to celebrate their commitment with. If you missed it be sure to head over to Part 1 before you dive into the summer air that emanates from the ones below.
From our first meeting there was something about Kelli & Kenny that stuck with me, I am not sure if it is their adventurous spirits, their sweet charm, or their faith in each other. Whatever it is they won me over on a cold Starbucks afternoon talking of kayaking trips, snowboarding adventures, and farming tasks. They are down to earth people that enjoy the simple things life has blessed them with.
Currently living in Vermont they were set on sharing their vows with family and friends in Kelli’s home town of Hebron. Committed to their roots, they choose a laid back ceremony and reception location on the estate of a family friend named Sugar Hill Farm. But first the girls got pampered at Ambiance Day Spa in Paris, Maine.
Kelli & Kenny chose to exchange a few words and tears before the ceremony while keeping with the much loved tradition of not seeing each other until walking down the isle. So sweet!
There was so much loveliness that I just could not fit it all into one post! Stay tuned for the second half of Kenny & Kelli’s Hebron Estate Wedding!
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