Feeling like the world is running your personal AND professional life? Wishing you could feel better physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually? If so, this LIVE Show & Podcast is right for you because in this episode Sinikka tells her story of this year’s journey to her first-ever half marathon, so that you can be inspired and encouraged knowing that you too can do harder things than you think you can.

Welcome to the Soul Family LIVE Show & Podcast! I’m your host Sinikka & and if you haven’t heard our FREE 3-Day Forever I Choose You Devo is here! I created this 3-day digital devotional as a significant tool to walk you and your beloved through what these words mean to me, and serve as a tool to remind you and your beloved to continue to say, “Forever, I choose you.” Find it in the shop!

In other big news, Soul Creations Photography now officially offer Ministry Collections for anniversary, newborn, baby, maternity, and family sessions because WE are here for your forever!

Episode 11: You Are More Than Capable, You Are Worth The Inconvenience

Let’s GO!

Welcome to the Soul Family Podcast! I’m your host Sinikka & and this week we have a very special episode for you – all about my half marathon journey this year.

This is a personal episode, but enough of you have been interested in this year long story, and I wanted to make sure I got it down in audio and on paper so that I could remember it too. Because wow – guys – this journey to running a half marathon was incredible, especially because I didn’t believe I was capable of the work it took to complete a physical, mental, and emotional challenge at such a high degree. 

I want you to know that you can do harder things than you think you can. 

In February of 2019, my husband came to me and said he wanted to run a half marathon and he also wanted to pick up trying the Whole 30 diet for the month of February. I love a good challenge when there’s a partner in it, so I obliged to support him along the way by joining in.

I started training in February for a 5k (from couch in 5wks to 5k online program), which consisted of 20m-40m running 3x or 4x a week – and I just worked off the training schedule.

• Training: I started going to the gym while johnny was in childcare and learning how to run while breathing, and listened to music. It hurt more than I thought it would, I wasn’t used to running. It would be good to go, and I would go as much as I could. 

• Race Day: July 6, I ran Bre’s Run in Bourbon, IN, celebrating the life of Breanna Lemler, who passed away during the Summer of 2016, and all proceeds went to the Breanna Lemler Memorial Scholarship.

  • Did a lil warm-up run around and made sure to keep pace and not go too fast at the start (even though I DID feel fast and went a bit too fast at the start)

  • I did well becuase some incredible music made it happen and kept me going through cramps on my right side. Despacito, anyone?

  • My husband, 1 year old baby boy, and my husband’s grandmother and aunt were my cheer squad – his aunt and grandmother were available and just decided they wanted to join!

I felt pretty good after that 5k and learned that the cramps came from eating dairy (ice cream!) the night before, so I decided I needed to stick well to the diet I had started back in February as well – Whole 30, with no dairy or gluten in sight.

By this time, my husband mentioned that the half marathon plan wasn’t for him, but I had already begun to commit and chose to keep with it. It was a nice routine for my little one and I to go to the gym everyday, and he really liked his friends at the childcare facility in the gym!

After the 5k, I trained for a 10k (runner’s world, beginner 10k schedule, running 3-7k 2x during the week, and long run on weekend 8-11km)

• Training: got runner’s toe, where i was running on my toe so much that it got too tight – stretched it out and used an elliptical to get miles in. By this point, I had created a Run It Out playlist of inspiring music to get me going, and it was so awesome and uplifiting. Taylor Swift’s new album, Macklemore, and Justin Timberlake’s Can’t Stop The Feeling were the BEST.

• Race Day: August 24, ran Runnin’ the Stores 10k, A scenic 5K (3.1 miles) and 10K (6.2 miles) trail run and 5K walk at Champagne Shores in Kokomo, Indiana. Easy trails meandering around two beautiful ponds and along Wildcat Creek. The only trail run in Howard County and all proceeds will benefit the Cancer Center at St. Vincent Kokomo.

  • My cycle started on the car ride there. We didn’t arrive in time for me to have a proper warm-up. I didn’t realize until I was running that it was going to be on gravel, grass, and over tree trunks. Gosh, what a challenge! I even dropped my phone once, and I kept putting my sunglasses on and off because we went from shade to sun so fast and so many times, but I pushed on. Nothing was deterring me.

  • During the final 3 miles, I shortened up my stride and kept going. I didn’t start fast, I just tried to maintain the same pace throughout.

  • My husband and my little one were my cheer squad, and it was a family event. We had a wonderful time that summer morning and loved seeing the swans while our little nugget walked around touching grass 🙂

From here, I wasn’t committed entirely to the half marathon, so I didn’t sign up or pay the $70 (which truly sounded like a lot!), but I kept with the routine habits my little one and I had, we were committed to going to the gym everyday from 11am-1pm, it was my time to work out and have a break from moming, and it was his time to play with friends 🙂

To train for a half marathon I did 3-5mil 2x a week, and a long run on weekend 5mil-12mil depending on the schedule I was following from Runner’s World.

• Training:

  • Trained in miles instead of kilometers, which is SUPER different! When i first thought about it, it seemed like it was gonna be super long because a mile is longer than a kilometer.

  • We kept up going to the gym – johnny was in childcare, and i would run while listening to audiobooks now, since the music just wasn’t doing it and I had found my foot pattern speed, and music would just mess me up.

  • I read Becoming by Michelle Obama, Own Your Everyday by Jordan Lee Dooley, Girl, Stop Apologizing by Rachel Hollis, The ONE Thing by Gary Keller, and Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert, but it was when I started to listen to High Performance Habits by Brendon Bruchard that everything changed for me. Every chapter brought a new level of energy, power, and purpose to what I was doing. 

  • The morning of Black Friday, I had to run 12 mile after having eaten gluten and dairy the day prior, and you guys, it was incredible. I knew this was the longest run I would have prior to the 13 mile half-marathon. That day my husband helped me plan the route, get the fruit, nut, and grain snacks I would need, and stock up on the winter running gear that would keep me warm on that November day in South Bend, IN. I kept on running and listening to Brendon Bruchard speak the mindset into my earbuds that I needed to hear – you have power, you are capable, there is a big need for you to show up and make big things happen, and to do that you need to take care of yourself.

  • Other Struggles I faced while training for the half marathon:

    • I felt guilty of taking time to develop myself physically sometimes

    • I felt frustrated when johnny was sick and I couldn’t get to the gym to run (or run on the weekend for some reason or another)

    • I felt worried that I wouldn’t be ready in time for the race because of setbacks due to scheduling issues

    • But no matter what, I did have the motivation now, because it was a habit to go to the gym and run

  • When I was really getting down to it, I started to ask myself why I was training for this half marathon. Why had I spent all year working up to this?

    • To prove it to myself, because even though no one else would’ve thought anything of it, I would’ve known I gave up on myself.

    • Also because I wanted to bring a new type of energy to my life, one with inspiration, hope, and excitement and passion, and doing this helped me feel fully alert, awake, and thankful to have a body that could run and a place I could go and bring Johnny to take time to re-energize

    • Last, it wasn’t a big deal to continue training because this habit of going to the gym was locked and loaded into my and my little one’s life. We looked forward to it and we planned for it, so it was just a matter of what I chose to do while I was at the gym now since the routine had been created months prior.

• Race Day: Sunday, December 15, 2019 from 9:00 AM, 13miles, half marathon, Santa Hustle, Santa Hustle® Indy Charity is Little Red Door Cancer Agency.

  • Struggles I faced:

    • Mile 1.5, the book i had wasn’t doing it, rachel hollis – girl, stop apologizing, so i switched back to my generate energy chapter

    • Mile 4 – eating a cliff bar while slowly running in 25 degree weather takes energy, I continued to release tension & set intention, thinking about why I was doing this and visualizing how I wanted to feel now, and at Mile 8, Mile 10, and at the finish line as Brendon’s reminders / encouragement played in my ears & my mind over and over

    • Mile 7 – Last half Best Half, I kept saying it again to myself (Rachel Hollis quote), saying, how do you want to finish this whole year? Then remembered what Brendon had reminded me of in my earbuds a few miles earlier – people have more joules of power than you could ever realize, you just need to tap into it. That means You have the energy, you have the power to physically do a lot of things you never thought or currently think you can.

    • Mile 8 – My right hip and left knee started to feel tight, so I remembered what Rachel Hollis’ once said – what got me to here wasn’t going to get me to the finish line like I wanted to finish, i needed a new strategy so I shortened my stride to put less pressure on my knee and hip, and moved my feet faster

    • Mile 10 – I was feeling my knee and hip more, so I started to switch up the strategy again and spoke truth over myself about the power in my physical body – “your knee is here for you, your thigh is here for you…” 

    • Mile 12 – we hit cobblestone and almost everyone in front of me stopped running, cobblestone on tired feet is like running on sand, almost impossible, and so I started saying my mantra out loud “your toes are here for you, your calves are here for you…”

    • I finished that mile with a split time of 8:50, my fastest time ever. Throughout the race I kept getting faster, and it all had to do with mental, emotional, and physical strength that I didn’t know I was capable of. 

  • Why I Did It

    • To prove to myself that I am capable of doing extremely hard things, things harder than I think I could handle.

    • During the race I realized that I was also doing it to prove it to my family and friends watching that if I can do it, they can do it too. 

    • You can do hard things, extremely hard things. You are capable of doing more than you think you can do. 

Challenge your mind, body, and spirit, and grow. You are more than capable of doing extremely hard things. 

Your body is here for you.

You are capable. 

You are worth the time it takes to be well. (with whatever diet or exercise that takes).

Dave Hollis – A ship in a harbor is safe, but that’s not what they’re made for.

Rachel Hollis – Move your body, change your mind.

I want you to think about your own life, because, sis, while this is a personal podcast, the lessons I learned this year are what I want you to take to heart and impact your decisions surrounding how you care for yourself too.

Reflection Questions: 

What lies about myself or my situation are keeping me from becoming the healthiest version of myself – emotionally, spiritually, mentally, physically?

What excuses have I been using to ignore my health?

What is one physical challenge I can put on my calendar next year to work towards?

Take 5 minutes tonight and answer those questions. Move past the excuses, move past the lies – and move your body, to change your mind. Friend, you’ve got this. Get out there and hug the person you chose to be with forever – which today, is YOU. Take care of yourself this week and can’t wait to talk to you again on the next episode with my husband all about our morning routine!