Beyond thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I feel it is time to summarize what has taken place over the past month and a half to help clarify not only why I have failed to post anything, but more importantly to illustrate how incredibly thankful I am for everything that I have…

Life has been a whirlwind over the past few months, from the engagement to the triathlon…and now a big move to Houston. Yep, you read right, I have accepted a great job in Houston and we are leaving in a few short days. I know what you might be thinking, “Moving to Houston?? Why would you ever want to leave Austin?” Truth be told, making the decision to leave Austin was one of the hardest things Bryan and I have done. Despite the overwhelming fear of leaving a ton of friends and the beloved city where we met behind, we truly believe that this is the right move for us and are excited to see what the future holds.

Change is scary. And I am the first one to admit that I don’t usually deal with it very well. But thanks to the support of our friends and family we are ready to dive into our adventure head first. Over the past few months I have felt beyond blessed to have so many amazing people in my life and I owe all of my confidence in this move to them. Not only did all of my closest friends know about Bryan’s surprise proposal, but they kept it a secret and were more than willing to show up and celebrate our special day. I also had an amazing cheering section at my triathlon who gave me the strength I needed to sprint to the finish line and finish in a blaze of glory.

Now, as we face one of the biggest changes in our life to date, our friends and family are once again there to keep us strong. I knew not everyone would react positively to our move…after all, we are no longer going to be living in the same city with the people who matter most to us. That can be a hard pill to swallow. Despite the sadness that this news brought, everyone has told us how happy they are for our opportunity and how excited they are to visit us in Houston. If that doesn’t tell you we have true friends, I don’t know what does. They could have easily been upset and tried to convince us not to leave, but instead they put their emotions aside and supported us – like they always do.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and this year I want to reflect on the amazing people we have in our lives. Without them, we would be empty and estranged. I now know that, no matter where we are in the world, whether in a different city, state or country, we will always be able to count on our friends and family for love and encouragement.

Of course, I am incredibly thankful for Bryan, my fiance and my best friend. He has been nothing short of amazing since day 1 and I wouldn’t have been able to make this decision without his unwavering support. We are a team, a family, and he has shown me what it means to be loved unconditionally. Thank you, darling, for always having my back and for helping me see the positive side of everything. I can’t wait to take off on our new adventure, knowing that as long as I have you, life will be exactly as it needs to be.

And to every one of our friends and family members who may be reading this, THANK YOU. Thank you for always being there, for being unbiased and for telling it like it is. For dropping any plans you may have had just to spend time with us, and for making us feel like the most special couple in the entire world. We love each and every one of you so much it hurts. Thank you for being you :)

Holy S#%T

In less than 24 hours I will be in the middle of the biggest physical challenge I have ever faced: my first triathlon. I think the title of this post pretty much sums up how I’m feeling today…

Despite having over 3 months of training under my belt, I can’t help but be a little anxious about what I am about to do. Up until this point, I never would have imagined that I would be a triathlete. I was managing a trip to the gym about twice a week. In April I got a personal trainer, and even then was only getting out of bed at 6 AM to work out because I was financially obligated. There were days where I just didn’t feel like exercising, so I didn’t. No matter what my excuse was, I found a way to justify my lack of activity in any way possible.

I still can’t recall what actually inspired me to register for the Kerrville Triathlon. Maybe it was that Bryan had bought me a gorgeous road bike for my birthday and I needed something to motivate me to ride it. Maybe it was my conscience telling me I needed to do something meaningful with my life. Or maybe I didn’t really have any inspiration at all, maybe it was a dare to myself to see if I could really do it. Whatever the reason, I’m glad I did.

As I reflect back on my preparation, I can’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. This summer was absolutely brutal, with 3 straight months of temperatures above 100 degrees. Needless to say training in the heat 5 days a week was torture and extremely unpleasant. There were only a handful of days where I manged to get up at 6 AM and train when it was cooler. But the majority of the time I would wait until the sun went down so that it would only be in the 90’s when I ran or rode my bike. Even then, drinking water did me no good. Every time I would take a sip, my mouth would immediately go dry as if I had never even attempted to hydrate. I battled the scorching sun, dizziness and outright fatigue. There were days were I would break down and cry because the training never seemed to get easier. Even after countless crashes that left me bruised and bleeding (not to mention my run in with a city bus), I managed to find enough courage within myself to keep going. At times I thought my body would give up on me – but it never did. The biggest challenge was actually in my mind. I needed to trust myself and believe in my abilities. It took me a while, but I made it.

I owe a lot of my strength to the amazing people in my life. Throughout everything, I have received a tremendous amount of encouragement and support for which I am truly thankful. No doubt my heart and mind will be racing the moment we embark on the drive and the reality of the situation sets in. But what do I have to lose? I am ready, both mentally and physically.

Coincidentally, as I’m writing this a Snow Patrol song comes on my Pandora station and says exactly what I needed to hear: “Just say yes, just say there’s nothing holding you back.” And it’s true. There is NOTHING holding me back. No matter what happens between now and tomorrow morning, I will race and I will finish. Even if it takes me longer than everyone else, I will not stop and I will not give up.

There’s no turning back now…I’ll see you at the finish line!