namasté

in the midst of all the craziness of life, you sometimes find peace when you’re not looking for it. ‘perpetually overwhelmed’ is the phrase i’ve been using lately to best describe how i’m feeling. but this morning on a run with starksthepup i found calm within the chaos. it was super foggy and it covered the pond by our house with a haze of gray. but because of all the rain we got yesterday everything else was bright green. there was no one else around (it was 5:45 in the morning…) but i was so peaceful. the fresh air, the blooming flowers, the raindrops falling from the leaves; and just me and the pup running. it was a simply wonderful way to start the day.

photos taken along the walking trail in maple grove, mn

cheers to a new year [2013 forecast]

well, here we are. ending the first week of janurary, and i find myself thinking, “self, wasn’t new years like a few weeks ago? no? it was this past week? oh, ok.” this year already seems to be going fast. coming off a great year in 2012 i am looking forward to this year. i love fresh starts and new beginnings that the first of each year holds; so far my year is filling up quite nicely. a brand new year. cheers to 2013, friends! xoxo

“and now we welcome a brand new year, full of things that have never been.” rainer maria rilke

january

• travelin’ down south to san antonio to check out the UC site for this year
• heading to miami (bitch) to get a couple days of sun in before my cruise and visit my cousin, her hubby and lil peanut sabine
• going on my first ever cruise to help in celebrating the wedding of my dear friends katie and jesse
• watch the young pup play hoops at the Target Center
• start officially moving into Brandon’s and be a resident of the burbs *gasp*

february

• valentines day TC 5K

march

• hosting my very own half day workshop, unleashing the power of social media, at EXHIBITOR2013 (yayyyyy!)
• followed by exporing vegas with my momma

april

• celebrate my 3 year PeopleNet anniversary
• Get in Gear 10K
• lil brother goes to his first prom

may

• turning the big 2-4
• two year blogiversary of this very blog

july

• round 2 of the april sorenson half marathon.

august

• traveling to san antonio, tx for some armadillo races and MIH at our 11th annual UC

december

• spencer GRADUATES!

the weekend i rocked the half marathon (7.6.12-7.8.12)

already the start of a new weekend and i’ve still yet to document the previous. for shame. dang my busy schedule and lack of internet at my apartment! anyways, i had an EPIC weekend (last weekend) as i conquered a half marathon! yayyyyyyy!

friday:

i got to work from my home office and that night i went to pick up my official race day packet. then we went to dinner and i carb loaded on some pasta, then did a short jog with my pops to keep my legs loose for race day!

saturday – RACE DAY!

months of training, preparation, everything… all comes down to one day. i was excited and nervous. i honestly was wondering what i had gotten myself into. i knew that i was ready. i knew that i was capable of rocking it. and the time had come to shine…

6:00AM: wake up, isotonix, coffee, 1/2 power bar, stretch

7:00AM: head to the starting place(get a few butterflies)

7:15AM: runner’s to the starting point

7:28AM: shotgun start and GO!

when the shotgun sounded a got a HUGE surge of adrenaline. it was unlike anything i’ve ever felt before. ‘some nights by fun.’ was the first song on my playlist and as i set off i couldn’t help but get a giant grin on my face, realizing the awesomeness of what i was about to accomplish…

5 miles in:

that smile on my face is actually real! i had my tunes rockin’ and i felt great!

6 miles in:

girl look at that booty, I WORK OUT. just shy of halfway and i was havin’ fun!

7 miles in:

and then the fatigue starts to set in… still feelin’ good tho.

10 miles in:

the smile on my faced is real,but only to trick my mind into believing we are still having fun. around mile 9-10 my legs started to kill… they were like, “emma, we’re kind of tired, and i think we would like to not be doing this anything.” and it was then when i truly understood how much of a mental game running a marathon is. i could have easily gave up, but i didn’t. i have come this far… only 3 miles to go… this is what you’ve been working towards… you got this!

miles 12-13:

this was the biggest mental battle… i was so close, but so far away from that finish line. just a little bit more. and then the wind picked up. but when i made that final turn and saw the finish line i pushed with every single thing i had left in me.

the finish line:

1 hour and 58 minutes on the nuts. when i first started training, my goal was to finish in under 2 hours. so as soon as i could see the clock i hauled ass to make sure i made that goal.

holy moly i did it!!!!!! 

my whole family was there to support me <3

evolution of a marathon…

couldn’t have done it without my trainer/ daddy

thirteen point freakin’ one.

after oodles of pictures documenting the moment, we got some egg mcmuffin’s and headed back home to relax. mom and i then went to get hands down, the best pedicures EVER. the woman gave me like a 20 minute leg massage and i thought i died and went to heaven. was amazing. the rest of the weekend was pretty relaxing. still in awe that i actually ran 13.1 miles in 1:58. it was both the hardest and the most amazing thing i have ever done. and a feeling i will never forget.