Running as Motivation

Runners dream big. We challenge ourselves daily. We set goals, some are accomplished while others may fall by the wayside. But it’s the challenge of being better today than we were yesterday, that keeps us coming back for more.

How do I find the focus and motivation to clock the mileage daily? How do someone who disliked waking up at 0430 for physical training (PT) in the military end up becoming an ultramarathoner? Well, it all started with a question? “Would anyone like to join me in training for a marathon?” -Lieutenant Jones

I’ll never forget standing in formation at the shock of the question. Then by me raising my hand. What was I thinking? Four months of training leading into the Spirit of Survival Marathon; Lawton, Oklahoma. The course is an out and back on rolling hills, surrounded by natures finest. The race runs through the prairie in the Wichita Mt. Wildlife Refuge of longhorn cattle and buffalos. For 26.2 miles it rained and I was miserable. I swore when I collapsed in my battle buddy arms, never again.

Never Say Never!!

Years later I moved to Fort Bragg, NC. Forgot all about my terrible first marathon experience. I became a member of The Fayetteville Running Club, Team RWB, and Wear Blue Run to Rember. I started with 5k’s, 10k’s, 15k’s onto half and full marathons. Then 12 and 24-hour races. To my amazement, June 2017, I did it.

What you ask??

Before I talk about the glory, let us talk about the before grind.

Months and miles of accomplishments and failures. You never truly know what the body is capable of until you truly begin to test its limits. That’s exactly what I did. Every day I trained. If I wasn’t sweating, I wasn’t training. If I wasn’t exhausted at the end of the day, I wasn’t training. If I wasn’t walking like a ‘robot’, I hadn’t trained hard enough. My race schedule on a month-to-month basis had even scared myself at one point. But if you don’t have goals, then you’ll never challenge yourself. Every day I challenged myself.

My goal,  Boogie 50 miler.

Hard work pays off.

The day started with me picking up my friend Lena, who came from out of town to also run her first 50-mile race. The one hour drive to the race, we went down memory lane on how all this came to be. The one constant was our friend, Veronica. A woman that is a friend and mentor to so many in the trail and ultra running community. We’ve both known her since 2011, living in North Carolina. Before I began running trails, I would always hear my friends talking about her accomplishments. Currently, she is training for Vol State 500k road race, July 2018. 314 miles from Missouri to Kentucky and finish atop Sand Mountain in Northeast Georgia.

BADASS!!

She has taught me everything I know about trail and ultra running. From how to fuel during a race. That it’s ok to walk the hills. My love for Hoka’s. No matter how tired and sore you are. The day after, recovery run, you will thank yourself later.

June 2017, I ran my first 50-mile race. At the start line, I was nervous and full of butterflies. But I knew I belonged alongside my friends. They cheered me on. They supported me. They motivated me. They pushed me when I wanted to quit. When all said and done, I crossed the finish line in 13:23:14.

Motivation

Next race, Boogie 50 miler

June 9th, 2018 

 

 

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Top 5 Bucket List Adventures

Writing down things you’d like to see or do can be a fun experience. But simply writing a Bucket List and never actually doing any of the items you listed, defeats the purpose. It’s time to have fun and live life to it’s fullest potential. PSA: If sharing those memories invlove someone special, the list was well worth it!

Where will 2018 take you? I have longed to travel and have new experiences.

Check out my Travel Bucket List for The Summer. 

1. Go to the North Carolina Zoo 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have loved animals my entire life. Sometimes on the weekend, you can catch me watching The Zoo on Animal Planet. May 2017, I visited the Aloha Safari Zoo, where their mission is to create a loving home for unwanted, mistreated and injured animals. It was as if, I was a kid in the candy store and I had been given freedom to roam. I was in ‘oh ah’ Heaven. One of my running friends, Daisy, mom has volunteered here for many years. Being that this visit was my first time ever going to a zoo, sparked this bucket list item as #1.

 

2. Camping 

Being that I am an endurance athlete, I’ve always admired my teammates who travel the world and participate in some of the most amazing races; such as, Western States. What I would give to be on that level of racing.

When athletes get together, we talk about everything from the comfort and the amenities of hotel life to the awesome views of sleeping under the stars. Although I have lived in North Carolina for years, I have not enjoyed the views of the mountains in my own backyard. Time for a change. This summer I plan to go on a road trip and hike Mt. Mitchell, the highest peak of the Appalachian Mountains. Can’t wait to take in the views.

 

3. Race Uwharrie 100k

In the military I despised running. Everyone was always much faster than me. If I could have come up with an excuse not to run, I would have gladly given one. But one day, my Lieutenant extended an offer to anyone who would be willing to run a marathon with him. To this day I have no idea why I raised my hand. We trained for three months. The day of the race it rained the entire 26.2 miles. When I finished, I remember me saying, never again.

I have been racing for nine years and proud to call myself an ultra marathoner. June 9th, I will be running my 2nd 50 miler. October 20th, I will be attempting my first 100k. Running 62 miles in the Uwharrie mountains with my awesome friends, making new memories. I learned to ‘never say never’.

 

4. Indoor Skydiving 

For the record, I am terrified of heights.. Although I have flown in a Black Hawk before, I can honestly say it was not by choice. I was oversees and had to be medically airlifted to Germany’s hospital. I may have been in pain but I vividly remember looking out the window peering down below at the people going about their business. Soaring above the buildings listening to the wind the blades made. It was an amazingly frightening adventure that I will remember for years to come.

Tempting fate this summer. Hopefully fear won’t overtake me and I chicken out, but come out on the winning end.

 

5. Become A Beast at Paint Ball 

Paintball has it’s own top 5 reasons of enjoyment. Who wouldn’t want to ’Devour’ the competition…

1. Friends
2. Fun
3. Adrenaline
4. Competition
5. Outdoors

I don’t know too much about paintball. Umm, let’s be honest, I don’t know ’squat’. What I do know; it looks amazingly fun. Nevermind trying to run and hide behind walls no bigger than a 4 ft. minion. But I strive off of competition, it gets the adrenaline going. I just have to get a team together so I can paint some multi-colored targets on people ’LoL’.

 

THE QUESTION REMAINS, WHY WRITE A BUCKET LIST?

Seize the day!

Live each day as if it’s your last!

Savor every minute!

Because life gets in the way. Our electronic devices have taken over. We forget what it means to have fun. Let’s reclaim the meaning behind ’living a full life of no regrets’.

Runner Tells Herself ‘Just Show Up For One More Mile’ — And Wins The Boston Marathon

To perform your best, you must show up. You must be willing to maintain your efforts until you have achieved your goals. April 16, 2018, Desiree Linden did just that. The first American woman to win the Boston Marathon since 1985. Thirty-three years ago, Lisa Larsen Weidenbach won with an astounding finishing time of 2:34:06. The course: fun, then sweat, then heartbreak hell. The race is challenging in itself; but after already running 20 ½ miles, it then becomes all mental.

With a finishing time of 2:39:54….

The 34-year-old two-time Olympian lives in Michigan, and she finished second at the Boston Marathon in 2011. But her victory this week almost didn’t happen.

In the cold rain and wind, Linden says she wasn’t feeling well and thought about bailing out of the race.

“It was such a miserable day, and when things go awry, they can kind of ding you up for a while and also take time out of your career,” she says. “I’m on the back half of my career, so I have to be super careful at this point. And early on, I was freezing and my muscles were tight, and I was like ‘This isn’t – this is not my day.’ So I did kind of toy around with the idea of stepping off.”

If you would like to read more, click here: https://www.npr.org/2018/04/17/603189901/runner-tells-herself-just-show-up-for-one-more-mile-and-wins-the-boston-marathon

Motivation

Is the reason’s for people’s actions, desires and needs. It’s the drive that pushes us daily. It’s what motivates us to be better today than the day before.

Years of training, sleepless nights, daily routines of logging miles and plenty of frequent flyer miles. Through it all, “Teamwork Makes Dreams Possible!” 

Here’s to motivating your DREAM

 

Welcome, and Pull Up a Chair!

Hello, If I can be honest. Writing a blog is scary and can be darn right nerve wrecking. So what I did was ask myself ‘Who Am I’ and ‘What Makes Me Me’ It’s funny even in my 40’s I’m still discovering who I am. But I truly doubt that I’m the only one. Now if you ask me what makes me happy, now that I can answer without thinking and I’m sure many of you can also relate. But I will do my best in sharing who I am and what makes me me.

I’m a nerd from Detroit “Motor City,” Michigan. Detroit is recognized as the historic heart of the American automotive industry. My father, papa, I would call him. Worked for Ford motor company for 20+ years before his passing. I was a ‘daddy’s girl,’ so wherever my papa went, so did little Patricia with her ponytails. One day we were having a daddy-daughter day. We were sitting in his car, him behind the wheel and me on his lap. I’ll never forget he was telling me stories about his life, his upbringing living in West Virginia. All while he was telling me stories, playing in the background were the sounds of ‘Smokey Robinson‘.  A Motown sound I still listen to.

I haven’t always known who I am or what I wanted to do with my life.

I’ve always had a passion for photos: capturing special moments, mostly my races. As an endurance athlete, I have put a ton of miles on my jeep, traveling up and down the North Carolina highways. Those experiences have allowed me to meet some awesome people, who also share my passion for outdoors.

One day at a race, a friend asked if I didn’t mind leading the race in Prayer. Of course, I didn’t mind but my first thought was, “why me?” She must have known because she later told me why. She said, “I asked you to Pray because we love you. Also, because you have a calm and welcoming demeanor. You’re able to motivate and inspire others.” That single moment awakened something inside of me.

Passion

I’m the old lady on her computer daily searching for new and upcoming races. I’ll be the one in the back of the pack bringing up the rear of most races but having fun and always with a smile on my face.  Running Saved My Life- When I didn’t know if I should turn right, left or go straight. When everything in my life seemed to be falling apart. Times when I felt as if I was taking up space in the universe. When I felt I had nothing and nobody, I could always count on running. No matter how fast or slow I run, I’m happy. I sign up for races for two reasons: to spend time with friends that have the same passion as I. To know after I run the miles, I can treat myself afterward. -Starbucks

The Journey-

I’ve always been the type of person that refuses the negative in things. I prefer to look deeper to see the positive in everything. We all have bad moments. Bad days. Bad experiences. Including myself. How many of us can say we have also learned a valuable lesson from those situations? Let me be the first to raise my hand. In everyday life situations and circumstances.

So to answer the question, Who Am I? I’m a runner. I’m a runner that uses her passion in the hopes of motivating and inspiring others.

Mission-

I fell in love with the power behind Motivation and Inspiration. I have always desired to be used as a positive force. I aspire to provide a helping hand when a person’s struggling. Whether it be a struggle with emotional and/or mental issues. People tend to focus on their negative problems, but I wish to help them focus on the many positive solutions available to them.

Below are examples of possible positive solutions:

• Talk it Out
• Prayer
• Meditation
• Journaling
• Exercising

Think with me for a minute: if I asked your closest friends or family to tell me how many phone calls or brunch dates centered around your ‘worry and/or fear’. Would they tell me: all, most, some or none?

We have the tools and skills to kick ‘worry and fear’ in the butt, let’s begin to use them.

Thank you!

Happiness & Joy!

Patricia Bloxson