I conquered my FOURTH 5K!!

Hey y’all!! 
I am so incredibly proud of myself tonight... not to mention EXHAUSTED! Today was the day I returned to the 5K that started it all! After not being able to sleep well last night my morning began at 4:30am!! I had to make sure I made it in time to get my race packet and I live an hour from where the Memphis Botanic Gardens... So it was an EARLY morning. Once I got parked and got my race bib the nerves went into OVERDRIVE! 



I went to my car and sat for a good 20 minutes convincing myself that I was going to be fine! I can’t tell you how many times it crossed my mind to just drive off! But finally I got myself calmed down enough to go out and get set for the start of the race! As I waiting for the start of the race I struck up a conversation with a very sweet older lady and her husband. She told me she has taught special education teacher for years and had several students with Spina Bifida! She told me that she was in aw that I would have the determination to work so hard and do these 5K’s! As the race began she told me her and her husband would be looking for me at the finish line. As the race got under way and I got my stride going I totally wanted to cry! But thankfully I was able to keep my emotions in check! I hit the 1 mile mark in just over 18 minutes!! When I heard that I started to get more confident! As I was passing the 2 mile mark I noticed a little girl ahead of my walking with crutches. So I sped up a caught up to her and her momma and struck up a conversation! I told her she was such an inspiration to everyone walking and I was so proud of her! As I was talking to her mom she mentioned that she had Spina Bifida! Y’all I almost burst into tears when I heard that! How crazy is it that TWO Spina Bifida warriors were walking together in the same 5K?! As I got closer to the finish I said goodbye to her and her momma and went for it! I wanted to finish this 5K STRONG! As I was rounding the corner to the finish my walking app informed me that I hit 3 miles in UNDER and hour!!! As I headed into the finish line shoot I looked up and that’s when I saw them! The couple I had spoken to before the 5K had made good on their promise and was waiting for me at the finish line!! She came up to me as soon as I crossed line and gave me a big hug and told me she was so proud of me and that she would be telling her students all about me when she got back to school! 









Y’all I can honestly say God was working in AMAZING ways this morning! He put four AMAZING people in my path this morning and it made me realize how blessed I am to be able to be do these 5K’s and my daily walking! I have always said I don’t see myself as an inspiration. But if seeing me do these 5K’s inspires someone not to give up and to fight a little harder... Then I will continue to get out there and walk and do these 5K’s and spread awareness about Spina Bifida! 

❤️Hugs💙
Kelley 



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

97.60 miles from 2,000 miles!!

Image
Hey y'all!  So this has been one AMAZING week of walkin! I knew at the beginning of the week if I could push myself I would hit 1,900 miles before the end of the walkin week.. So you better believe that is exactly what I did! And it totally paid off because on Thursday morning I hit that magic number! But it definitely wasn't easy at all! Since I had pushed myself so hard the first half of the week when it came time to push and hit the last 2.80 miles my body was not having it! I knew when I started the walk that it was definitely going to be a struggle to finish.. But I was t about to just give up! I told myself it didn't matter how slow I went or how many times I had to stop  I was hitting 2,000 miles! And that is exactly what I did! Surprisingly I didn't have to stop a rest a whole lot but I was SUPER slow! But I pushed thru and hit 1,900 miles walked since November of 2016!!! I was definitely excited about this milestone but to be honest I was even more excited abou...
Read more

9.13 miles in TWO days

Image
Hey Y'all!  So when I saw earlier this week that North Mississippi was suppose to get a TON of rain today... I panicked! Hitting 500 is such a BIG deal to me and so I decided to push myself harder then I think I ever have.. and I walked a total of 9.13 miles in just TWO days! That is the most I have walked in just a 2 day period!  It was a little bit rough but I made it thru and I'm still able to walk just fine today. Some people may say "Your body can't handle that with your Spina Bifida!".... Well I'm here to tell you my body CAN  and DID handle it! Am I sore today... oh yeah! But that soreness isn't any worse then when I have walked any other day! I have had people tell me that "Oh your pushing yourself too hard!"! Most those people that tell me that don't know ANYTHING about Spina Bifida! Also I have had this body for 32 yrs I KNOW what it can and can't handle! Today is definitely a day of rest and relaxation... But you better believe...
Read more

And then there were TEN!!

Image
Hey y'all!!  Yesterday was such a HUGE morning of walking!! My body decided to wake me up SUPER early! Which was both good and bad... Good because it meant I was able to stretch out more and ice my knee... Bad in that it gave my anxiety more time to ramp up! I decided since I was up early I would go ahead and head to the race site and get checked in. So all summer long I have said my theme song for the year is "Fight Song" by Rachel Platten.. Y'all I kid you not that song came on not even two minutes into my drive! God works in mysterious ways is all I gotta say about that one! He knows what we need and when we need it! I arrived at the Memphis Botanic Gardens where the 5K was taking place, parked and went to check in!  After I checked in I went back to my car to just chill and TRY to relax... Who am I kidding relaxing was not happenin! My nerves were in OVERDRIVE so I decided to just get out of the car and go walk around a little bit to see if that would help... As I...
Read more