2,000 miles CONQUERED!

My journey to learning how to walk wasn't like the average person. In fact before I was born doctors told my parents that I wouldn't be able to walk AT ALL! And IF I did I would most definitely need the assistance of a walker. Well for the first 4yrs of my life it seemed like they may be right. The only type of walking I did was with the assistance of a walker... Then some thing clicked inside and I said I was going to be like the normal kids who didn't use a walker... And y'all I have never looked back! In November of 2016 I set out on what would prove to be one of the biggest and most rewarding walking journeys I have ever been on! When I started this journey my intent was just to walk 1-2 days a week. Nothing big, just get to know the neighbors in the neighborhood I had just moved into and maybe get me in a little better shape than I was in at the time.... Little did I know at the time but I was about to CONQUER things no one EVER thought I would! I still remember the first time I was able to walk over a mile... At the time I thought "Wow it can't get any bigger than this!".... And then I made it over 2 miles and I thought"Ok it definitely doesn't get any better than this.... And then I hit 3.10 miles for the first time! Y'all my 1-2 day a week walking quickly turned into 2X a day, 6-7 days a week, 16-18 miles a week!! In July of 2017 a friend of mine jokingly said "With all the walking you do have you ever thought about walking in a 5K?". My first reaction was "Yeah that's NEVER gonna happen! Girls with Spina Bifida don't walk in 5K's... Do they?!"! I was always the one who didn't get to play sports because of my Spina Bifida! Sure I had seen my dad and my sisters run TONS of 5K's and marathons but I couldn't do that... Could I?! I went home that night and made a post on Facebook joking about it and a friend of mine commented "I'll do one with you!"..... And within 24hrs of that comment I was officially signed up for my first 5K!!! August 27th 2017 will be a day I will absolutely NEVER forget y'all! It was the day I felt like I FINALLY proved all those doctors wrong! It was the day I CONQUERED something I NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS thought I would.... It's the day I CONQUERED my very 1st 5K!!! I had an AMAZING group of ladies with me to help me get thru it and I CONQUERED that 5K in 1hr 7mins!!! Walking across that finish line was one of the most emotional and rewarding experiences ever! The tears were definitely flowing! Since that first 5K I have gone on to CONQUER 8 more 5K's y'all.... And in just 2 weeks I will CONQUER my TENTH 5K!!! Another BIG walking moment came on March 5th 2018... When I hit 1,000 miles walked since 2018!! Y'all I think I may have been more emotional about that than I was when I conquered all my 5K's!! At the beginning of this year I set my sights on two of my biggest goals yet.... 1)CONQUERING 5K number TEN and 2)Hitting 2,000 miles walked since November of 2019.... Well this week I made one of those goals a reality... When I hit 2,000 miles walked since November of 2016!!! 



It wasn't easy getting there though! I had to push myself harder this week than I have in a LONG time!! I CONQUERED 3 mornings of walks that were 2 miles or more! And in total I walked over 15 miles in just FIVE days!!! I knew Thursday morning that I only needed around 1.80 miles... But I figured this 1.80 miles wasn't going to be easy... And I was right! I had pushed my body so hard the four days before that my body was EXHAUSTED! To make matters worse the weather wasn't all that great so I ended up moving my walk to the treadmill! And we all know how I feel about that one! Even though it was harder than I would have liked... I still made it happen! Y'all when I looked down and saw that I was at 1.80 miles I just started to cry!!! I was the girl no one thought would ever walk... And yet here I was hitting a HUGE milestone! It was such a HUGE moment for me! Definitely one I will never forget! 













Now that I have CONQUERED 2,000 miles it's time to focus my attention on hitting my second BIG goal for 2019... CONQUERING my TENTH 5K!!! My God is bigger than Spina Bifida and I can't wait to see where this AMAZING journey takes me next! 



🎗Hugs🎗
Kelley 

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