RACE REPORT: Savage Race Team

At the beginning of the year, I was approached about assembling an obstacle race team for Savage Race Mid-Atlantic, an intense 5-7 mile muddy obstacle course.  Admittedly, it didn't take much to convince me to form the team and before I knew it, our team had begun to grow.  I was pumped about the number of first time obstacle racers who were eager to sign up; obstacle racing is intimidating for newbies and often it takes A LOT of convincing to get people to sign up. A few of the athletes wanted assurances that I was confident they could complete the race, but most accepted the challenge with enthusiasm.

A few months out from the race, I was asked to develop a training program for the athletes on the team. I was already doing an obstacle race training session once a week as part of goRun (the running club I launched in March) but my Savage Team was requesting a special session on Sunday mornings that would be a more advanced version of the Tuesday session. I was still very new to the world of fitness training- I'd never done anything like it before- but I was in love with the idea of it.  I've done my fair share of obstacle races and I'd always trained myself so I thought it would be fun to train an entire team.

So, the Sunday Savage training sessions were, well...brutal. Some days, while watching my team carry sandbags, flip tires, swing sledgehammers, and run 400m laps around the building, I would think to myself "wow, I wouldn't want to do this workout." But this crew showed up every Sunday and took whatever madness I dished out.  Truly impressive!!

Drew

I clearly didn't consider his size when designing this workout! (Foreshadowing of things to come as Drew was stuck in the pipe obstacle for like 20 minutes.)

 goSavage ladies, Jess and Lauren

Lauren

Jess

A few weeks out from the race, Emily, one of the athletes I coach who just started running in January during my beginner's 5K program, decide to join. She was a little behind the eight ball since the rest of the team had been training for weeks now but she wasn't deterred.  She held her own during the workouts but she only got to participate in a couple of them so I was a little concerned about whether she would be mentally prepared to tackle what would be a difficult course.

Don't let the pigtails fool you...

Emily tackling the trails of
Little Bennett Regional Park

Emily, Drew and Lauren having some "fun"

Savage Mobile

On race day, five of us piled into The Savage Mobile (aka Drew's Jeep) in the wee hours of the morning and headed to the course which was about a 2.5 hour drive.  The drive there was hilarious- great conversation, a coffee stop, and MANY bathroom stops (you learn a lot about people when you race with them, apparently half our team has "nervous bladder" syndrome). The rest of our team met us at the race site.  We picked up our packets and got some pre-race photos.

Good looking bunch!

There was a ton of nervous energy among the team members. As we stood at the start line waiting for our wave to start, the newbies' anticipation had reached fever pitch. When the gun went off, our team took to the course like a stampede, equal parts excitement and fear. Prior to the race there was much discussion about which obstacle each person dreaded/feared the most; many citing the shock wires, high platform jump, and sawtooth monkey bars.  I, however, knew better.  By far, the worst obstacle on the course would be the dumpster full of ice water.

Now, I know what you're thinking. It's just ice water, how bad could it be. VERY BAD!! And guess which obstacle was first on the course...yeah. Perhaps it was better that the rest of my team didn't know what to expect on this one. They were so distracted by fear of later obstacles that they didn't see it coming...





Halfway across the dumpster, there was a 2"x8" board which forced every competitor under the water. When you came out on the other side, it felt like your chest was being crushed and to make it all even more fun, you very quickly realize that your nervous system is in complete shock and the signals traveling from your brain that tell your arms and legs to move are not being received by your muscles; but wait...there's more- every person in front of you is experiencing the exact same thing, rendering them practically physically incapable of getting out of the dumpster. And then there's you, stuck treading water in a dumpster full of ice, no way out, body not cooperating, in a terrified panic-stricken state.  Sorta like this...

No exaggeration!!

Even when you do manage to get out of the dumpster (and, don't worry, we all eventually did), your skin stings and every muscle in your body is frozen solid. So, yeah, kinda difficult to run.  Of course, the next half-mile after the dumpster was the only shady part of the course...

Given that I was injured and wasn't able to train, I was pretty impressed with my own performance on the course.  This was, after all, the first race of the year for me. I found Savage Race to be the most enjoyable obstacle race I've ever done; it was a fabulous mix of mental and physical challenges.Most notably, I was proud of myself for completing the Sawtooth Bars (no, I did NOT use my legs...I'm not a cheater).  This was something I'd never guessed I could do.  When I got across, I had to fight back the tears (captains don't cry). A close second, was getting up Colossus with no assistance.

making it look easy

I've titled this one: uncomfortable rope burn

Even earning myself a spot in Savage Race history on a promotional shot.

That's me on the far left

Overall, I have to say that I was very impressed with the entire team; however, one stood out above everyone else, Emily.



The most remarkable things about that day- the two things that I'll remember above all else (including my own personal, previously-unimaginable, achievements)- is Emily and her endless bravery. It was no secret that Emily was not as fast or as strong as the rest of the team members (remember she JUST started running and she missed weeks of training for this race) but what she lacked in speed, strength, and overall preparation, she more than made up for in courage. It couldn't have been easy for Emily to be running behind the team for the second half of the course or knowing that they'd prepared 10 times as long as she had. These factors would have worn on most athletes, systematically tearing them down with every step they took...but not Emily. Nothing seemed to get into her head. She had no business thinking she could do this...  or this...  or even this...

But you know what? She did it anyway. One word: BRAVERY. Now, I'm not suggesting that she was fearless, far from it, in fact. Bravery is not the absence of fear; it's having fear and acting in spite of it. I've heard it said "Superman is not brave. You can't be brave when you're indestructible. It's every day people like you and me that are brave, knowing we could easily be defeated, but still continue forward." Emily is a very smart young woman, she knows she could fail. But she did it anyway and that's a very rare quality, one I admire more than athletic ability, or strength, or speed. Athletes can be trained to be strong and fast but bravery comes only from within the athlete and it usually can't be coached out of them. This one quality is more valuable than any physical ability because you can be the strongest and fastest person on the team and it means absolutely nothing if you are driven by fear and doubt.

Emily was my takeaway from Savage Race and I wasn't the only one who thought so. I will remember that day for as long as I live and I hope that one day I can be as brave as Emily.

You've earned it, Em!

Congratulations Team goSavage!! It was a pleasure to train you and race beside you.

Special thanks to Josue for boosting me over that 8 foot wall!!

Hills & The Stories We Tell Ourselves

Something really awesome happened this weekend, not to me, it happened to one of my athletes during our Saturday group run.  The run itself was seemingly unremarkable- miserable is probably an appropriate descriptor- it was 46 degrees and raining.  Part of our route went through a closed road which is under construction that the rain turned into a muddy mess and we had to cross this section twice since the course was out-and-back.  I'm talking mud the texture of quicksand, for a good 75 feet.

Okay, this MAY be a slight exaggeration.

The route I picked was pretty hilly.  Well, in fairness, it was not just hilly, it was HILLY. Several large, long, steep, scary hills. Naturally, I did not warn my athletes, I just told then which direction to go and they headed out, me peddling my bike along side of them.

Fast forward, 30 minutes later...remember I said that this route was HILLY?  Well, the three worst hills are in the last mile of the course and they are brutal. I was riding along side of two runners, Jessica and Beth, when we got to the first of these hills and they were holding a 10 minute per mile pace.  I put on my coaching hat and encouraged them to hold that pace up this REALLY long hill...and they did.

But their legs, sadly, were pretty much toast at this point.

Then, a little over a half-mile later, we hit the second of the aforementioned hills, not as long as the previous, but pretty darn steep.  Jessica began to pull ahead (speed demon) but I stuck with Beth.  What Beth didn't know at the time was that she was holding a pace that I had never before seen her run.  I had been working with her for more than 2 months and this pace was incredible for her- and she was 3.5 miles in.  Impressive.  But she began to struggle on this second hill.  Her breathing pattern changed and it became obvious to me that she was panicking.  I encouraged her to settle down as we got to the top of this hill but we both knew that the excruciating uphill finish was still coming.  I coached her through breath control and form but I could feel her frustration.  So I did what I had to do, I let her in on the secret: "Beth, you are running a 10-minute per mile pace, so if it feels hard it's because you're killing it not because you're weak." I don't think she believed me at first but I assured her that she was in fact running faster than she ever had, for almost 4 miles, in the rain, through the mud. And with that, she found her second wind.

Here she is in between Hill #1 and Hill #2.

When we got to the third and final hill, the end was in sight.  I told her that all she had to do was get up this last hill and finish strong. I told her she could slow down but she could not stop.  I stayed by her side, offering encouragement, as she powered up the hill to the finish crossing in just over 40 minutes.  She was in tears, she had done the impossible.  I gave her a big hug and was overcome with pride.  This was an amazing accomplishment and I had the great honor of being there beside her when she pulled it off. 

What I haven't mentioned yet is that Beth had been told by a doctor that she could not run due to lower back issues.  That didn't stop her from doing my beginner's 5K program (she was actually the reason I did the program- her request prompted me to create the program) where over the past 8 weeks, we'd worked her up very gradually, from 1.5 miles to 5K.  On this particular Saturday, we went 4 miles and she crushed it!!

You earned it Beth! 

I've found, both in my own life and with the athletes I've coached, that most often the barriers to achieving awesome things are just stories in our heads- an internal monologue of self-doubt, fear of failure, and excuses- they're not real and they have very little, if any, basis in fact or reality.  Sometimes it starts with an external influence (a diagnosis, naysayers, etc.) but when we internalize it, it becomes our own voice, a voice we trust blindly, a voice we don't question.  It plays like a broken record in our minds, preventing us from taking a chance, stepping outside of our comfort zone, and finding our own greatness.

True story.

I have been guilty of this on numerous occasions myself.  I even blogged about my own struggles with this before (see The Big Box post). These stories are self-imposed limits. The things we tell ourselves, consciously and unconsciously, make us stop short and ultimately keep us from seeing and reaching our true potential.  So, what if we just changed our minds? What if we decided to start telling ourselves another story? What if we picked up a new script? Take Beth for example, what would happen if instead of the "I can't run" story or the "I'm not strong enough to..." story, she told herself the "I am a strong and powerful runner who eats hills for breakfast" story? I'll tell you what would happen, she would power through a very difficult 4-miler at an incredible pace.  She would recognize that the only barrier she ever really had was the story she was telling herself and that story was fiction.  The problem wasn't her body, it was her head.  She thanked me profusely but it was all her.  HER legs, HER back, HER will. The only thing I did was give her another story to tell herself. 

This is why I so willingly challenge my athletes with hills.  I know they hate it but hills expose runners for what they truly are.  Hills build character and tenacity.  They are just like any other life struggle, you'll discover more about yourself in the middle of them than at any other time.  Avoiding challenges is not a habit we should get into, in running or in life.

Are you a hill seeker?

Way to go Beth!!  I know you've set your sights on a 10K on April 27th and you can bet I'll be there to hug you when you crush that too.  

RACE REPORT: St. Patrick's Day Weekend Activities

As you saw in my previous post, I am injured and can't run so I had to scrap the half-marathon and 5K I had on my race calendar for this past weekend; instead, I did something I never get to do- I served as a one-woman runner support crew...twice...in the same weekend. (Runner friends: if you have never been a part of a race day support crew before, you need to do it immediately, it's so incredibly exciting and rewarding.) Eight runners from my beginner's 5K running program signed up for a couple of races over the St. Patrick's Day weekend.  I had planned to run with them before...well, you know.  These ladies had worked so hard over the past weeks in my training program and there was simply no way I was going to let any injury stop me from being there to support and hug them when they crossed that finish line.  So this post will include two race reports, neither of which I actually ran in...

Rock & Roll USA Race Report- My weekend began at 4:00AM on Saturday morning when I got up, readied myself and packed a bag full of race day essentials for my runners. I had three 5K runners and one half-marathoner (not a beginner but I'll get into Lauren later) to support and I planned to take the role of coach and race day support crew very seriously.  I even made a sign.

My very first race sign-making experience!

I helped my runners get focused in the corral, pinned on their race numbers, made sure they had water, held their belongings, and gave them each a pre-race hug to wish them good luck.  I found a place at the finish line and camped out with my camera where I waited with anticipation. When my first runner, Alissa, crossed the line, I teared up.  She came in so fast and strong.  It was a VERY emotional moment for me when I looked up and saw the clock as she crossed the finish line.  But then the next two, Emily and Dodi, came in with the same gusto only minutes behind Alissa.  I was absolutely overjoyed.  When I saw these ladies post-race, I hugged them so hard. I was so proud of what they'd done and how far they'd come.

 Not even two "bad" runs leading into race day and a calf cramp at the start could stop Dodi (on the left).

Baltimore Shamrock 5K- at 10:45AM on Sunday, this crew of four 5K runners and I met up and drove Baltimore.  I revised my sign from the day before to include this group of runners...

...even adding some St. Patty's Day flair.

I walked to the start with my runners, got some pre-race photos, hugged them all, wished them luck and walked back to the finish area to await their arrival.  I found a spot right at the finish line and before I knew it the first of my runners, Jessica, was cruising in WAY faster than anticipated- three minutes faster!! The race is 3.1 miles so, doing quick math in my head, she took almost an entire minute per mile off her goal time- totally incredible!! That made me get emotional again (I'm such a sap, I know). The rest of my runners, Lauren, Beth and Sasha, came in with amazing times too and each time one crossed that line, I felt a tremendous sense of pride in them and for them. Each one looked so strong at the finish, Beth was even throwing elbows on her way in- that's my girl :) I was totally blown away by this group, they made it look easy.

Too much pre-race hydration and free post-race beer plus horrible Baltimore parade/race traffic equals emergency bathroom stops at random hotels and hospital emergency rooms.  Adventures in Baltimore...but that's another story for another day.

It was a truly unique experience for me to have the opportunity to support so many awesome runners in one weekend. I expected to feel pretty bummed that I couldn't run these races with them but all I felt was overwhelming pride and joy. The memories made at these two races will be with me for years to come.  

   

So, back to Lauren (in the left picture above she is furthest to the right and in the right picture she is behind me with the green t-shirt).  Although she is not anywhere close to being a beginner (she was a pacer for the participants and served as my program support), she also had some accomplishments as well that I have to highlight and share.  This gal didn't just run (for the first time ever) back-to-back races, she ran a half marathon PR (by an astonishing 5 minutes) on Saturday and then a sub-30 minute 5K on Sunday! A truly awesome and inspiring athlete! I hope that she got a glimpse of just how tremendous her true potential is (I see it regularly during our 5:30AM workouts- it's undeniable). Congratulations, Lauren, on your amazing back-to-back finishes and thank you for your efforts which helped to make this 5K program a success!!

As I shared with my runners recently in a program wrap-up email, I am blown away by the progress they've made and the transformations that have occurred. It was only eight short weeks ago that this group began the process, many were convinced that they couldn't run 1.5 miles without stopping, and they smashed all expectations!  I couldn't be prouder of this group and I'm so incredibly grateful that they have allowed me to be a part of their journey. What an awesome honor to have been their coach.  

Setbacks and Life's Little Inconveniences

Four weeks off.  That's the prognosis I received last week from my orthopedist.  As a runner and an athlete, I know these days will come.  You can't push your body to the extent I push mine and expect that nothing will ever go wrong.  Fortunately, these times are very infrequent for me but when they come they tend to be HUGE.  Last time I sat in that chair, I was looking at a fractured hip and 8-12 months off of ALL activity.

Truthfully, I had expected worse news when I entered the orthopedist's office last Friday.  Two and a half weeks ago, in the middle of a Hurricane workout (don't ask) I was no longer able to put weight on my right leg.  My lower leg became extremely unstable and it felt like my shinbone was breaking.  The pain was eerily familiar and I knew in an instant that I had a stress fracture- there is simply no mistaking that feeling, once you've felt what a stress fracture feels like you never forget it.  A thousand thoughts ran through my head.  How am I supposed to coach the 20 runners in my beginner's 5k training program if I can't run?  How am I supposed to launch a running club in three weeks if I can't lead the weekly group runs? I have a bunch of races this Spring that I can't transfer out of.  And on and on and on.  There simply could not be a worse time to be injured.  I felt my 21 Promises slipping away.

I immediately set up an appointment with my orthopedist who promptly ordered an MRI and a week later I was back in his office to hear the news.  Dr. Hampton walked in, shook my hand and asked when my next race is.  March 15th, half-marathon...nope! Okay, next is March 16th, 5k...nope again! April 12th, 17.75k...eehh, probably not.  May 4th, 10-miler..DING DING DING!!! Diagnosis- severe bone bruising on my tibia. It's a stress-related injury from (over)use.  Before a bone cracks it "bruises" and becomes very weak. Apparently, my shinbone is so bruised that one more jump, one more mile, could (literally) be the straw that breaks my tibia. It means 4 weeks of no running, jumping or impact of any kind.  If there had been a stress fracture, I would be off for 6-8 weeks.  I had caught it just in time and saved myself 2-4 weeks.

Whew!!

What does it mean? It means I have to scrap four Spring races I'd planned to run, three of which I had already registered/paid for, one was my guaranteed ticket into the Marine Corps Marathon.  It means that I am going to have to fight extremely hard to come back from this injury and salvage the rest of my Spring race season. It means that it's going to be way more difficult to keep my 21 Promises. It means that I am going to lose a ton of ground and momentum so I will have to think very strategically.

Think. Think. Think.

In life, there will always be setbacks and inconveniences.  For every goal you have, there will be a hundred obstacles in your way.  There will be many moments where you'll have the wind knocked out of you.  If you let it, the universe will hand you a thousand excuses for why you couldn't reach your goals and you'll never run out of reasons for throwing in the towel.  But the object isn't to never get knocked down, it's to never stay down.  Bottom line, I made Promises and I intend to keep them. ALL OF THEM.

After the hip fracture 3 1/2 years ago, I promised that I would never take another run for granted because it could all be gone in an instant.  I vowed to come back stronger and faster and that's exactly what I did.  This time will be no different.  Accomplishing all 21 Promises was going to be challenging if everything went perfectly, now it will be borderline impossible.  Sure, I could curl up in a ball and scrap the list OR I could work my tail off doing what I have been cleared to do (bike, swim, weight train), maintain my fitness and allow the bone to heal so that, come April 1st, I am ready primed and ready.  In truth, I know it will be a very steep uphill battle but if I can pull it off, it will make for a really awesome blog post.

That's my motivation.

21 Promises

Happy to report that I have (finally) completed my list of goals for 2014.

That's certainly the plan but let's see if we can't "flesh it out" a bit.

However, this year instead of setting goals, I'm making promises (an idea I am "borrowing" from Coach Corey), 21 Promises in fact.  2013 was awesome and it would be easy for me to rest on my laurels following such a tremendous year but deep down I know I can do better.  So this year, I've decided to go all out, hold nothing back and pour my heart and soul into 2014 like it's my last year on Earth.  

Now I've never had a list this massive before and you'll soon see as you read on that these "21 Promises" are incredibly ambitious (whether bravely or foolishly so remains to be seen).  Once I finished the list, I immediately began to feel totally overwhelmed but I've committed to it and there's no turning back now.  My focus then shifted to game plan. 

It occurred to me that if I'm going to pull off such a monumental feat, I have to remain focused on the "why" for each Promise I made.  With a list this impressive if I lose sight of the "why" during the year, I won't get the job done and that's simply not an option.  So I went back through the list and wrote out the reason why every Promise made the list to serve as a constant reminder of the driving force behind each Promise.  There WILL be moments throughout the year when I'm tired, stressed, and inundated- this is unavoidable; however, the "why" is the mechanism that will keep moving me forward. The deeper the "why", the more likely I am to get it done (because, let's face it, "I want my clothes to fit better" or "I want to be in better shape" will only take me so far and will not get my tired/stressed/inundated butt out of bed with any regularity). 

Now, without further delay, I give you...

21 Promises

1. Complete a very challenging trail half-marathon. WHY: because I want to be as bad-ass off road as I am on the road.  The half-marathon is my “sweet spot” and it’s time to take it up a notch!

2. Run a 1:48 half-marathon. WHY: given my recent back-to-back marathon performance, I should be able to get 5 or 6 minutes of my personal best time for this distance…but that’s not awesome enough for me this year so instead I will take at least 7 minutes off of my time.  I see some serious speedwork in my future…

3. Complete 15 road/trail/obstacle races. WHY: two words- Race. Bling. 

4. Set personal records in 4 distances. WHY: last year, I set 3 PRs in 2 distances (marathon & half-marathon) but I can do better than that!  Plus, it gives me a chance to revisit a few distances that I’ve not raced recently (5k, 10k, 10 mile, etc.).

5. Research, select, and sign up for an ultra-marathon for 2015. WHY: because I’ve heard that 0.5% of the U.S. population has run a marathon but less than 0.1% have run an ultra-marathon and I want to belong to THAT club.  I figure, since I’m already out there for more than 26 miles at a shot, what’s a few more miles? The search begins for the perfect ultra for me to tackle in 2015.

6. Reach a body fat percentage of 17.5% . WHY: honestly, my coach suggested this one but I want to do it just to prove that I can because the definition I’ve developed in my arms lately is astonishing and now I want my legs to match.

7. Get fitness assessment score of 450 by June 1^st. WHY: last time I did a fitness assessment at my gym (August 2013), I scored a 426 out of a possible 500 (which totally blew my mind) but I’m convinced that I can get a 450 if I get REALLY serious about the push-ups and the 800-meter sprint.

8. Take 2 SUP classes & do 3 practice sessions. WHY: I started stand-up paddleboarding (SUP) last summer on the Potomac River and had an absolute blast.  It was both extremely relaxing and super fun.  I would love to get better at it and feel comfortable enough to go out on flat water without an instructor.

9. Complete 2 indoor rock climbing classes. WHY: because it’s been years since I went climbing and given the substantial increase in my upper body strength I know I would be MUCH better at it now.  Plus, what’s cooler than getting to the top of a seemingly insurmountable wall on your own strength?  (Added bonus: This will also help me with Number 12 below.)

10. Complete a sprint-distance triathlon. WHY: triathlons have come up often over the past few years as a possible “next challenge” for me- it’s time to knock this one out.  My excuses have been (a) I don’t own a bike and (b) I’m not a good swimmer. As I discussed in my December 21^st blog post, going forward rather than making silly B.S. excuses I am gonna make things happen.  Already signed up for one on June 1st.

11. Learn to swim (pool and open water). WHY: see Number 10 above.

12. 3 unassisted pull-ups (from a dead hang). WHY: because I got the chin-ups last summer and now it’s time to tackle their bigger, badder older brother…the pull-up. 

13. Improve lifting technique and increase weight by 25% for snatch, front squat, and overhead squat. WHY: I’ve developed a bit of a fascination with these advanced lifts during the “off-season” this winter and doing these lifts makes me feel super strong.  First, I need to go back to basics, perfect the technique, then ratchet up the weight. 

14. Launch goRun in the Spring and grow it to more than 50 members. WHY: I was asked recently whether I would be interested in starting a running club in my community by someone who was clever enough to know that I would not be able to say no to that question.  Long story short, I have been appointed Director of goRun.  I figured this endeavor would be a massive undertaking but I was not prepared for exactly how massive- MANY hours have gone into the planning and implementation of this club which will launch in March/April.  Based on the level of interest and feedback I’ve received during the initial planning phases, I would like to see membership hit upwards of 50 by the end of 2014.  It’s going to be a challenge but I believe that my passion for the sport will keep goRun moving in the right direction.

15. 20 blog posts. WHY: since the point of my blog is to highlight awesome people and experiences, in order to have 20 or more blog posts, logically I’d have to meet enough awesome people and/or have enough awesome experiences to warrant 20 blog posts.  That, in and of itself, would be PRETTY FREAKING AWESOME!

16. Be nicer to Alison. WHY: see my December 14^th blog post.  She’s a pretty cool gal who deserves my admiration and respect.

17. No more soda. WHY: time to stop putting this crap into my body.  Last year, I substantially reduced my soda intake.  This year, I plan to eliminate it completely. 

18. Go to an amusement park. WHY: sad to say that I haven’t done this in years and I’d love to spend a day feeling like a kid again.

19. Get a coaching or fitness certification. WHY: see Number 14 above.  I will be leading a group of runners all over my community and I owe it to them to deliver the best possible leader, motivator, and coach. 

20. Read 6 books. WHY: my day job as a Contracts Administrator requires me to read A LOT (mostly about indemnities, liability, waivers, termination clauses…I know, scintillating) and I’ve gotten away from reading for pleasure even though I still really want to do it.  My coach has made a few suggestions and I have some books that I’ve been meaning to put on my reading list as well.  

21. Inspire someone else to do something awesome. WHY: in light of the events of the past year, I know how it feels to totally surprise myself, smash some perceived limitations, and recognize that there is more strength in me than I ever thought possible.  This year, I want to pass it on.  I promise to move someone else to action this year so that he or she can experience this feeling too.  It’s really easy to get beat down and lose sight of our own awesomeness when the stresses of life, work, family, money, etc. weigh us down.  But I don’t believe that we are here to “just get by” from day to day, so busy making a living that we forget to make a life and never really challenging ourselves.  I want to inspire another person to find or re-discover their own inner superhero because everyone deserves to see how truly awesome they are.  

Time to rock this list out!!