Windy Airport Trail Run

With a little less than a month until my next race, getting to run outside is not only a luxury, its a necessity. My parents were gracious enough today to let me bring the boys to their house to hang out while I got in a long run outside! By sheer luck, however, a college friend who lives near my parents saw something I posted about running there and texted to ask me if I wanted company. Of course! It was wonderful to not only run with company but to do so on a trail I have never run before. It may have been windy and a bit cold but it was worth every step! And that crockpot mock lasagna that cooked while I ran helped warm me right back up. Happy tummy, happy parents, happy boys, and happy runner girl!

XOXO - Jenn

Heart Pounding Inspiration

This evening I was perusing my February copy of Runner's World magazine and read a brief article about three heart transplant patients that got my own heart pounding with inspiration :) When I sat down to write this post I intended to post a link to the article but it isn't one that they are including in their online magazine so you will have to just settle for my summary. The article discussed three heart transplant patients who were on-again, off-again runners before their transplants but had never run a race after their transplants until they decided to run the Carlsbad Half marathon together. Their cardiologist even ran tests to determine how hard they could push themselves during the race AND he ran WITH them! The three men not only ran Carlsbad, but La Jolla and America's Finest City for the "Triple Crown" series. They talked about knowing the amazing thing their donors (and their families) had done and feeling the presence of their donor on every step of the course. These men had to be even more mindful in their training as heart transplant patients have a higher resting heartrate and have to be aware of their strain their heart can take more than those of us who are not heart recipients.

As I read this article, my own heart sped up a bit. Organ donation is a cause that is near and dear to my heart. A very close family member (whose permission was not secured ahead of this post to include their name) is a living donor....and my hero. When I hop on the treadmill on Saturday for my long run, every beat of my heart will be dedicated to all donors, their families and the people they saved. Words cannot describe how inspiring you are and how lucky I feel to be able to push myself as a runner to be better with every step.

Organ Donors of the World - This run's for you!

XOXO - Jenn