Running With A purpose

Who or what do you run for? For so long I have run for myself and to some degree it has worked. I think of my day and let go of stress from what the day has brought me. I have always thought there has to be more to running. I have told you several times that I tell myself I run for those who can't, which I sometimes do. Last Tuesday I ran for Boston. This truly showed me how rewarding it is to run for someone else and have nothing to do with running for yourself. I ran next to a man and his soon at the very end of the race and at mile 2.2 he wanted to give up. I told him, "come on buddy only .4 left you can do this!" The little boy looked at me and then his dad told him, "remember who we are running for. We are Boston strong, we run for those who no longer can, who no longer have legs or feet". At that very moment I knew there was more to running then just a course or a way to clear my head; I needed to run for a purpose.

I am now training for my first Marathon which is November 9. I have joined the team, "Team In Training" which is s group that raises money for Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Many of you may know this already but after my freshman year in college (2007) my grandmother died of Leukemia. She was the most amazing woman. A woman whose heart was always full of joy and laughter. She was an amazing mother, wife, daughter, sister, and of course grandmother. I can still see her sweet laugh when I close my eyes. She's been my inspiration to never give up on anything I put my mind to. So in November I am running for her and I am running for a cure. No one deserves to lose anyone to cancer. A dear friend of mine, Kimberly, was diagnosed with Leukemia a year ago. She is so inspirational to me as well. She never complains or looks sad. She always has a smile on her face. Her faith in Jesus through everything she goes through with Leukemia has strengthened me and my relationship with Jesus. She is such an amazing role model and an incredible nurse that I look up to, I will be running in her honor on November 9.

All of us haves been affected by cancer in some way. We may have lost a family member, a friend, or even a child to the "Big C". I was blessed to be able to do my internship in Pediatric Oncology in nursing school, and this is where I want my nursing career to take me in the future. These kids are amazing, they are strong, and they are courageous. While raising money for Leukemia sand Lymphoma we will be sponsoring our Honored Heros. These are children who have defeated cancer. I cannot wait to meet this sweet children on May 14 as we kick off our training program. Cancer has my heart. I will be running for a cure. What will you run for?

Please donate to my team to help find a cure. Every dollar gets us one step closer.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/sc/rnrsav13/kbellpxh9g

This is me and my friend Ashley at the Run for Boston Event

My friend Kaitlyn and I at the Run for Boston event.

The Sweet lady in the middle is Kimberly along with two of my other amazing Co-Workers Neala, and Misty.

My first race after realizing that I need to run for a purpose ( I PR'ed :)). This is at the Diva Half Marathon in North Myrtle Beach. This was my sister in law Jill's first half. She did great.

My Inspiration; my grandmother.

How's the year going.

I hope everyone had stayed true to their "new year resolution". Change is definitely a lifestyle. You have to be 100% committed to the change you want to be. Of course we are all going to have our days where we just do not feel like going to exercise, but we have to. Just remember the feeling of how much better you feel when you get done and how much closer you are to your dream/ goal. A fellow half marathon runner that I follow has started a challenge on Challenge Loop that I encourage everyone to join. The challenge is called "cross train or remain the same", it started yesterday but it is not too late. There are several other challenges you can join on the app or site and the beat news is you have a chance to win prizes. Healthy competition is so motivating, my work now requires us to put in our workout/ exercise on a daily or weekly basis. On the site we have friends and you can see how well they are doing as well. Don't give up on your goals after a bad day, stay motivated the beat way you know how. Think of how great you will feel when you have exercise and eating healthy as your way of life.