Pursue Your Pivot: (Medal) Monday Motivation

I took the past two weeks off from the newsletter for various reasons, but I’m baaaack AND I’m Miami Famous y’all!!! It’s probably not what you think, so let me explain.

Story tiiiime!

I’m Miami Famous for completing the Miami Half Marathon on Sunday, February 2nd.

Huh?! Say what?! Exaaaaaactly …

If we’re connected on social media, you already know this, but entertain me for a few minutes, lol.

I have plans to do a half marathon at the end of this month and, at one point, I also wanted to do the Miami Marathon, but it sold out before I made my decision.

Well, what had happened was that the Sunday before the race, I got an email that slots opened if I wanted to register.

Mind you, I’ve BARELY trained for the one at the end of the month, let alone one that occurs in less than a week. Well, on Monday, January 27th, I registered for the Half.

I figured, why the hell not? It’s 2025. Let’s do shit for the plot. Plus, my tribe also had faith and encouraged me to do it. And so, I did …

And so … I did …

The only other time I did a half marathon was in February 2022, and I trained for that one. However, even though this race was a week away, I was 45 lbs. lighter and caring for, nourishing, and loving my body. So, I knew I could finish it. Plus, I’m an extraordinary human (no average/basic-ass mindset over here), so, of course, I could do it.

My goals for this race were to:

1. Finish! I didn’t want the truck to come scoop me up because I was moving too slowly.

2. Beat my previous time of 3 hours and 42 minutes.  

3. Finish in under 3 hours.

I met the first two goals, beat my previous time by 27 minutes, and cut my average pace by 2 minutes/ mile! However, I missed the 3-hour cut-off mark by 15 minutes. As competitive as I am, I wasn’t even upset about it. Even though people who looked 70+ and one guy who LEGIT power walked the whole thing passed me, lol, I still won the race as far as I was concerned, and I don’t have anything else to prove to myself.

I’m going to pretend this is a LinkedIn post and give you my three takeaways from this experience:

1. When you stay ready, you ain’t gotta get ready. Sometimes, being prepared is out of your control, but if there is a TYPE of opportunity you want, start positioning yourself for it now, so when the chance presents itself, you are ready to strike.

2. Accomplishment is a great motivator to do something else. I feel good about my performance and believe I can succeed in other competitions. I’ll let you know if I follow through.

3. Regardless of whether it’s a physical, professional, personal, etc., goal, be extraordinary. Do things that others can’t or won’t do. You can be excellent at anything you put consistent effort into, so do it! I’m cheering for you.

Oh, and remember the bingo card I did for my 2025 goals? Well, this accomplishment marked off a goal, so I’m excited about that!

Last thing: I signed up for these races in hopes of pivoting to being a running girlie, as I love how people can complete miles without walking. That’s so dope to me. BUT bay-bay, this is not my ministry, and while I’ll never say never, I think the race later this month will be my last time doing anything longer than a charity 5K, lol. Y’all can have it.

What is something that you have done or plan to do that is extraordinary?

If you enjoyed this newsletter, please share it with someone else and encourage them to join the community. I would love to connect with them.