I have wanted to run the St. George Marathon in Utah since falling in love with Snow Canyon and everything about the surrounding area during a trip in 2013. This race has been calling my name and pulling me toward it every moment since our first encounter. I have waited patiently through pregnancy and childbirth and postpartum recovery (and let’s not forget the entire year it took to get pregnant) — four years in all — to run this race. The day registration opened on April 1 this year, I paid my entry fee and secured my spot. At 15 months postpartum, I was running stronger than ever, working with a coach and ready for a marathon comeback. Tomorrow, I should be logging my last 8 to 10-mile run before race day, packing up my gear and getting my mantras ready.

As it turns out, I never bought a plane ticket to Utah.

I never trained for the race.

I traded hard speed workouts and grueling tempos for neighborhood runs with friends where I could easily be mistaken for a snail.

I guess that’s the way the {marathon} cookie crumbles sometimes, isn’t it? Or in this case, a Girl Scout cookie.

This weekend, I am running a one-mile race rather than a marathon while pushing Baby rUnladylike in her stroller at the Thin Mint Sprint and Tagalong Trot hosted by the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. We’ll spectate for my dad (aka Poppy) who will run the 5K right before our one-mile dash. I ran this race as my second postpartum event last year and loved every second of it.

I’m excited to be back, thrilled that the race is sold out with 1,200 runners supporting the Girl Scouts, appreciative for the free race entries for my dad and me and am bursting at the thought that this will be Baby rUnladylike’s first race as a participant.

Maybe one mile is as big as 26.2 after all.

{Be sure to read to the end to enter to win some Girl Scout Cookies in honor of Baby rUnladylike’s first race!}

This year, I’ve learned that sometimes strength comes from choosing NOT to do certain things, rather than continuing to act with half the passion, power or presence. Essentially, I’m going to DNS (did not start) the St. George Marathon, my first DNS ever for three reasons:

1. I believe I should run because I want to, not because I have to. Even when running feels hard, it should bring us joy. It should be a choice, not a chore. After running the Savannah Half Marathon in April, running went from fun and fierce to stressful and a struggle for me. I stopped running for nearly three weeks cold. Losing mojo after a tough race combined with changing weather and work stress made hitting challenging workouts and increasing mileage not fun. Plus, I wanted to be able to go to circuit-style workouts, competitive spin and other strength training workouts that I find fun and challenging. I love to exercise. I love the way it makes me feel. And I just wanted to “work out,” not race. So that’s what I did. I started doing what I wanted, when I wanted. That doesn’t mean giving up running. It just meant thinking about it differently.
2. It is not realistic for me to train for fall races in Florida and feel joy in the miles. My running is highly affected by heat and humidity, which makes living in a place where it is summer 10 months out of the year a bit of a challenge. Giving myself permission to run as slow as I need to with running partners I love continues to make it enjoyable. No pressure. No feeling like a failure because I can’t find my fast in tough conditions.
3. I want to be fully present in my life, and I want to enjoy every second I’ve got. I don’t want my mind to revolve around when I’m going to run and how did it go and if I can hit my paces. Running is a part of me. It is inherently, innately inside me. I don’t think I always have to be training for a race for that to define what running is in my life and what it means.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that running isn’t all or nothing. It’s not only an accomplishment when you’re training for a marathon. There’s a lot to be said for training for life, too. The socially connected world we live in often doesn’t give that much credit, but sometimes we’re so busy chasing some goal we perceive to be important, that we forget to see what really is. Nearly every run I’ve completed during the past six months has been a struggle. I haven’t felt good on a single run, but I keep showing up and I keep challenging myself in different ways. It may not be 800 repeats or a 13-mile tempo run, but it’s still running and it still feels right. It’s not St. George, but it’s still something, and I’ll get back to Utah one of these days.

Win Two Boxes of Girl Scout Cookies

To celebrate Baby rUnladylike’s first official race this weekend, I’m giving away two boxes of Girl Scout cookies of your choice, courtesy of my good friends at the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. You can see all the flavors here.

To enter …

• Make sure you are 18 years of age or older and reside in the continental United States.
• Leave a comment below sharing which flavors you would pick for your two boxes of cookies.
• Receive a second entry by following rUnladylike on Instagram and leaving another (separate) comment letting me know that you followed along with your Instagram name (Instagram entries will be confirmed).
• Make all comments by Wednesday, October 3, 2018, by 11:59 p.m. EST. One winner will be selected at random and notified by Friday, October 5, 2018 via email.

Be sure to follow Baby rUnladylike and me to see our live race day adventures at the Thin Mint Sprint and Tagalong Trot on Instagram stories this weekend!

Giveaway Fine Print: No purchase is necessary to win. Must be 18 or older to enter. The sweepstakes is open from Friday, September 27, 2018, at 12 a.m. Eastern time until Wednesday, October 3, 2018 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time. To enter, you must leave a comment below sharing which flavors you would pick for your two boxes of Girl Scout cookies. You can receive a second entry by following rUnladylike on Instagram and leaving a second comment stating that you followed rUnladylike and including your Instagram name (Instagram entries will be confirmed). One winner will be chosen at random and will receive two boxes of Girl Scout Cookies of your choice, with an approximate retail value of $10. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. The winner will be selected by Friday, October 5, 2018, and will be contacted via email. The winner will have 48 hours from the time and date of the email sent to claim their prize. Prizes will be mailed to the winner directly from the Girl Scouts of West Central Florida. The winner and all sweepstakes entrants hold rUnladylike, LLC, and the Girl Scouts harmless in the event that the prize or sweepstakes in some way negatively impacts the winner, and the winner agrees to use the prizes at his or her own risk. This sweepstakes is hosted by rUnladylike, LLC, of Tampa, Florida, who can be contacted at runladylike@gmail.com. Void where prohibited by law.