Photo by J. Andres VargasWe arrived home early this morning from Costa Rica and boy, is it good to be home! If I could be anywhere else though, I would be running in the Rainforest or running along a beautiful beach in CR right now.
It will take me a few days to write a race report. I don't feel that writing down my experience will really give this race the glory it deserves. It exceeded all my expectations and I really learned about how mentally strong I am. I learned a lot about my self during this race. I learned that I really do like the person that I have become. I realized just how blessed I am to be fortunate to have my health and the inner strength to take risks. When you are out there stripped of make-up, perfume, and God Forbid, earrings, (I lost my earring somewhere in about 2 feet of mud!), you really get a chance to see what you are made of. Sometimes you like what you see, other times you don't. Dirty, smelly, and sans makeup or earrings, I realized I like what I saw. I realized that I have become so comfortable in the skin that I walk around in everyday, that I was covering up who I really am deep inside. I am thankful that my life has made me strong and powerful. My former husband, Blake, years ago told me that I would make it in life because I was a survivor. I don't recall what I thought of that statement then, but I have heard his voice telling me that when I have dug deep during a tough race or experience and it makes me feel good. I heard myself repeating "you're a survivor, Kelly", many times as I navigated through the Jungle or ran endless hours in large rivers all the while falling down only to get up and fall again.
My friend Heather told me that she remembers her Dad telling her as a kid when they would be experiencing something really beautiful or memorable, this saying. He would say, and I quote, "I wonder what the poor folks are doing?" He wasn't saying it because they were financially rich, but that they were just so blessed. I found myself crying this morning when I told my daughter Chelsea that story of Heather's dad. I never met Heather's Dad, but I heard him up on a tall jungle mountain as I saw beauty like you can't even imagine. I felt so rich with happiness that it was just so overwhelming. I never met you, Heathers Dad, but your saying has blessed me and made me rich.
9 comments:
Welcome home and congrats on an amazing adventure. I can't even imagine the guts it took to get through the event, much less come in third!
Cynthia
Kelly! I sure loved hearing all about your adventures and seeing all those photos. All night long, I dreamed of monkeys and alligators and big lizards and crocodiles and jungles. Guess your photos seeped into my sub-conscious. Hope the rains let up some tomorrow so we can do a quick run/walk/run/walk around spring lake together....
Thanks, Cynthia. It was the greatest adventure and I will always be thankful of that experience!
Hey Shawn, remember, you can't let the rain stop you from doing what you want to do!
Thanks for such an inspirational post! You are too young for self-actualization but I think you may have reached it. Congratulations on your run!
Thanks, Mechelle. Does that mean I'm OLD? Hah, I hope not.
That was a great post-- thanks for sharing all you have about Costa Rica. You did amazing!
Welcome home Kelly and boy you look great dressed in pink. Words are never enough just like a picture is a weak copy of the real thing but through your words and your pictures we get a better idea of these adventures of yours. I thought about you and the run while I was in Texas to crew and pace at Rocky Raccoon.
No it doesn't mean you are old! It means you are way ahead of the rest of us in this game called life because most people don't reach self-actualization until much later in life or not at all.
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