I did what I set out to do, and that is the ultimate way that I could possibly give back. Sure, running my goal would have been incredible but this defined and encapsulated how I have lived my life since my aneurysm. These runs haven’t been for me for years…this one hit my message home. Finish what you set out to do no matter what and never let a “limitation” deter, defeat or even determine your goals. Set out, do it! At least I hope that is one of the lessons I impressed upon each of you. For me, that is the ultimate way that I can give back.

The truth is that we all have bad days, but again, we can't let having a bad day be an excuse to give up or quit. It would be easy if I were able to run the race I wanted. Instead, things went wrong and I still saw the mission through completely. That matters more than anything else or any time. In the same sense, it would be easy just to quit. Instead, I chose to see where the uncharted waters would take me.

Your day does not let you down. You let yourself down by how you embrace the day. Your mindset and attitude are what affects all your decisions across a day. It isn’t about being perfect, it’s about not getting discouraged and living up to your full potential. Your potential is based on how you accomplish something, not how fast it is accomplished.

Even when I was walking, I walked damn fast. I wanted those 15 miles over with as fast as I possibly could. I wasn’t giving in. As long as I was moving forward I remained true to me and everything I hope to give.

Besides, what people remember is how I finished. I made sure I got myself to the finish line and no matter how sore or beaten up my body was, I sprinted past hundreds of people as I crossed the finish line. I wasn’t defeated. I got to Boylston Street and I finished at Kenyan speed…full tilt with my head and hand held high.

As incredible as that felt, nothing meant more to me than knowing I kept my promise to my friends. I got back to my room and you wouldn’t believe the amount of support I arrived to. It took me hours just to sort through the messages, notes and texts from that day. Just seeing the wealth of love and support showed me how incredible and amazing are the people I keep in my life.

People have left my life—people who I still wanted in my life. I didn’t get one message from them, not one text. That really says a lot, and though I was missing what I had, they weren’t there supporting me. That says a lot…and it is such an injustice to everyone who repeatedly supported me to continue to keep them in my life. So many people have made the effort to show me how truly and deeply they care. That was all I needed to finally be able to let go of them. I can’t keep caring for people who don’t reciprocate it for me. It’s a dishonor to everyone who stood by me on Monday. It opened me up to so much love I didn’t realize I had. I was finally able to let go of what I once had as I inched my way to the finish line. What motivated me to get there was not the love I had, but the love that was being sent to me. In fact, I’m still receiving that love. That’s what my life is meant to be.

In the end, as long as you don’t let your limitations prevent you from accomplishing your goals and living your life fully, then you’ve won. My friends, with their endless love and support, showed me that. I gained so much more by running my race as I did than I ever would have by selfishly and relentlessly destroying myself for a 3:30.

Call it fate or call it luck, it enriches my life every day and it definitely did Monday on race day. Never doubt and always live life to its full and utmost potential. However far your mind travels, strive for that ultimate destination you see. Push yourself into that uncharted territory because, even if you don’t reach that ultimate goal you currently envision, where you end up will be further out than you ever imagined yourself being. I’m not saying you can’t reach that ultimate destination if you try. It’s that by trying you actually discover what lies in that uncharted territory that motivates, drives and inspires you and makes your life meaningful.

This was never about running a marathon and everything about living a meaningful life. Given the response I came home to, I’m helping people discover that meaning every day. So that is what I will continue to do, so keep checking back in and seeing how I discover to do that next. Nothing makes me happier, and I wouldn’t have realized that without everyone who loves and supports me. Thank you all. You make my life meaningful and now I know I will be spending my life showing everyone how to find it and live their life just the same.

Get as much press coverage as you can + Be willing to drive 45 minutes to your college by 8:45 AM on a weekday morning + Help the reporter by suggesting camera angles and shots to include in the package + Go and get a stylin' marathon haircut + Get your final training run in (even if it results in soreness and stiffness across the right side of your body) + Rewarding yourself with a night time hour-long full body massage = Marathon Ready and psyched to get in the car to drive to Boston!!!

So, a huge shout out is well-deserved and going out to the ONLY Baltimore reporter to do a news story on me. Sherrie Johnson is the woman, and just all around awesome!!! I have no problem waking up early. The problem is my dad is not a morning person at all...and he had to drive me to my college in Westminster, 40 minutes away...by 8:45 AM! He was grumpy, but Sherrie made the event so much fun that my dad wound up having a blast!

From Westminster, we scrambled to get me home and to the mall in time for my haircut, which turned out great (pictures to come).

I rested at home for a bit before I ran. I was debating whether or not I wanted to run, but I forced myself out the door for a 5.25-mile loop because I would have been on 4 days rest for my marathon Monday if I didn't. Three days is great rest time prior to a long run, but any more than that and you risk having your body become lazy and sluggish from lying around sedintary. I want my body to fire up instantly when it comes time to run 26.2 miles. I don't want to deal with any creaks and aches from being inactive.

I'm not sure what happened on the run, but the knob-like bone at the top of my calf got unbelievably sore 3 miles in or so. I was limping by the time I finished my loop and heated my knee immidiately, which helped. I keep heating it until it is time to go for my massage, but when I stand up to get dressed my entire right glute has painfully stiffened up and I can barely walk. Seriously?! I mean, first my DVR crashes and I lose my FOX DC interview and now my leg is locking up 4 days before the biggest run of my life. 

...Someone somewhere must be having fun with adding this undue drama prior to my run. Yeah...not funny!

The massage helped, but I'm still a little achy today...nothing that won't be a distant memory by Monday. Speaking of Monday, I better get going. My parents and I are leaving for Connecticut in a couple hours, staying 2 hours outside Boston. We're driving into Boston Saturday so I can get registered and then relaxing the rest of the weekend. I am so excited to hang out with my friends this weekend!!!

Thank you all for your love, support, well wishes and everything else as I have been preparing for this crazy run. It means so much, I can't even tell you! Expect a full, in-depth update upon my return on Tuesday.

Have a great weekend everyone...and enjoy this weather!!!  You know I will =)

26.2 miles to my career. 3 and a half hours of temporary pain is worth what the result of that effort is going to provide. Big things are coming and I have all of you to thank for it.

With that said, Here goes nothing...and everything!

Today was another busy, but fun day. I went down to the FOX DC studio (WTTG) and had an amazing LIVE interview with Allison Seymour, the morning anchor for DC FOX Morning News. The interview went so well and I was so happy and surprised at how much we covered. Allison even plugged my book...I am so excited!!!  Big things are going to happen :)

I met the other morning anchor, Tony Perkins and the producer for the morning news, Annie Yu, who is one of the sweetest women you will ever meet.

After leaving the studio, I went to Rockville and met my training buddy, Suzy, for a celebratory sushi lunch. Both of us just found out that we passed our personal trainer certification exam, so we splurged a little bit with sushi!

You can pretty much guess the rest of my day...stretch, run, stretch, sleep.

All right, I gotta get going...tomorrow is even busier a day.  More on that very soon!

To finish off my last post, seeing your dream or goal through until the end is the most fulfilling feeling you can have. You may or may not accomplish what you set out to do, but regardless, where you end up after you have seen it through is somewhere you never would have gotten yourself to otherwise.

It's so easy to brush off the opportunity to challenge yourself, but the only way to truly live is by challenging yourself. Living life is all about new experiences and progression. There's no justification for coasting by. That's why I push myself as hard as I do. You work your butt off, and then after you have fulfilled today's work, the relaxing, crashing on the couch, or whatever you do for fun becomes a reward instead of how you predominately spend your day.

Ice cream always tastes sweeter the less you have it.  Chances are, when you have it, it is because you have earned it or you have done something special or upheld something, and the ice cream (pizza, movie at the theatre, nap on the couch) becomes the reward for your perserverance.

I have been working so hard to get myself ready for this run and promote my story. Now my reward is a busy week running around to various news stations to either be on live TV or to have a package filmed about me and my quest at Boston.

Tomorrow I am going into DC to be put on live TV on FOX 5 Morning News at 9:30. I am then meeting my friend Suzy for a sushi lunch as a reward for both of us passing our trainer certification exam (and hopefully getting our training program organized too!). Then on Thursday, I am leaving very early to go to Baltimore to meet a reporter with ABC 2 and have a story filmed. I nailed so many of the TV markets this go around, and honestly each story is going to help promote my book and validate everything I want to do with my career.

After the story, I come home and go to the mall to get my marathon hair cut--showing my scar loud and proud-- and then getting my final pre-race massage that night. My parents and I leave the house early Friday morning. We are staying the night 2 hours outside of Boston in Connecticut, where we are getting these supposedly delicious steamed cheeseburgers that were featured on Travel Channel. I'll be in Boston early Saturday and will spend the weekend catching up with friends and resting up for Monday.

I hope to post more before I go, but if I can't, at least you guys know what I am doing. We are defined by how we live our lives. That's what makes me who I am and why I will be smiling after I cross the finish line Monday, whatever the outcome may be. In advance, thank all of you for your love, support, prayers, kind words and well wishes. Whatever happens on race day, I know I'm a champion.