11/27/2025
Thanksgiving looked a little different for me this year.
Today, I ran my first 5K — right here in Watertown — and I got to do it alongside one of my personal training clients.
If you had asked me a year ago if I’d ever run a 5K, I would’ve laughed and said,
“Only if I’m being chased.”
Running wasn’t my thing.
It felt uncomfortable, intimidating, and honestly… impossible.
But this year has been about rewriting my own story.
It’s been about chasing things that scared me, stepping outside my comfort zone, and proving to myself that I’m capable of more than I ever believed.
Because this wasn’t just 3.1 miles.
This was a year of rebuilding.
A year of walking through pain I never expected — divorce, heartbreak, identity shifts, leaving behind a steady income to build something of my own, and learning to keep going when life felt overwhelmingly heavy.
There were days I doubted myself.
Days I questioned my strength.
Days I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror — mentally, emotionally, or physically.
But even on those days… I showed up.
And today, crossing that finish line was more than a race.
It was closure.
It was healing.
It was proof that small, uncertain steps add up to something powerful.
This was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done — not because of the miles, but because of everything I had to overcome to make it to that starting line.
But I finished.
And I’m proud.
Proud of the woman who tried.
Proud of the woman who kept going.
Proud of the woman I’m becoming.
If you’re sitting in a season of doubt… if you’re scared to start… if you’ve convinced yourself you “can’t”… let this be your reminder:
You don’t have to feel ready.
You don’t have to be perfect.
You just have to take the first step.
Growth happens in the moments you choose yourself — even when it’s hard. And the finish line hits different when you fought your way there.
