Motivation Monday on Tuesday

Hello Everyone!

We hope you all had a great weekend! Congrats to everyone who ran the Disney Marathon or any other race this past weekend!

We are sorry we missed yesterday's post but we were both traveling from Florida after a wonderful weekend in the warm sunshine! We went to Orlando for the Disney Marathon and joined Drew's two sisters and friends for a great birthday celebration! His sister, Kristen, is truly an inspiration - who does three days of running for their birthday?? Only a Zukosky would! She and her friends did the 5k Friday, the half marathon Saturday and the full marathon Sunday! Congratulations and Happy Birthday! Although Drew and I did not join them for the back-to-back races named the "goofy run", we joined in for the full marathon and it was quite the experience. We have to say Disney does an excellent job! Although it was extremely warm and humid, the race was definitely worth it! We had to wake up at 2:30am to get to our corral by 5am but when we arrived at the starting point, not only were the racers gathered but hundreds of spectators were there to cheer everyone on! Only at Disney would you find such support (especially at that time in the morning)! It was dark for over an hour of the run and as we traveled through the 4 different parks, we saw many characters along the course supporting the runners and taking photos with anyone who wanted to stop for a photo. The excitement from everyone was unreal and like nothing else we have ever seen! The craziest part was being finished with 26.2 miles by 10am in the morning! It was an experience we will always remember! I have to give a special thank you to my family who came down to support me as well! Thank you Dad, Deb and Erin for being there to cheer us on and celebrate afterwards!

Now, as everyone can guess, I must include my inspirational and motivational piece before I finish this post. I want to take a moment to recognize how important it is to have goals and push yourself past your mental barriers to discover your true capabilities! Everyone has a moment where they hit the wall and allow the negative thoughts to flow through their mind. As the thoughts take over, the desire to stop and quit increases. It is hard to stop them from affecting your performance so you must have a strategy beforehand to minimize them and clear your mind. Develop a strategy that works for you, whether it is a mantra you say over and over or if it is a song you sing. Pick a few strategies and hold on to them for the tough times. You may even want to start thinking about them before the signs of destructive thoughts begin to stir in your brain. We all have much more potential than we think and thoughts of doubt and failure are what prevent us from reaching our potential! Don't ever give up one yourself because you owe it to yourself to follow through and accomplish your goals! During the race, I had a period after mile 15 where my mind was bored and it was extremely hot and sunny. I started to slow down and I was struck with thoughts of doubts. I have to personally thank Drew for helping me clear my mind. Hi is always the one to remind me when things start to get tough or boring so I can push through and accomplish anything we are doing! With his words of encouragement, I realized it was all in my mind not in my legs and I pushed through and got back on track. I used his encouragement as my mantra and we continued on and finished the race! Thank you Drew for being the best business partner and friend a person could ever wish for!

This week, channel your mantra and don't let your mind wander or allow you to give up!

Get Fit For It,

D & K