It is literally, I think it's Saturday, but if you're in the United States, it's. It's Friday, Friday, Friday night, I think it's Friday night. Um, but I am excited to be out here. I missed my time earlier in the day. That's on me for time zone changes. I'm still learning. Um, but it's Saturday here and where is here? When are you if you joined. JC at all the last few days you'll know that he is also in Sydney. Australia, uh, both of us are. Stepping foot onto the Sydney marathon course tomorrow.
And I wanted to just pop in here and say, hello. And offer in just some concepts around fresh perspectives and. Just continuing to connect mind. Body heart. Remembering our, why? And I find that marathon training and I've done. Other races, I've been a competitive athlete. Pretty much all my life, as long as I can remember. And I've always been athlete curious. I, I love to move my body. I love to find new challenges. Challenges, but in this space of marathon training, the hardest part about marathon training.
Isn't putting on the miles. Yeah. There's days where you wake up and you're like, ah, I. Don't really wanna go run the number of miles that my coach put on the program for today. But the hardest part is when we get to the point and we've done all the miles and we have. Two weeks of time, that's called taper. It's two weeks of time after. 18 weeks of moving your body in a certain way to build to a certain thing. That you are invited to take a pause. You run less smiles, you do less workouts. And in that pause, our mind can take over.
I know mind does. And it really did this time. I found that I slept a ton. Ton. I hydrated a lot. I felt antsy, anxious. In a way that I, I don't know how to explain. And, and then I, then you start to question, right? Like tomorrow. Is Sunday here and tomorrow. At this time, fingers crossed here. It's noon here. I'll be done with a marathon fingers crossed, knock on wood, all the things. But it's hard to comprehend that it's hard to comprehend. What's gonna happen tomorrow because I'm only right here.
I am sitting right here. On this sandstone rock looking out. Over some beautiful things. A Harbor bridge. Sydney opera house and my brain can't comprehend. Anything beyond this moment. Even though it wants to, my brain wants to put me on the finish line. My brain wants to put me on the course. My brain wants to think about that hill at 12 kilometers that. Everybody talks about and how's it really gonna feel in my body? I don't know. I'm not there. I am. Right here right now. And that's it. That is the only thing that I know is right now in this.
Moment. I can tell you about my past. I can tell you about my training. I can tell you some of the hard days. But I can't tell you what's gonna happen tomorrow. Cuz I don't know. And I've gotten asked a lot of questions. Are you ready? You ready to kick butt tomorrow? What's your time for tomorrow? And, and I don't tell them. Because, well, I tell a few people, but I have three goals for tomorrow. I have a time. I have a backup time. And I have another backup time. And all of those allow me to just simply say whatever I.
Do to cross that finish line. I'm good. And if tomorrow something happens and that doesn't happen. Be sad. But I'll be good, but in this moment, I get to celebrate that. It's just the most beautiful day. I'm in a country I've dreamed about coming to for so long. And I have friends from across the country and some from across the. World that are all here. Together. And I've got to catch up with them. I've gotten to see them. Last night I was at dinner. I met a lady from Ireland. Who's in her sixties.
Sixties. And this is her third time. Running the world, major marathons. Third time. And she travels by herself and she loves all the people that she meets. And she said to me, last night, the one thing that I'm gonna just leave here in this mark. She said, you know, I traveled by myself. I'm good with that. I meet so many people. And she said, and I love. Coming to dinner and sitting at the bar. I don't wanna go sit at a table by myself. Nobody will talk to me. Nobody's gonna walk up to my table and sit down and start to talk to me.
But when I sit up here at the bar and I eat my dinner. A couple of nights before the marathon or the night before the marathon. I look around. I see other runners from across the country. We nod, we chat, we tell stories. And I get to meet people. And in that moment, she simply was. Just in that moment. And I think that's the beauty of it. Doesn't matter what your start time is or your finished time is what matters is the journey. And how you experience those moments. So for me. New sites. We're in a new course today.
Had a couple Hills. And new perspectives. Perspectives every time I get to do something that challenges me in a way that. Feels my heart, but challenges my mind and my body. I just feel grateful. And I try to take a pause in that taper. To slow down enough. To really appreciate the moment that I'm in. Have gratitude for the moments that I've moved through. And give myself grace for the moments that I haven't even walked into yet. So today, I hope you. Are moving with grace. I hope that you find something that you're grateful for.
And I hope that you continue to choose you every single day. Hi, Jules. So nice to see you I'll stay for another minute or so. Evening. Okay, great. It's evening at home. Uh, you wanna see here? Check it out. Now I'm gonna say just a couple more quick things. Before I pop off and Jules, you can come back and listen later. Uh, the one thing that I did wanna share is. That this journey of world major marathons for me is. It's different for everybody. There's 40,000 people that are. Potentially gonna start tomorrow.
And every one of us has a different story. And it's so cool when you can take time to listen to their. Stories, but I'm gonna share mine. So in 2023, many of you know, uh, two weeks before I ran the New York city marathon, which was my dream marathon to run. I wanted to do. That one. And that was it. I lost my mom. And it was a year after I lost my dad. Now there's a helicopter. So I'm hopeful that you can still hear me. Things outta my control. So when I crossed that finish line, I broke down crying.
I'd had an injury in my left leg. And somehow that injury had gone away that left. Injury that left leg injury was. Strongly tied to my dad passing. Energetics. I can explain that later. And I made a decision to start this journey as part of my grieving process. I'd run that marathon for a charity for some friends Crohn's and colitis. And I decided to do. All the world, major marathons for charity and honor my mom and dad as a part of my grieving process. And I went after it. Literally went after it.
In 2024. Yep. 2024. I ran Berlin. And Chicago. Time difference. Last year I ran London. And Tokyo Tokyo was first six weeks later. A month later was London. I'd fallen. I'd gotten an injury on my knee. And against all recommendations from my doctors. I ran anyway. And and then I rested. For a long time until Sydney came up. Now I realistically have one more to finish this. Goal. And that will be Boston and I'm hoping fingers cross. Crossed that I can do that this next April. And finish this chapter, but something interesting happened along the way.
I'd go to places. I would take pictures. Pictures. I would get these little orbs in my pictures, little fuzzy spots. And. And I knew that my mom and dad were with me. I would take their picture. Light light a candle, have a couple crystals. Crystals, some notes that people would share with me about. How proud of me, they were giving me encouragement and I would. Just give them gratitude and talk about my day. To their pictures at every single marathon and each marathon that I did. And each trip.
That I took, I met new people and I got new friends and I got to hear their stories. And as I was preparing for this marathon, I was like, wait a second. I'm not. Injured. I mean, I have some things going on, but I'm not like injured. And I realized that while I still feel so much sadness and how much I miss my mom and dad. That this gift was a gift that they actually gave to me, not their passing that. That's not a gift. But they gave me the gift of. Never holding me back from things that I really thought were important.
And they supported me along the way. So even though they haven't physically been here with me, they've been supporting me this. Whole time and on this marathon. It just feels different. I don't feel. More healed. I don't miss them less. But I feel lighter. And so I'm going into this one. Not on the same mission that I've been on. To run around the world with, from my grief or processing. My grief, but I'm here to just celebrate that. I get to meet all these cool people. And how grateful I am. And.
Little things have come up along this journey. The same dragon flies. I've seen some cool birds. I've. Just seen things that maybe. I wouldn't normally see that I know. They're here with me. (laugh). I love that Jules, that you have a lady Boog. Um, but that's what happens, right? Yeah. Things just take time. And when you do things where you follow your heart and you go all in. Your heart heals. Heals. And what I learned is. Is that your heart just gets to expand. When it breaks, it gets to expand.
And so here's part of my journey. Here's part of my expansion and I just thought I'd share. That little story with you, and if you popped off earlier, cool. But if you're still with me, thank you for listening. And I just wanna say whatever your journey I'm here. Share it with me. Pop it in the comments. Comments find me on the page. Hack go to my Instagram dream, big 30 and send me a DM there. I'm. I'm here. I'll listen. I'll support you. But what I get to do in this marathon. Is pay forward. What I learned.
Because one of the girls that's in our running group. That it's a group of us that we met in London and we ran together in Tokyo. And now here we are in Sydney, uh, and we meet up and we hang out over here. She lost your mom a month ago. And so she's running for her mom. Tomorrow. And I know what that feels like. So this trip I get to pay forward. A little bit of my story to hold space for someone who is going through what I went through, when. I started this journey. So with that, I'm out. One more pur view.
One more opportunity for you to catch a breath. And a simple, thank you. For showing up. Thank you for sharing your stories. And if you're in the us, I hope you have a good night and. If you're somewhere else in the world, wherever you are. I hope that you find a moment of grace for yourself. And do something beautiful for you. Love you.
