Strength in Strides

10/14/2026

My best training block led me to my worst race performance, and I refuse to let it define me. You see, it’s real easy to keep the faith when each race comes with a PR, and your fitness only continues to improve, but that will only last for so long. The reality is, if you play this game long enough, you’re going to have to strike out a few times. And Chicago was my “failure” on the long road to what I hope to be ultimate success.
I knew around mile 10 that something felt off. I could sense it in my breathing, and the way my legs just didn’t feel as light as they had been in training runs. I didn’t dare say it out loud, but by mile 13 I knew it was becoming the reality.
Chicago brought the energy in a way that’s hard to put into words. At no time were there not shoulder-to-shoulder spectators, crowds screaming, and music blaring. It was great! Until it wasn’t 😂 at mile 16, I began walking, and even though I was only 2:30 hours into this, I knew that breaking 4 hours just wasn’t going to happen. I decided to let go of it, and be at peace with that. And by mile 20, my body was screaming. I felt pain on a cellular level, and my mind could only hold one thought which was, “Just. Keep. Walking” I thought about pulling off to the med tent many times, and contemplated if I was ignoring signs from my body that were telling me to DNF. I thought about the months we had spent waiting and training for this moment, the money we raised for the MDA, and that my kids would NEVER care how fast I ran… they would only care that I never gave up. I finally began to jog once again because the pain from walking was so excruciating, it gave me the tiniest bit of relief.
I finished in 4:31… my second slowest marathon ever, behind my debut marathon in 2018. And I fought for EVERY damn step. And I’m really proud of that fight, because it was gritty and built some serious character.
It’s easy to ride the high when you’re doing well, but what do you do when you lose? How do you react when it’s your worst performance? When every sign points to “you can’t do it…” do you still keep trying? Success belongs to those who are relentless, and progress in this sport is anything but linear.

02/24/2024

The Shelby from 8 months ago would never believe that she would run 12 miles ever again. One mile DID feel like 12. I felt sluggish, out of breath, and mentally and physically weak. I knew it was okay, because it was the season I was in, but I was so intimidated by the work it would take just to get back to a baseline.
Do you want to know what really lights the fire in me though? The voice in my head that says, “you can’t do it”. The self doubt I feel when I think about goals that seem impossible is what feeds my desire to prove myself wrong. When I’m in these runs, I think about how good it feels to add it to my list of “things we didn’t think we could do, but we did”. I think about what I want my actions to prove to my daughter- that many people will doubt you can do something, they may scoff at it or ask why, and you might even convince yourself for a brief period that you can’t do it either. But the second that doubt is placed into your mind, you MUST prove yourself wrong.
It doesn’t matter what the goal means to other people, it doesn’t matter if it’s been done before or if it’s someone else’s version of “easy”. What matters is showing up for yourself, and proving to yourself that you can do the hard and seemingly impossible things. Because once those are accomplished, you realize the only one who decides to place limits on yourself- and break them- is you.

01/16/2024

There’s a reason the saying, “it takes a village” has stuck around for so long. Not only for logistical reasons, but for the sake of support too!

I set out for my 7 mile run on Sunday knowing it would have to be indoors on the treadmill due to the massive amounts of snow we received over the weekend. So we dug out the car, loaded baby up, and headed to the on-base gym. I was ready for a wonderful run on the Woodway!… but the keycard reader for the gym was broken. Okay, back up plan- we head to the auxiliary gym. We got settled, and as I began my run I realized I was quite possibly running on the first treadmill ever produced. Not only was this thing a relic, but I had doubts it had ever been serviced. I made it 2.5 miles until I made the decision to run on the upstairs track. Oh, but this was no ordinary indoor track… this was a 200 meter loop. Yep, that means one mile was close to 14 laps. But I was committed to this run! I made my family shovel the driveway and come all this way, no way was I cutting this short.

As I ran upstairs, I looked down and saw my husband performing a workout with Olivia including carseat farmer carries and sled pushes and my heart swelled with so much love and gratitude for the both of them. Here we all were, on a snow Sunday afternoon at a gym so that Mommy could accomplish a goal. I might be miserable running 200 meter laps, but I came too far to only come this far so I WAS finishing this run. And I did!

Often times running is a solo sport, but it takes quite the support system to achieve long-term goals. Whether it’s running buddies, friends to watch babies, partners that sacrifice their time so that you can get the long run in, or coaches that guide you every step of the way- it takes a village.

So, what are some far fetched goals lingering in the back of your mind for 2024? You know, the ones that scare you a bit because they seem impossible. I‘d love to be part of your village to help you accomplish them!

12/19/2023

08/19/2023

Today, I did my first postpartum run. There’s no pretty picture of me looking “fit”, or like I felt SoOoOo good after… because that wasn’t my reality. What I really felt was f*cking annoyed and somewhat discouraged at the road that lies ahead.
Am I so grateful to be cleared to run? Absolutely. And as I set out, I tried to remember the last time I was able to run without extra weight.

But then I also remembered how it felt to open my stride and feel my lungs burn, how it felt to turn the corner and see home after a long run… how it felt to just be oh, I don’t know - really on my game with running. And you know what I felt instead? Annoyed by how heavy my feet felt, uncomfortable with the extra jiggle around my waist, miffed that my thighs are rubbing together.
And I got home, and I stood in the garage and I thought, “well s**t, this is going to be tough”. It’s one thing to strive for constant improvement in yourself, but it’s another to know there’s a long road ahead just to get back to your ‘normal’. It feels slightly insulting, and really discouraging. I’ve always competed against myself to be better, I’ve never had to compete to just get back to my baseline. But alas, here we are.

So, today’s post doesn’t hold some monumental shift in thinking or “aha!” moment… it’s just another mom trying to find her way back to a normal (a new normal), and not really wanting to embrace the whole “love the skin you’re in” thing right now. Yeah, it’s done some amazing things and I will always love it, but it’s reality to also miss what it used to be. It’s a daunting road up ahead, it’s going to be a fight, but what are you gonna do- give up? Nah.
Let’s try again tomorrow.

07/23/2023

Here we are, the two of us, venturing into this journey of motherhood and everyday life.
It’s been a little over 2 weeks since Olivia made her way into the world, and what “they say” is right - you could never prepare yourself for the shift even if you try. More specifically, I could never prepare myself for the rollercoaster that is post-partum.
I wondered for a while (… a few days) if I was one of the few who’d experienced such emotions, but the late night texts with my fellow mom friends assured me I am not.
You see, the hospital stay and the first few nights at home with my own mom there to help were complete bliss… but by day 7 and mom gone, I was left with the most gut-wrenching anxiety. It kept building every afternoon, and I was left with feelings of dread, fear, and the sensation that we were stuck in this repeating cycle of staying inside with baby. HOW was no one else talking about how extremely difficult these emotions and hormones are? You brace yourself for sleepless nights, diaper changes, hours of breastfeeding… but compounded with hormone levels that are equivalent to that of a woman going through menopause and the cabin fever? There’s still no way to describe it.
I feared this would be the feeling for the next few months, and that I would possibly need medication (nothing at all wrong with that). But then, just a few days later, the afternoons didn’t feel so heavy and I felt so excited for the future. During my 2 week post-op appointment with my doctor, I brought up these emotions and asked how I could differentiate between the “baby blues” and actual post-partum depression or anxiety. He said while it’s sometimes hard to know the difference, if I felt like each day was slowly getting better then it was most-likely baby blues. I then BEGGED him to let me do some type of workout routine for my sanity, to which he said yes to walking, light upper body lifting and other body weight movements like air squats and lunges. I have never seen exercise as medicine more than I have in this season of life- the feeling of slowly moving my body just to add some routine and purpose to the day was the biggest breath of fresh air!

** continued**

06/26/2023

05/19/2023

“Train for the season you’re in” - that’s been my mantra lately.

And right now, just moving my body is enough. The days of sled pushes, pull ups, and heavy lifting aren’t what my body needs right now, so why would I even try? Moving IS enough.

I can’t help but laugh when I look back at the first few weeks of pregnancy… seeing prenatal workout programs and videos that had box squats and bird dogs, thinking that wouldn’t be a challenge for me. And now you can find me on the floor having to take a break in between bird dogs 😂 it’s humbling to say the least, but I’ve come to terms with this season I’m in. In fact, I’m pressed to say I’m starting to embrace and enjoy it (of course it’s in the home stretch).

I am amazed by my body, because I didn’t realize the strain pregnancy would put on me until you’re in the thick of it. Your organs being squished and pressed against can make a walk up the stairs feel like a 200m sprint. But I show up everyday for myself and baby, and I try, and I meet my body where I’m at right now.