half marathon – We Only Get One Chance

ENDURANCE

I am fully convinced endurance is the key to success.

I have run marathons, half-marathons and climbed to the rooftop of Africa. I have done triathlons, 60-90 minute extreme hot yoga classes and 50 mile bike rides and ran a thriving family chiropractic office for 14 years. I endured 10 years of school beyond high school and driven 3,000 miles from Anchorage, Alaska to Atlanta, Georgia. I have spent countless hours studying, during school and since by doctorate degree and taken many long plane rides, longest being 26 hour plane ride from Detroit to Kilimanjaro.

I never realized just how much endurance has played into my equation for success until a few months ago.

I was sitting down for lunch with one of my mentors in Florida and he says “I am really proud of you.” He then continues, “Anyone can work hard enough and earn the degree but not many can really do what it takes to run the business the way you have and succeeded in practice and kept that kind of energy doing it all by yourself.”

Here is a clue to my internal workings, I just expect that of myself and I do not give myself an “out” to not do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. …and that goes for every area of my life.

I was shocked when he said that mostly for the simple fact of the expectations I set on myself but when I really do look back and see how far I have come I have done this all on my own. Granted I do have an INCREDIBLE support network in my life for sure that pick me up, dust me off and give me a kick in the rear to get going again. I have to take a

Best Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - Endurance - Dr Erica Peabody

moment to thank my amazing team Nikki, Teri, Stephanie and Laura – you ladies make this entire dream worth living and working so hard for!!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!! THANK YOU!!!!

One week prior to that trip to Florida, I was presented with an incredible business opportunity. The evening before this particular lunch with my mentor, Mike and I were out to dinner and I got wind that the opportunity was actually a reality if I wanted it for the taking.

So I jumped.

I had no idea that the words that my mentor said at that time about my endurance for what I am doing would ring truer and louder than ever before in my life. I had no idea how much that trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro would help me the past 3 months. I had no idea that Chicago Marathon in 2005 and all the half marathons and all those miles training out on the trails to prep for those grueling 26.2 and 13.1 miles would help me through this time in my life since March.

As I endured 6 months in that walking boot last year and 3-4 trips to the gym still training, some would chime in and ask “what are you training for now?”

“I am training for LIFE!” was always my answer.

Yes I have had road races and triathlons and trek and swims and hikes that I have trained for in the past, I have

Chiropractor Fenton Michigan - The Second Strap - Dr Erica Peabody

always had something in front of me that would inspire me daily to keep going…but I had no idea it was all for these past 3 months. The meetings, emails, lists, meetings, emails and more lists, along with straight up execution on all of these things day in and day out aside from my newly engaged life and busy practice…this is what I have been training for. If I am totally honest, I have developed slight PTSD opening my email these days in fear of one more list, one more thing, one more meeting that will need to be tended to.

And I still have yet to birth my own children and raise my own family…I hear that takes some serious endurance and I am certain that this time in my life is just mere preparation for those next steps too.

Patients ask me all the time, “What is your next big adventure?” “What is the next mountain you are going to climb?” Little did you know I have been climbing one of the biggest mountains in my life and you are all right along side me.

All of this “talking in code” and not being able to disclose this information has been a multiplying factor for the endurance of this climb. I love being able to bounce ideas off of my people, my board of directors especially, and share. I feel like when I share I am able to download and reprocess things inside of my mind and being and create some form of order. I have been unable to do that due to the nature of this incredible plan.

HOLY COW DOC!?!?!?!??!!!!!! Are you leaving us????? Nope I am here and setting even deeper roots into the Fenton community than ever before. I am more here than I have ever been before. I am more excited than I have ever been before. I am more charged up about life and living and serving than ever before. We are taking things up to a whole new level and are going to be able to be a beacon of light, a true heartbeat of health and wellness inside of our community and although I need another week or so to really share the plans, trust me it is really, really good and worth all the endurance.

Now if you possibly think I could tackle something like this on my own…well thank you and yes I probably could, however I wouldn’t want to without the greatest partner in life walking shoulder to shoulder right at my side. He props me up, he settles me down, he charges me up and knocks me on my behind when I need it. He has been a solid driving force since our day one together however even more so now that this kind of rubber is meeting the road and this kind of traction is needed. There were a few moments during this process that I had to consider if I would do something like this on my own…the answer us YES I would and could and will if necessary. But in saying all that, I am so so grateful, ever so grateful to you my Love. Thanks for everything Babe. Good thing he is a three-time Ironman, I knew endurance was part of the fabric he was cut from since the start.

Stay tuned!!! It is just getting good.

10 YEARS TODAY

It is “Throw Back Thursday” and exactly 10 years today that I graduated from Chiropractic College. From the time I started college to finishing with my doctorate was also 10 years.

It is very clear that decades go on in the blink of an eye and it truly is important to take each day lightly and have fun. I have had so many incredible experiences and memories, and have learned so much in this past decade.

In the last 10 year:

I graduated from Chiropractic College with these great guys and loaded up my things and moved home to Fenton, MI.

I moved in with my parents, moved into an apartment, bought a condo and bought a home.

I started a practice, Cafe of LIFE Chiropractic at 110 Trealout Dr, moved my practice to 114 W. Caroline Street (where Crust is currently) and we found permanent digs in 2010 at 521 N. Leroy St.

I have celebrated the marriage of my mother to my step dad, and 2 of my brothers to 2 very beautiful women.

I have welcomed 4 nieces and 3 nephews, and watched my brothers become fathers.

I have been to countless birthday parties, holiday parties and spent hundreds of hours at the lake with my family.

I have had 5 extraordinary women help me run my practice…Thank you Lauren, Rachel, Vickie, Angie and Alyssa.

I have had 7 of the greatest massage therapists on my team…Thank you Rachel, Teri, Kelli, Rachael, Toni, Kel Leigh and Nicole.

I have traveled a lot and have some fun stamps on my passport.

I have participated in a Chiropractic Service Trip <<–YouTube picture book (Peru August 2014).

I have run a marathon, Chicago in 2006, many half-marathons, Crim 10 milers and other races.

I have finished 4 triathlons.

I have been to hundreds of yoga classes, maybe close to a thousand.

I took yoga teacher training and doula training.

I have been in love, been loved and fallen out of love.

I have done a FLASH MOB, jumped out of an AIRPLANE and taken a ride in a helicopter.

I have had health challenges, sports injuries and have more faith in the body’s ability to heal than ever before.

I have attended births, I adjusted women before labor, during labor and immediately after birthing their babies.

I have checked and adjusted too many babies to count, more kids than I can imagine, and I can’t even fathom how many adults.

I have adjusted people minutes after birth and hours prior to death, and those who have just lost someone important.

I have laughed more in the last 10 years than ever before in my life.

I have had more fun than ever before in my life.

I have cried so many tears of joy and sorrow.

I have never loved life so much as I do at this point right now.

I have made so many great friends, lost a few and learned so much from connections with others.

I have learned to embrace the moment, be present to the day and squeeze as much juice out of life as I possibly can.

I am so grateful, so very very grateful to be of service to a community that has given me so much.

I am so freakin’ grateful for my support system of people near and far and grateful to have people in my life that help me keep my flame lit.

I had no idea when that picture above was taken at my graduation that all of this stuff would have happened.

It has been quite a ride, I look forward to seeing what the next 10 years will bring.

10 years today. Truly unbelievable it has been 10.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDi7nW_l_Pw[/youtube]

DETROIT HALF MARATHON SUCCESS

When the alarm goes off at 3:30am on Sunday morning for me to get ready, drive down to Detroit and run 13.1 miles, I lay there in my bed and wonder whose idea this was anyway?

To have a half-marathon in the plans to run at the middle to end of fall is always a good idea in theory but as the day approaches, and especially the morning of, I really question my sanity in signing up for yet another one. I get really anxious and very nervous as the clock ticks away and the race approaches. In fact, all last week with the issues I have had with my foot lately, I was telling people that this race felt almost like a final exam. There is no pass/fail when it comes to running but for whatever reason I was putting a lot of pressure on myself.

The alarm goes off, I lay and try to figure out what I am supposed to be doing, it hits me that I have a race to run and up I go, out of bed and on my way. The second challenging thing about a race is to figure out what is the best thing to eat at that time in the morning, my choice this time around is a cereal bar, a Lara bar and a huge bottle of water. I make sure Choco has time for his business and jump in my Jeep and head down to Detroit.

I have a plan ahead of time about where I am going to park and it works out well. I am there over an hour ahead of time but it is helpful to not have the stress of a time crunch at the last minute. I decide to spend a few minutes to sit and visualize the race. From my seat, I can see the huge flags in front of the Ren Cen blowing in the wind and a bit of a chill every time someone comes in the front door. Although I am not looking forward to the cold, I have experienced much colder mornings with rain for this particular race.

After a few minutes I decide it is best to make my way to the starting line. It is a bit of a jog to get to the start but soon realize the perfection of it as my core begins to warm. From the Ren Cen, it is left on Jefferson, right on Washington and a left onto Fort St where there are 20,000 other runners and their support people, it is a massive sea of people and the energy is absolutely unbelievable!

I walk right up to my corral, enter and move forward to the start and off I go. Many people do these kinds of races with another person or a group of people, or at least have a support person waiting in the wings at the event. Not me. I have chosen to do these races regardless of whoever else may or may not want to do it with me. This time I realized how anonymous I was in this huge crowd and that is a pretty neat feeling. Even though I am anonymous, I feel like all of these 20,000 runners are my friends, mostly because they love what I love and they are about to do what I am about to do. It is a community that one can feel part of and be anonymous at the same time.

My bib is pinned to the front of my shirt with this crazy “20222” number that I am so excited about and my name written in big letters underneath it. In this huge community of people, you can be anonymous and also have people saying things like “Good job Erica”, “Keep it going Erica” and “You can do it Erica” along the entire course because your name is written right there.

The spectators of this great sport of running are amazing people. They are dressed in goose down, hats, gloves and boots carrying bells, signs, horns and other noise makers and for hours they sit there and cheer on the runners, people they know and mostly people they don’t know. The funniest sign I have seen so far in my years of running was just coming out of the tunnel and returning to the United States this time around and it read “WORST PARADE EVER!” Those of you that know me and my literal humor, could guess that I almost buckled over in laughter…that is funny stuff!

Mile 11 came around and I remember checking in with my body and all of its many sore parts…absolutely sore everywhere, no question. My pacer on my cyclemeter app on my iPhone was telling me that I was at 11 miles, running 9.40 minutes per mile and that I had 2.1 miles to go. 2.1 miles to go meant that in just about 20 minutes of continuous running I will be done and so I picked up my pace. I wanted to be finished as soon as I possibly could so better to just suck it up and pound out those last 2 miles than to drag it out any longer.

There is a moment in every long run that I am grateful beyond anything words can explain that my body is capable and allows me to do this. It is at that moment that life is so grand and I feel absolutely unstoppable. It is such an incredible feeling and is the “runner’s high” that everyone talks about. This happens to me around 8ish miles or so and continues to the end of the race.

The last turn down Fort St is something that sticks in my mind and is what gets me coming back to run these streets year after year. The finish line is in sight, there are thousands of people lining the sides of the street, little kids sticking out their hands for runners to give them a high five (and you better believe I take every high five I can get along the way) and cheers of celebration during the last few blocks like nothing you have ever experienced. In that moment I let my imagination run wild and pretend they are all cheering for me…and then crossing of the finish line, the ever so familiar beep as your chip time is recorded capped off with a beautiful medal that someone hangs around your neck…it is in a dream state that I finish each race.

It is a huge accomplishment to work towards all year and when I get my A+ on my final exam, though 3:30am is early, by a little bit after 9 I have burned over 1,500 calories, shared in that kind of energy…nothing feels better. Only one thing would make it even better…if more of you will join me next year! Do you have a half-marathon on your bucket list? Check that item off by running with me next year! I am serious…we only get one chance to live this life! Let’s make it happen!