Delays On The One

This past Sunday I was able to finally check off something that had been on my to do list for YEAAARRRSSSSS. I was able to run and complete my very first half marathon. It was such a surreal experience. I am so grateful for all of the training and numerous friends and family who encouraged me and assisted me on this journey.

Before turning 30, running in a half marathon was on my bucket lists of things to compete. In an unfortunate turn of events, I broke my foot twice (same foot) in one year and suffered a concussion right after I started training and had to really focus on getting back to 100 percent.

A few months after turning thirty, I lost a cousin to a drunk driving accident. At the funeral, his brothers and family talked about how he was such a motivating force in their lives and they played several videos of him motiving others. His mantra of “Stay Ready” kept me when I ready to quit.

Through all of the crazy things that happened before the race, brownstone failing inspection which resulted in the gas being turned off in my apartment (still ongoing six weeks and counting) no cooking, no hot water in the dead of Winter, stomach flu the week before the race, Airbnb canceling the day before I arrived, race shoes not arriving on time, LGA grounding planes over the government shutdown which made me arrive super late, extreme rain and cold in Miami etc. I was still determined to run this race.

My race was in honor of Edwin and I will continue to uplift his legacy. I’ll be back again next year to run the same race…but only faster :-)

I’m glad a few of the pictures they took came out decent lol

Right as I was approaching mile 10 “Halo” from Beyoncé came on and literally brought me to tears…followed by the OG motivator “Knuck if you Buck” <3

I grew up in a very strict religious household. The first place I went after turning six weeks was church.

Sunday was the one day of the week that we would have a hot breakfast. We would literally be at church ALL DAY between the hours of 9-3 or longer if there was a second service. I grew weary of being there all day, around the age of 7 and started to countdown to my 18th birthday. I spent my entire childhood in church. If you’re ever watched notkarltonbanks on IG his skits were my weekly occurrences. I would tell myself on a near daily basis that I would no longer be subjected to this nonsense as an adult. I always dreamt of sleeping in and doing whatever on Sunday. Going to birthday parties, brunch, the bookstore, sporting events etc.

Once I moved away for college I felt an obligation to continue to attend church (even though I loathed going) because I felt that it was the “right” thing to do and also because I had been conditioned into doing that every Sunday.

While I attended church during a portion of my college years, I definitely tried a few places that did not have all day service. However, I always left feeling more conflicted. I consider myself extremely liberal and a lot of the messages and teachings that I heard really went against my core beliefs.

I have extremely thick and long natural hair and taking care of my hair isn’t the most fun task, but it’s something that I’ve adapted into my normal routine. I pushed that task to Sunday. Wake up early, pre-poo, wash, deep condition with heat, rinse, LOC method, style. Patiently wait to dry. This takes HOURS.

Little did I know that the simple (well not so simple) task of washing my hair would be the start of my self-care Sundays. Sunday would be the one day a week that I checked in with myself. How am I doing mentally? What would I like to accomplish for the week?

Self-Care for me has been simply doing what is best for me when I want to do it. After moving away for college, I dreamed of taking baths again. Each of the numerous apartments that I’ve resided in usually just had a half bath (shower only). One of the selling points of my current place is that I have a huge (well huge for me) bath.

I take bath time really seriously because it was well over a decade before I could take baths consistently. I light incense, and sometimes palo santo and sage, burn my favorite candles, add Epsom salt ,my favorite mix of essential oils to the bath water and listen to my favorite tunes.

Reclaiming Sunday is really just the beginning of me taking time for myself in this journey of my life. It’s now one of the days that I look forward to instead of loathe.