Running Motivation and Writing Therapy for Those Ready to Heal from Trauma, Banish Negativity and Achieve Greatness on Their Own Terms
Because some days we wake up… sip a little rocket fuel… put on our very best shark-loving outfit and go 
.
Today is about gratitude . Thanking life, God and the universe for all the blessings it continually gives, allows, and surprises me with.
You canāt create magic moments by covering your eyes… get out there and see what youāve been missing
#imaluckygirl#ilovemesomesharks#sundaysarejustthatgood
The open road…š¤
How blessed am I to take just a few short steps from my home to this open road?
My open road has been a solid foundation where I have retraced and rebuilt my life.
My open road has heard my cries for help, the confessions of my heart, and my pleas for a better version of myself.
My open road has taken me through trials, and upsets, through celebrations and victories.
Today I get to wake up and use my gift… the gift of my legs.
I get to run, sweat, breathe heavy, taste the salt on my cheeks, and just let the burdens of my heart be lifted away to my creator. I can be freed.
What’s your open road look like?
Today I challenge you to release one thing on that pavement that’s been holding you back. Leave it there… say goodbye to it… thank it… and then inhale with gratitude that your open road will know exactly what to do with it.
Running is a gift. Celebrate that open road today š¤.
Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! Weāre sending Suzanneās blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Donāt miss the next postā¦ delivered straight to your inbox.
My past is a place where I visit from time to time, but I donāt stay long anymore. I donāt ask for an invitation to visit. I show up uninvited to remind it of just a few things.
My past told me I couldnāt become an athlete, because I was lazy… undetermined and unfocused. I ring the doorbell of my past, and when it opens the door… it now sees the face of grit, hard work, discipline, and eyes that see long into my dreams and goals.
My past told me I couldnāt overcome the bottle. That Jameson and Vodka would destroy me long before a pair of running shoes could.
I ring the doorbell and when my past answers, I say remember me? Now it sees the girl who hasnāt touched a drink in 5 years. Who put down the bottle to pick up her self-worth, and found self-love again.
My past told me I couldnāt make a difference: “Youāll never be an example, or a leader. Youāll never succeed.”
I ring the doorbell and when it opens the door… my past sees all of you. It sees your kind words and support. It sees us sharing all our achievements together.
My past asks me if I would like to sit and stay awhile… maybe get reacquainted. I politely decline. As I leave, I turn around and say:
“You thought you would break me. You thought you could keep me prisoner, hold me in the dark, never to be rescued.”
As I shut the door, the beautiful light shining down upon me pierces that dark place. The past quietly closes the door with nothing left to say.
Find your willingness to be better. Do not let people, places or things hold your happiness… they will drop it every time. Find your light and burn that bitch so bright, you light up the world šāØāļø.
Now let’s get this run done āļø.
Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! Weāre sending Suzanneās blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Donāt miss the next postā¦ delivered straight to your inbox.
Every day we make a choice. Today I choose to NEVER NEVER NEVER GIVE UP 
.
The work is hard and tiring, but the road is paved with self-satisfaction, and a joy that no one person can ever take from me.
Find what you love and do it… do it with fire in your eyes. Do it with a smile… do it happy or sad… alone or afraid.
Just know that every day you are writing your legacy. How will you leave your mark on this world?
How will they remember you?
Someone is watching you. Be kind… be bold… but be undoubtedly an example of good.
Now letās get this done .
Very recently I have received a lot of private messages. People want to know: how do I train? What is my diet? And where the heck do I get the drive to want to help so many people?
Although the physical grit is an absolute must, as is nutritionā¦ training my mind is the MOST important thing I do. When our head is not in the game, the rest fall like dominos.
Do I stumble? Yes. Do I get off track? Yes. Am I a quitter? Hell no! Journaling is a huge part of my running success. Itās part of who I am.
Today Imma keep it real and share with you a letter I wrote to myself this morning as I’m putting it in the mental instead of physical work.
Dear Suzanneā¦
Today I release everything and everybody that no longer serves your quest for peace and health. I am sorry for the way I often treat you, and the way I let others treat you. I am so sorry that I allowed you to tolerate selfish people whose intentions were clearly not the best for you.
Today I promise to do my best to no longer look at you in the mirror and see flaws, or think you are overweight or imperfect, or not pretty enough, or not good enough.
Today I will love you for who you are: a loving wife, a kick-ass mom, a loyal friend, and one hell of an athlete.
Today WE need to do better at feeding your body and soul with what it needsā¦ THE GOOD STUFF. By that I mean with love and plants, fruits, more veggies, and with good people with good vibesā¦ who have only the BEST intentions for you.
Today I will try better to release you from the dizzying merry go round of societal crap. You donāt need to reinvent the wheel, Suzanneā¦ today you just need to re-up your contract with yourself. Today I reclaim it!!
Love,
Your BEST Self
Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! Weāre sending Suzanneās blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Donāt miss the next postā¦ delivered straight to your inbox.
This morning’s run was a hot, humid one here in New Jersey.
Often times I get up and go without much thought on where I will run or how far I will go. I tie my laces, walk out my door and immediately I am on my familiar county roads.
Some days I see just wildlife, some days many town locals wave as they pass me in their cars. Today was just the hum of the local farmer’s tractor off in the distance, the sounds of the birds, and my heavy breathing trying to fight the humidity.
As I passed the barn with that beautiful flag hung… I am quickly reminded of just how lucky and blessed I am.
I get to wake up and do what I love, on these back farm town roads that I love but not without what that flag represents… not without those men and women who bravely fought so I could be just this lucky.
This is my home… these are my roads… and today I am just a happy girl.
Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! Weāre sending Suzanneās blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Donāt miss the next postā¦ delivered straight to your inbox.
Today is simple. Wake up and do your best. We all need support, we all need encouragement. We need laughter, and appreciation for others. We need help from time to time, we need acceptance and humbleness to be teachable and to grow.
We need a few good friends, we need more sincerity and a lot less posed fakeness.
I have crawled from the depths of hell out of my alcohol addiction. I have lost 90 pounds not by sheer luck but by discipline, and hard days, mixed with both tears of deflated failure and of joy.
I have learned how to negotiate running as my beautiful outlet for this batshit crazy world I live in, for the toxic people and negative people I must deal with, and for the continued benefits of my health and well being.
Donāt let anyone tell you how to tie your laces. Only you know where youāve beenā¦ where you areā¦ and where you are heading. As for meā¦ today I slip on my headbandā¦ sip the rocket fuelā¦ smileā¦ and go celebrate that I get to wake up and do what I love.
#rocketfuelinmycup
#tiedyefashion
#donttouchmylaces
You have one lifeā¦ one chanceā¦ one dream to leave a legacy. How you wake up and act today will set the stage for your life tomorrow.
DoI have regrets? Yes. Do I stumble with my choices sometimes? Absolutely.
DoI know that I will never allow certain people, places, or things to be responsible for the detrimental navigation of my own happiness?
You bet your @ss I do.
Today is my day and yoursā¦!!
Donāt politely tell this world who you are. SHOW THEM.
I promise you, someone is watching. We have a choice, we have a say, and we determine who we will become.
Amen and amen!
#beyourownmayday
#waveatthemhaters #smileatastranger
Thank you for supporting my writing endeavor at RunBeforeyouFly.com. I’m Suzanne Swanson and I’d love for us to keep in touch!
Today someone is waking up heartbroken thinking they will never love again.
Today someone will wake up hungover from the poison they put in their body, thinking recovery isnāt possible. Today someone will wake up at the hand of a narcissist feeling deflated and broken.
Today someone will wake up without a job as the aftermath of yesterdayās board meeting. Someone will battle anxiety and depression. Someone will closet eat. Someone will gamble. Someone will struggle with unfaithfulness or unfairness.
Today is also the day someone will hear the birds for the first time in a while. Today someone will draw the shades open and let the light in after decades. Today someone will feel hope and comfort. Today someone will be cured of an insidious disease.
Today someone will stop and pick a wildflower. Today someone will feel the warmth of the sun.
We are not stuck. We are not hopeless. We need not be afraid. We are warriors. Tuesdays are for morning runs, and coffee shops. For telling a friend you love them and for appreciating that even when the wildflowers think no one sees their beauty… I doš.
āI hope you are blessed with a heart like a wildflower. Strong enough to rise again after being trampled on, tough enough to weather even the worst of the summer storms, and able to grow and flourish even in the most broken places.ā ~ ng
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Iām going to say a little something today to anyone struggling.
On the left was a girl whose smile was there because someone said āSay cheese!ā
The core of me was alone… in an upheaval of a mess made by wrong choices… fueled by addiction, doubt, and shame.
I rode my high horse as a means of trying to fit in. I let crappy people influence my choices. I was robbing myself of a life of freedom, goodness, and wellness.
The woman on the right smiles because she crushed her devils… weathered the storms, and found peace within the brokenness.
Today life is tough. We scroll through social media. We see fitness models talk about their chiseled success, we see fad diet after diet, shake after shake, supplement after supplement. How can we not feel conflicted?
Hereās the deal: find what works for you and seek the pure joy in it. You want to eat meat? Eat meat. You want to be vegan? Be vegan. You want to cartwheel on the street between each mile.? Do it!!!! Find what you love and let it be a neverending well of happiness.
This world has had enough people spit venom about individual choices.
Today… all Iām asking is you wake up and choose you. Give thanks for who you were, give praise for who you are, and lay down some gratitude for who you will continue to become.
Find what works for you… price tag it and own it. Show the world… be the change.
I promise you someone is watching… letās give ’em something to talk about āļø.