Category: Runner Story

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Talk to Your Heart.

Something on my heart today is… you. The messages just this morning alone I have received… they come flooding in with words like “Help, I can’t, I’m drowning, I’m trying, I’m lost, I’m lonely, I’m fat, I’m done, this scares me”… the list goes on.

The darkness of each of us is real. Goals we don’t meet. Disappointing news at our door daily, failed diets, health problems, divorces, addictions, all the profound uncertainties that we know we can’t control… yet each day we give them an open invitation to burrow inside us…striking that all too familiar feeling of unrest and discord.

Waking up and doing something is victory. Drinking one less drink, smoking one less cigarette, moving your body two more inches than you did yesterday is victory.

Saying no is victory. Saying yes is victory. Trying to outrun all that weighs you down will tire you, and eat away at the goodness of your core.

Sit with whatever it is… let the tears sting, and the saltwater cleanse… move toward grace and possibility with ease rather than breathlessness.

Talk to your heart. Find out what it needs. When life saddens me, or pushes me into heightened awareness… the Scorpio in me wants to fight… the empath in me wants to cry… but the soul in me wants to run. My answers are always in the asphalt, and the open road.

Find where your answers come from. Let it in… hold it tight… and know that your words are not lost on a message board, they are not unread… they are here.

I hear you. I see you. I believe in you. Now let’s get going… there’s work to be done.

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The Gray Area.

The Gray Area… is the place between black and white. It’s the place where truths are discovered, hurts are healed, tears are wiped, and love wins.

It’s the place that tore me apart, made me whole, begged me to stop and forced me to go.

It’s the place where hatred was laid to rest, forgiveness was born. Where the glistening of the pavement, and the sounds of my feet hitting it… set me free.

It’s the place where dreams are made, wishes come true, and miracles do exist.

Yes… I love color. I love all things beautiful and bright… but may we never forget the simplistic value of what we learn in between the black and white.

Blessings, Loves…

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Run With Our Pack. NEW FB Group and Page

I would like to welcome everyone who recently signed up for our mailings or joined our Facebook group, Run Before You Fly. These past few days have been a whirlwind of sorts. One minute I was still daydreaming about a blog, a name, a Facebook group of my own. Then, boom, just like that we hit go… and here we are. 🤎

The Run Before You Fly blog will be the place I keep my writings, musings, ponderings of life, love, struggle and happiness. Some have asked to receive a daily dose of runner’s inspiration from my pen to your heart… for that, I recommend signing up for my email list.

Our Facebook group will serve as a safe space to share our personal victories and losses, influence and inspire each other. We can post about and celebrate our talents, what lights us up, areas where we need help, and all the beautiful chaos life gives us.

Our group will not be a place to criticize, be better than, insult or put anyone down. I won’t tolerate that. Open discussion is fine, and while we may not agree on every topic or everyone’s ideas or thoughts… there is always a respectful way to have a conversation.

Sometimes I still stumble out of bed… hit the coffee pot, put my workout clothes on and tie my sneakers. I grumble, I stay stuck sometimes in my old ways of thinking. Self doubt… shame… and guilt try to infiltrate their way into my brain. Dark places can inspire us to be better, stronger, and wiser.

Commitment… perseverance… gratitude… these are all things that, during my active years of eating too much, drinking too much and overthinking, I thought were not possible for me. I’m here to tell you… yes, this and more is possible. You can achieve good things, and restore yourself to health.

Whatever you struggle with… food? Substance? Gambling? Trauma? PTSD? Depression? …know that you can recover. Your story helps the next person, so never be afraid to tell it.

I don’t have all the answers. I don’t know why I am on this journey yet. But I do know this.

I am hopeful. I am strong… and I am grateful.

Feel safe here. Share, and together let’s inspire each other to change the world 🌍.

Join Our Pack! “Run Before You Fly”.

Join the Run Before You Fly Facebook Group– for running motivation, staying accountable, being healthy, setting goals, offering support to one another, and breathing life into our dreams!

To receive daily inspiration via email, sign up here. Please add us to your Safe Senders list so that my message to you won’t get lost in spam by accident!

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Runner’s Mantra

When we stay in tune with our inner being, we recharge our power. Yoga and meditation are important for me as a runner to seek gratitude in my capabilities.

As a human being, these practices allow me to reset my focus. They set me back into the present moment and sketch a blueprint for my well-being and success.

I can easily get sucked back into conflicting thoughts. I can easily get drawn into a vortex of shit that promises success and elation but only delivers despair and destruction.

Today, seek what is good. Demand nothing but that which will fill you with happiness and promise.

Leave toxic crap where it belongs… and rise above the people and things you set you back. This leg of my journey always brings challenge… but this woman will always bring grit, and self-will.

Rise up today from wherever you are. Re-set. Re center. Re-focus, and then hold yourself.

Tell yourself you’re listening… you are trying… and that you are loved.

Join our safe space where we will share, inspire, love, and grow!

Run Before You Fly Private Facebook Group with Suzanne Swanson is open to all who wish to continue to share their experiences, love of running, and battles of life, with each other. Together we are better.

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Metamorphosis

Metamorphosis…

As a child, I was carefree, with a zest for life. I didn’t know about responsibility then, or have worry. I didn’t understand the concept of adulthood, paying bills, raising children. I didn’t know about the harshness of cruel people, who the taxman or bill collector was, or that I would soon walk the road to darkness.

In my early to late adulthood, I was taught the hard lessons of love, the fear of crippling anxiety, the sadness of the battle with the bottle, the raw truth of feeling less than.

I felt the defeat of being overweight, the sadness of lack of joy, and had an overwhelming dreaded falseness that I could not become who that little girl on the left dreamed of.

In my midlife, I found the love of running… and today I inhale gratitude with each breath.

I welcome joy, I preach hope. I tell the booze to shut up and lay down. I make my choices. I decide who stays and who goes, and I will choose peace over bullshit every time.

Faith leads the way. Hope lights the path, and perseverance steps you there.

Take a step… take a breath… and find your way to your metamorphosis 🖤.

#hopedealer #IAintDoneYet

Stay in Touch with Suzanne

Thank you for supporting my writing and running endeavors at RunBeforeyouFly.com. I’m Suzanne Swanson and I’d love for us to keep in touch!

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Where I’ve Been.

Timely Tuesday…

Back from a well rested time at the beach. With so much going on in this crazy world, how wonderful it felt to “almost feel normal” again.

Nostalgia flooded my mind all throughout the week as the smell of Coppertone, French fries, seagulls, and kids laughing brought me to a happy place of memories as a child growing up with beach vacations.

I realize as I get older earthly material things mean less and less to me… and the time spent with my family and good friends is priceless. Life is truly flying by quickly, and now more than ever the present moment is where I must try like hell to allow myself to stay in.

I also became more aware that I am typically very hard on myself, but also that I am uniquely me… that what I do matters, and that where I have been and where I am going tell my tale of just what I am made of.

Today I woke up in my little hometown, back on my country roads, with my familiar surroundings, and a renewed sense of why I do what I do.

I know where I have been, I know where I am going… 💜

“The cure for anything is truly salt water” ~

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My Father’s Daughter.

This morning I set out for my 15-mile training run.

Today was rough… humidity at 98%, and an added challenge to run without music for that distance to allow time for truly resting my head from purposeful noise… and just allowing nature’s music to be the background today.

It’s these days I often think of my Dad in heaven. So many thoughts are going through my mind…

Happy that he’s at peace, a little jealous that he doesn’t have to deal with the stressors of what’s around us. Heartbroken that I can’t ask him advice on how to deal with certain things…

But even still as I round the corner to finish this run, I know he is looking down… proud at what I have overcome, smiling at who I am becoming, and glowing because his lifelong harsh but gentle teachings are woven in me.

“I am my father’s daughter.”

Fifteen miles of “I-get-to-wake-up-and-do-what-I-love…”

Life has really been good to me. 💙Amen.

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Embarrassing Runner Story

LONG HILARIOUS POST‼️‼️ A MUST-READ‼️

Okay, so allow me to be your comic relief on a Sunday Morning. I know most of you expect that my posts are going to be very poignant and filled with valuable information. I have been transparent with you, I have shared with you my story of addiction and obesity.

I have showed you my overweight pictures and struggles… but, today I’m going to share probably one of the most embarrassing things that has happened to me to this date as a runner!!! I’m actually still laughing 😂.

This morning my running partner and I left my house at 5:20 for our 14-mile run. I had attended a beautiful wedding last night, and they were kind enough to have a special vegan dish made for me. It was extremely hot and spicy but delicious, so I ate it all 😂.

This morning I told my running partner that I felt a little off, I had not gone to the bathroom yet… but whatever, let’s just roll with this run and get going.

About 5 miles in my stomach definitely started to rumble and I thought oh my god what am I gonna do? Straight ahead, I see a lime green porta-john and think, “Thank God, he has answered my prayers…”

Now mind you, it’s still very early in the morning. I figured I could hop in, tear it up and get out. Perfect, I say…. who will ever be on these country roads this early!!!!

Two minutes later, I hear a diesel truck pull up– literally what feels like is going to be crashing into the porta potty and I hear “Okay, boys… let’s git this thing loaded up” 😂😂 LMAO.

I start sweating profusely with panic, (’cause what’s happening in there ain’t pretty 🤣🤣). I have to now yell and say “WAIT, THERES SOMEBODY IN HERE‼️”

I open the door and a larger bald man looks at me in disbelief. I just politely say “Sorry about this” and take off running 😂. Ten minutes later, I see the rollback truck pass me with Old Green strapped to the back! I was doubled over in laughter thinking my god, what if they didn’t hear me and I got hauled away to the Land O’ Porta Potty’s…. never to be heard from again.

Things I learned today…

  1. Never trust a port a potty… even if it has a friendly face.
  2. Despite my trauma 😂, I was able to wake up and do what I love. God’s beauty is amazing. I am so thankful to have eyes to see it.
  3. I probably never should eat spicy food like that again.
  4. I will most likely be the topic of discussion at the porta-potty headquarters and I love it😂😂.
  5. I could’ve been abducted into the porta-potty missing persons database and my running partner never would’ve known the difference because he was ahead of me…. saying “I don’t know, she was just right behind me.” 😂
  6. And…. I love my new Run to Change Lives Water bottle.

Be safe out there y’all….. SWANSON OUT!!!🖤

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The Porch.

Every once in a while I take time to visit my porch. It’s a quiet place looking out into farm fields, the road I run every day, and the occasional passerby walking their dog.

This porch has tremendous meaning. It used to be the place where I would drink as much alcohol as I could, eat too much crap, and dwell in self-pity about how I wanted my world to change so badly. It was a place to contemplate how much I hated the choices I was making in my life.

My porch today takes on a much different meaning. I sit out here now so incredibly grateful for the lives I’ve touched, and those who have steadily helped me get here.

I log my running miles, reflect on my training, meditate and focus on the things that I aspire to be. I give thanks for the universe and God, and I appreciate everything spiritually.

I seek stillness, all while sober, healthy, and knowing that I can dream, be, and achieve anything I damn want to…

My porch was a place I used to dread visiting because I knew the sadness that was tear-stained on its wood.

Today my porch sees and witnesses a different me. The wood of its foundation is solid and strong, tough and weathered… just like the woman who sits there now and rejoices. She is me… and she is happy 🖤.

Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! We’re sending Suzanne’s blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Don’t miss the next post… delivered straight to your inbox.

Sign up to hear from Suzanne via email here.

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Gratitude Changes Everything.

Gratitude changes everything.

He whispered, “She’ll never overcome addiction.”

She whispered: “She’ll always be overweight and unhealthy.”

I whispered…

“Hello… remember me? My miles have become my guide, and gratitude has changed me forever.”

Seek what you dream about, and be a living story. ❤️

#tellyourtale #leavealegacy

Follow along as Suzanne Swanson takes us through her transformation from addiction to athlete. Find support and healing in your own life! We’re sending Suzanne’s blog updates via email along with a daily dose of motivation. Don’t miss the next post… delivered straight to your inbox.