A little about me!

Hey ya'll!!  My name is Katie and I am a 35 year old wife for almost 12 years and stay at home mother to 3 precious children!  We have 2 girls and a boy ages 11, 7, and 3. We live in south Mississippi AKA "the Sip."  I am a Christian and my faith is very important to me.  I have a passion for my faith and my family.  I want to be the best wife and mom possible and I also found a passion later in life and that is my passion for running!

I started running February 7, 2013 at age 33 using the couch to 5k app!  I clearly remember "Week 1, Day1" because I was at a park and tried to run and walk at the track in Hurley, MS.  I only made it 15 minutes through the workout because my chest started hurting and my heart rate got out of rhythm.  I was diagnosed with Mitral Valve Prolapse in 2003, and what that means is my mitral valve in my heart does not close properly.  This causes chest pain and palpitations and anxiety.  Anxiety goes along with my heart problem, because when it would get out of rhythm, I would panic.  It can be very scary at times.  I started running to try and improve my symptoms.  I had heard over and over for so many years to do more cardio, but I could not find an activity I enjoyed.  I spent a lot of time in my 20's not exercising because when I did, my chest would hurt and palpitations would occur which would scare me out of working out.  After I had my son, I joined our local gym in 2012 and started my running journey in 2013. I admit, my first couch to 5k workout did not go smoothly, but I tried again the next day! I remember how excited I was at week 5 when I ran 20 minutes straight!  I couldn't believe it.  I ran my first 5k March 30, 2013 with a time of  34 minutes and 36 seconds.  I was hooked!  I signed up for as many 5k's as I could find and ended up running the Color Me Rad with my oldest daughter April 20, 2013 with a friend of mine and her daughter.  I even met up with an old friend in May and we ran together for several months training for our first half marathon!  We both had a running coach and trained for our first half for 5 months.  I was a machine this time last year.  I finished my first half marathon, the Kaiser Realty Half Marathon on November 30, 2013, in 2 hours and 18 minutes!  I was so excited, but unfortunately, I ended up injuring my right knee in December.  I ran through pain for over a month and finally figured out it was my IT Band.  I saw an Orthopedic doctor in January and had to take off 5 weeks from running.  My MVP symptoms had been better for about 7 months, but the palpitations came back in January and I had to start taking my heart medicine again.  I was really sad I could not run and that I was having so much heart trouble.  On February 19, 2014 I was diagnosed with melanoma skin cancer. I was devastated. I had surgery to remove inside the margins of where the melanoma was located on February 27, 2014 and did not get my pathology report back until March 10.  Thankfully, the melanoma did not spread and was very thin.  Praise the Lord!!  I go see my dermatologist every 3 months now.  During that really difficult time, I was walking and running on my treadmill.  I ran my first 5k of the year on March 15, 2014!  I ran it in a little over 31 minutes and my 5k PR from last year is 27:26.  Running was really hard for me during the spring and I was still struggling with palpitations and chest pain.  Since I had been under so much stress with the knee injury and the skin cancer diagnosis, sometimes stress really makes my symptoms worse.

I decided to train for my second half marathon on my own in April and ran the Hotter than Hades Half Marathon June 20, 2014 in 2 hours and 34 minutes!  I did not have any knee pain at all during the race and it was what I would like to call my "comeback race."  All summer, I tried to get my speed back to where it was last year and I was really hoping for a 5k PR, but I injured my foot in July and hurt my left knee in September running my fastest 5k on September 27, 2014.  My time was 26:18!  I had to take off a good bit in October due to injury and getting sick for 2 weeks.  My brother, Jamie and I had signed up for the Pensacola Half Marathon which was just last weekend on November 9.  We both finished!  My time was 2 hours and 46 minutes and even thought this is my slowest time for a half, this is the happiest I have ever been after a race!  I was so proud of my brother and I was there to support him.  He ran his first half marathon in 2 hours and 37 minutes with very little training!  I still can't believe I have run 3 half marathons in less than two years of running!

I have always wanted to be the best wife and mother possible to my husband and children.  I am so thankful that I found my passion for running later in life because I won't take it for granted.  I have energy to chase after my 3 year old son and I'm in great shape for my age.  I could not do any of this without my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who has lifted me out of my darkest days and never left my side.  He has to come first. So welcome to my blog!  Think of me as your "sole sister." Your sister in Christ and running partner.  Welcome to my journey through being a housewife who runs half marathons for fun!!