Well, she is one of a kind. My running partner, competition partner, prayer warrior, and dear friend, Jennifer Thorpe doesn’t disappoint.
You can bet that if Kathryn or myself says, “what do you think about…”. Her answer is always yes.
You may see us praying at a stop sign, or before a workout, or while we’re running or on the phone before a competition, her faith runs deep.
I am blessed to have her a part of all aspects of my life.
Jenn, thank you for being my strength so many times and leading a STRONG life.
Love and Hugs. Mitzi.
When Mitzi asked me to share my fitness journey a sense of nervousness came over me.
My journey? It’s not that interesting or compelling, I thought! The more I thought about my journey, the more I realized how wrong I was.
My journey so far, I believe, has been a special gift from God, and that in itself, deserves to be shared to those who will listen.
My fitness journey actually started at a later point in my life. I didn’t grow up in a home where fitness was encouraged or stressed. I grew up in a home with a single mother, and five siblings. My mother was born and raised in Vietnam and came to the states in 1968. So, we grew up eating amazing Vietnamese food which consisted of a ton of vegetables, stir-fry’s, and soups. Even though we didn’t have a lot of money (some months there was a lot of prayers that went up on my mother’s end so we would have enough food), my mother always made sure we had a balanced plate of healthy, fresh foods. She taught us all at a young age how to food prep (cut meat and vegetables), make our own meat broth, etc. I still can remember as a young child, her bragging to people that her kids could filet a whole chicken in less than 20 minutes! So early on, I believe my mother instilled in us, among other valuable life lessons, an appreciation and dedication to eating healthy and the value of food. Now my personal journey with food is still a daily process. I’m thankful for the foundation that was given to me; however, daily choices maintain that foundation or break it down. I’m far from perfect with making “correct” daily food choices. I mean, who doesn’t enjoy a delicious slice of chocolate cake every now and then, right? As a young adult, and even up until my early thirties (I’ll be 37 in December), food was an outlet for me. If I was sad, I’d eat. If I was happy, I’d eat, etc. It wasn’t until I started my quarterly cycles of Whole 30 two years ago when I developed a more emotionally healthy lifestyle with food. This is when, I believe, my foundation from my childhood, trial/error with food and how my body processed them, and finding a healthy, doable, balanced lifestyle began to click for me. Currently, I try to stick to a paleo diet, with some cheats, and cycles of Whole 30. I have found that this life style addresses what works best for me with my health/fitness and personality. Personality, you ask??? Yes! I’ve always been a little of a Type A (who would have thought?!). So boundaries, specified guidelines, being rigid…works best for me. I like to straddle the line, live outside the box for just a bit, but thrive on order. So when I feel that my diet is on point, the water is a bit calmer for me.
My fitness journey is ever evolving as well. I think most can relate. Life has a way of changing and molding ones journey. There are ups and downs, highs and lows, some few and far betweens, and abrupt changes that can mold what we think/act upon of “fitness” or being “fit”. Like I mentioned earlier, my fitness journey didn’t start until later in life. Growing up I loved the outdoors, sports, and being active, but I was never allowed to play sports in school or explore freely in the neighborhoods we lived in (I was born and raised in Illinois and moved to Louisiana in 1995). We just couldn’t afford participating in any extracurricular activities and playing outside, for the most part, depending on where we lived, wasn’t safe for running around. So, my journey really started in my early twenties. I joined a gym and basically just worked the treadmill and elliptical machine. Every now and then I’d go to Paul T.’s class (can I get an Amen from those who loved his class?), and this is where my “start” began. Eventually the treadmill and elliptical machines just weren’t cutting it for me. I need things that push, motivate, and challenge me. So I began exploring the running world. What a BIG world this is! I’d jog around the neighborhood, etc., yet that just wasn’t enough. Around that time, St. Mary’s Residential Training Facility where I worked hosted a 5K benefit run for the residents. I remember thinking to myself, “3 miles” I can do that, easy. Boy was I ever wrong. I think I ran a little over a mile and walked the rest of the way. When I crossed the finish line I remember being so confused and baffled about my physical ability of not being able to run three miles. This was unacceptable to me and a goal I then set to achieve. I didn’t have a plan, just knew I had to push myself harder and longer on my runs. Some acquaintances I knew at the gym a little later where preparing for the Spirits 5K. My goal then was to run that 5K without stopping, and I did! My time was a little over 31 minutes. I still remember the feeling crossing that finish line. Thank God for that memory. Every now and then God brings me back to that moment and I reflect on how he had gifted me with ability to be active and the freedom to enjoy something I love to do. Yet, there still was a desire and burn inside of me to do better and to achieve more goals. Not to any particular standards or persons, but to myself. When I was finishing up my last year of college I worked part-time at Red River Bank. There I met a wonderful friend, Angela Sellers. We embarked on the running journey together. Boy, was it a journey!!! I still to this day am amazed by Angela’s drive and dedication. If you got excuses, leave them behind you or don’t bring them up with this chick! Ha! She pushed me to start waking up at ungodly hours to run. It was awful! But, eventually my body adapted to the early mornings and now I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Well, my friend Angela got the bright idea to do a triathlon. Elizabeth Cassano was putting on a girl’s only triathlon series, Groovy Girls, at the time. Three triathlons that progressively got harder and longer on distance and training. Folks, I didn’t know how to swim! I mean, I could stay afloat, but that was it. So why did I say yes??? Well, for one, I had to answer to Angela, for another, it was a goal I wanted to achieve. So, I got in the pool at LAC to “practice” swimming, bought a huffy from Wal-Mart, and began the training. During this training I met some wonderful women of influence. I was so amazed by the dedication these women exhibited, daily. Surrounding myself with these individuals motivated and encouraged me to push harder and to not settle. Well…I survived the series. When I say survived, I mean it guys. Do you know what it’s like hold on to a kayak at Indian Creek for about 10 minutes or float 800 meters on your back down the Cane River? Well, it was embarrassing! Yet, every time I got out of the water, got off the bike, and finished the run, a sense of accomplishment would come over me. After every finish, I knew I could push myself to do better. As this journey progressed, I was hard on myself. I knew at this stage in my life, what I wanted physically, I’d have to work for it. To be honest, I didn’t want easy. I wanted something I could reach for. I set the standard for myself, and asked God to help me achieve these goals. There would be times I knew that God would be tugging at my heart reminding me to find the balance between him, my husband, and fitness. Finding balance is part of the journey and can be hard to juggle. Life, in general, has a way of changing us and our “plans”. So, I pushed myself harder in the triathlon world. Next goal was to learn how to swim and to get a more efficient bike. Nothing against a Huffy, it got me from A to B, but I knew I needed a more efficient bike. That following year I completed 11 triathlons. Can we say burn-out! I achieved so much that year, learned a lot about myself, and realized I had a little competitive streak in me. Somehow, I allowed my standards of achievement to shift from myself and my goals to another’s set of standards and goals. Don’t get me wrong here, healthy competition is good, but it has to be/come from a healthy state. I learned that confidence has to come within and winning the approval of others will not bring you long term happiness. This is also a part of the long journey and finding the right amount of balance in life.
The triathlon world led me into the marathon world. It was what was next on my list of goals I had mapped out for myself. Training was brutal but so doable at that time. I didn’t have kids, my husband liked to play golf on the weekends, so I didn’t have to balance my time much. I was free to really come and go as I pleased. My first marathon was in Houston in 2009. My goal was to finish in five hours. My time was 4:58. Since then I’ve completed three more, each time pushing myself to do better. I trained in 2014 to qualify for Boston but that was met with great disappointment when my nerves got the best of me and I made the decision at the split to finish the half instead. Months and months of training, down the tube, I thought. I beat myself up so much after that race. My husband sacrificed his time on the weekends so I could train, I missed so many Saturday and Sunday mornings with my son and husband, and I had wonderful running partners that invested their time with my training plan ( I’m still so thankful for that time Mitzi, Kathryn, and Amy). But, yet again, this was part of my journey, part of finding my balance with God, my family, and my fitness goals. I realize now how much God led me during this time. My connection with God was somehow a little different during these training months. I found myself praying more for others, my marriage, my child, family, friends, etc. Although I was running for me, I think God was using me in prayer and in the end, the finish wasn’t about me.
Currently, my main source of physical fitness is running and Crossfit. Both challenge me weekly. I have wonderful running partners and WOD buddies that I know without a shadow of doubt God has strategically placed in my life. Amazing women, mothers, friends, athletes…the list could go on and on. I know I can call on my girls and if I started the conversation with, “Hey, want to…” I wouldn’t even have to finish the question. They are there! Yet I also know that I can come to them with a prayer request and they are there immediately for support. Surrounding yourself with likeminded people is beneficial in the balancing process.
My journey is soon to change and evolve some more as I have another little one on the way. The dynamics will change yet again and finding balance will be harder and more challenging. I’m anxious to see what is to come. For me, my journey is far from over.
My journey is God first, family, then fitness.“
