I sat here for a while contemplating how to write this post. I should have done it earlier but never in my wildest dreams did I believe the ZOOMA Napa Valley contest would take off as it has. Never in my wildest dreams would I believe I would be a contender for such a large prize. It’s not a secret that I have never wanted to win anything more in my life. My heart is really into this contest and I’ve always wanted to run on the West Coast. Every day I work my butt off to harass people to vote and while I apologize, I promise after February 24th I’ll be done harassing for a while. Before I even say anything about myself I wanted to thank every single person who has stood behind me and voted and promoted me daily. Each of you has helped so much. Every single vote is amazing. Each share, retweet, vote and LOL (even it’s a pretend LOL) at my bad jokes and art makes me smile.
The reason I entered the ZOOMA contest is because I felt like I embodied the true values of ZOOMA.
The ZOOMA mission is “To inspire women to live healthy, happy, & active lives.”
I personally think I have come to terms with living a healthy, happy and active life. One of the most important factors to me in life is balance. It’s important to balance your social life, your friends, your family, personal time as well as training time. Throughout my three and a half years of blogging I think I have learned that.
I have learned that sometimes it is okay to skip a day of working out to hang out with a loved one.
I have learned that sometimes it is okay to say that you can’t hang out because you need some alone time, some workout time or need to do what’s best for you.
I have learned that while you should never strive to make anyone feel guilty or bad, only you can make yourself truly happy. You must love and accept yourself before others will do the same.
Honestly despite all of my moves (2013 in a nut shell: NY->VA->Tx->NJ) and the rest of lives curve balls I have come to terms with being more balanced… I am at a point in my life that I am truly happy. As I sit here and reflect about that I realize how far I have come since college. If you were to ask me “Hollie would you be happy living in NJ, eagerly awaiting job callbacks while sitting indoors while it’s 20 degrees?” I would have laughed.
I probably would have thought I would be stressed beyond belief. I probably would have thought I would have fallen deeper and deeper into my social anxiety hole from early college but I have not. I have risen and combated my social anxiety. I have risen and done what makes me happy. I have taken care of myself by making time for me. I make time for my workouts, my personal life and other relaxation.
The fact is, I’m not stressed in the slightest and I can truly say my friends and family have been there for me. I learned that first hand this fall when I was going through so much turmoil during marathon training. I learned how supportive my friends from Hampton Roads, Potsdam, Oswego, Texas and from honestly all across the world are. I don’t have to have met you in real life to realize how important each of you is to me. Without everyone’s constant support, I probably would be stressed out. I have realized that it is okay to ask for help in order to achieve that balance. I can truly say that my life is healthy, happy and active.
A big dream of mine has always been to race on the West Coast. Not just to update a new state to athlinks but because who wouldn’t want to race on the West Coast? (I’m sure all West Coasters want to get out on the East Coast sometime…just not now it’s cold). I was born in San Diego and have always dreamed of going back when I was little older. The races always look so enjoyable. When I found out ZOOMA was going to send a lucky blogger to race their Napa Valley Race I immediately wanted to win. The moment I read that announcement was the moment I knew I had never wanted to win anything more. I ran the ZOOMA Annapolis race in 2012 and enjoyed it so I would assume I would enjoy the California one too. (Plus it’s Califonia).
I truly appreciate each person’s vote and support. Do not vote for me because I am constantly harassing you or because I’ve never wanted to win something more in my life, vote for me because you believe I truly represent the ZOOMA mission well.
If you are interested in reading my full running store…here is the link to that. I haven’t always been a runner but I’m glad I decided to join this community.
In all honesty I couldn’t type up this post without tearing up and thinking about how special each person is to me. Thank you all for your support and hopefully I can achieve this dream. If not I will continue my quest to one day race on the west coast.
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