Temple Running with MJ Smith

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Temple Running with MJ Smith

Temple Running is here to encourage building and maintaining your temple (your mind and body) through your soles.

It is here to provide guidance, feedback, and forum for ALL runners as well as those looking to become runners.

07/04/2024

Hey y’all!!

It’s been a good minute since I have posted anything and it’s not because I haven’t had anything to post. I have just been caught up in living life and got out of the habit of sharing like I used to, but a lot has happened so I need to catch y’all up…over time, I can’t do it all in one post. 😁

But of course I am still running. Not nearly as much as I used to or as much as I should, but I am getting back into a groove. After I retired from the Air Force and started my new job as a contractor with the Air Force, I have had a hard time getting into a routine with my fitness. And mostly that hard time is due to lack of getting out of bed early enough in the morning to work out before I have to start working. I have an amazing new gym in my house and I work from home 2-3 days a week, so really I don’t have any excuses…it’s just discipline.

But I have been doing very well the last few weeks…picking it back up and getting my mileage in. Today, I decided to run for an hour, however fast or slow my body was feeling. I ended up doing intervals for the last 30 mins of the run. Felt really good. Of course the runner in me had to go a little over the round it out to 6 miles. It was a slower paced, but enjoyable run and these days that’s what I’m looking for. I just want to enjoy the run…not for it to feel like work.

I really need spring to get here forreal so I will get outside more. I am a self proclaimed fair weather outdoor runner so it’s still a little nippy in the mornings for me to be totally comfortable.

Anyway, just wanted to send the message out that I am still here. I have done 0 races this year, which is totally not like me, but I plan to pick up my schedule here very shortly. More to come. I will do a better job posting my run journey because please believe I am inspired by all of your journeys every day. I guess I have become an IG stalker because I’m taking but giving nothing. I got y’all though. 😁

Hope you are living your best run lives. ✌🏽

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

12/11/2023

Happy Veterans Day to all that serve and have served. It is an honor to be a part of and serve with such an exceptional group of people. This picture was taken on my last day of active duty a couple months ago. I will miss it, but still so excited to see what God has planned for me next!

06/11/2023

Motivation Monday!!

I am back at it after a full week of rest after the Marine Corps Marathon. (Yes, I felt good enough to run a few days after the race, but I wanted extra rest so I took it. 😁) So today so felt amazing for my 3 mile run and had the perfect motivation for my start…

THE REAL HOUSEWIVES OF POTOMAC are back!

I was excited for RHOBH a couple weeks ago, but when I get to the cycle when I get 2 of my favs in season at the same time, I get really hyped.

The run was nice and easy. I took my time and just enjoyed it. Hope you enjoyed your run today and if you are a RHOBH or RHOP fan, let me know what you think of these seasons so far.

Hope you are living your best run lives. ✌🏽

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

31/10/2023

Medal Monday!!

Soooo…

I did a thing yesterday…I RAN MY FIRST FULL MARATHON SINCE 2017. I’m super proud of myself because I have gone back and forth for months trying to decide whether I would do a full marathon this year or not. I was just mentally not here for the training and I didn’t want to do it if I wasn’t fully trained. But despite not being where I wanted to be as far as the training, I decided to get out there and just do it. So with high anxiety and lots of unknowns, I stepped to that start line of the Marine Corps Marathon and somehow made it across finish. I am so happy I did it, but I won’t be signing up for another full anytime soon. I’ll stick with my happy place…half marathons. Congratulations to all who completed a race this weekend and especially those who knocked out the challenging MCM course in the warm weather we had yesterday. I’m still resting my aching body, but it is done! ✅

I also forgot to post that I did the Baltimore Running Festival Half Marathon a couple weeks ago, so half marathon number 72 is complete!!

Hope you are living your best run lives. ✌🏽

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

10/10/2023

Medal Monday!!

I feel so revitalized by this past Saturday. I really came away from that race with a renewed energy and I was reminded why I love running so much. I had to make a decision on whether I would be doing Chicago (unprepared and untrained) or go have an amazing time at The Race and I must say…I had a little FOMO about Chicago, but I have zero regrets after I got everything I didn’t know I needed in ATL. Thank you to for creating the dynamic and unique environment for US to gather and create this energy that I have never gotten at any other race in all my years. I get so excited for first timers every year because I remember how I amazed I was with the experience my first year going. But here I am year 3, still amazed by the vibe and energy of the event and so happy to see it growing. If you have never gone, I hope to see you rhere because God willing…I’m not missing it. Half marathon number 71 in the books.

Hope you are living your best run lives. ✌🏽

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

17/09/2023

Half marathon #69 in the books! I think the may have pulled me out of my run funk that the hard training run last weekend mentally left me in. It had that (Big Race Energy) that was just what I needed to switch my brain to enjoying running again. It was an amazing course, with amazing energy, and amazing people all around cheering with signs and support. Just what the run doctor ordered!

20/05/2023

I’m going to post this right away so I don’t get home, get busy, and forget to post my run. Got some of the good stuff on me today, it was a little humid in DC today, but the weather was still wonderful. Overcast skies and 60 degrees. Loved it! I just needed to let y’all know I am still out here in these streets getting these miles in. I hope to be back on Temple Running more regularly in the near future. I have some big changes coming up in the very near future that should allow me the time to put back into posting content again. Either way, wishing you all happy long runs this weekend!

28/03/2023

It’s just another Medal Monday 🎶

State #21, Half #67 and #2 for 2023. I checked off South Carolina this weekend with the North Myrtle Beach Sunglass Half. The route was flat and the weather was awesome, just like I like it, but I struggled. Y’all saw the reel. Lol! STRUGGLE BUS!!! But in my race hogwash, I have assessed how it all went left. #1 I have not been doing long runs in my training like I should and then tried to run halfs back to back (I did a half last weekend too). #2 I left my fuel at home and there was none provided on the course. I NEED TO EAT on a run over 1hr, so that was part of my struggle too. And #3, I ran the first half of the race way too fast. Overall…I finished. And now I have time to get my life together with my training so I can be back in the game for my next race. It’s always nice to share a finish line with my little guy. He did the 5K at this race and the one I did last week. I’m so proud of him. I also got to meet some of my family at the finish line which is always a bonus since I mostly run alone. Bottom-line, this was a great race and if I had to struggle, this was not a bad place to do it.

Hope you are living your best run lives. ✌🏽

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

20/03/2023

It’s so great to know he is watching the hard work I do and decided he wants to do it too. I love that he loves to run and puts in work for the bling just like his mama. ❤️😁

22/11/2022

Medal Monday is almost over…

But I cannot let the day end without posting this well earned bling I got in my 10th and final half marathon for 2022. I ran the Norfolk Harbor Half yesterday and though it was an amazing, flat course, I was just not mentally in the game. The race hadn’t even started and I had already decided I wasn’t in the mood and didn’t really feel like doing the run. The cold and windy conditions didn’t help my mood at all either.

I think with this being my 65th half, I have really taken the mental preparation that needs to go into a race with you for granted. Even though I knew for sure I was physically ready since I ran a 1:55 half last week, I didn’t take the time to ensure I was mentally ready to show up yesterday. And as we all know, the mental endurance is just as if not more important than your physical endurance.

Well I was humbled yesterday. I struggled and fought through every single mile yesterday because my mind wanted to quit. But I made it and even got it done in 2:01 despite my mental set backs. I’m working on my schedule for 2023. I’m so happy to have reached my goals for 2022, but super excited for what races are to come for 2023.

Hope you are living your best run life. ✌🏽

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

✔️Justice for Breonna
Today, and every day, I run for Ahmaud. ✊🏽

As always, thank you for the support! ❤️

Sincerely,
MJ

09/11/2022

Happy Election Day!!

I hope everyone made it to the polls, or if you are like me, got your absentee ballot in the mail on time so your vote can be counted. Gone are the days where most people only vote every 4 years. Elections are every two years and every last one of them matter. It’s important and your voice matters. If we want to see change for the better in many areas of this country, the ballot is where it starts.

Ok…now I can be done with that public service announcement. I decided to show my work today with a sweaty after workout pic. I couldn’t believe my voting sticker stayed on the whole time…really the whole day. It was a great run considering I haven’t been enjoying my runs the past week or so as I have been detoxing since the start of the month. I guess I didn’t have enough slow burning food in my body to provide energy. I found myself not being able to push through a couple miles without walking.

But today I started introducing some of my regular foods back into my diet (very slowly) but there was a huge difference in the energy level of my run. I have to get my body back to feeling normal so I am ok for this half on Sunday.

Hope you are living your best run life. ✌🏽

See you on the pavement or tread tomorrow!

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

✔️Justice for Breonna
Today, and every day, I run for Ahmaud. ✊🏽

As always, thank you for the support! ❤️

Sincerely,
MJ

26/08/2022

Hello 41!

Today for my birthday I did 4.1 miles to commemorate my 41rst time around the sun. Last year, I did it super big for my 40th and though today was a very chill and intimate celebration with the family, I felt it was still a great birthday because I got to spend it at home in OUR new house.

This year was the first time I took off of work for the sole purpose of my birthday. Why y’all didn’t tell me it is so dope to treat your birthday like a holiday? And since it fell on a Thursday, I took tomorrow off too for a super long weekend. I will not be working on my birthday again.

Thank you for all the birthday wishes I have gotten so far and thank you ahead of time for those to come. I really reflected today on the abundance of blessings I have and one of them being the ability, the will, and the desire to run. I’m grateful for activity that has brought us together and has led me to meet some incredible people that I may have never crossed paths with otherwise. Thank you all for making this year great and looking forward to running many more with you!

Hope you are living your best run life. ✌🏽

See you on the pavement or tread tomorrow!

Be sure to take care of your temples, we only get one.

✔️Justice for Breonna
Today, and every day, I run for Ahmaud. ✊🏽

As always, thank you for the support! ❤️

Sincerely,
MJ

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