Striding with Grace and Strength

I am super pumped about today’s 5K! So much so that I woke up at the crack of dawn—just like I did for the She Power 10K in January. Seriously, what is it about getting ready for something big that wakes you up with energy, even when you have hours to prepare?

Last night, I decided to be all responsible and re-read the race instructions to make sure I was fully prepared. From what I gathered, the race starts at 4:00 p.m., but the hosts said the party starts at 4:15 p.m. Uh… what?! Are they expecting us to run 4–6 minute miles and be done in 15 minutes?? If that’s the case, I’ve got some serious work to do! 😁

But honestly, I’m not worried about how fast anyone else is running. My goal is to push my limits. During the 10K, I finished my first lap in 41 minutes, so if I can beat that by even a minute—or heck, even 30 seconds—I’ll be celebrating like I won the whole thing. At the end of the day, it’s me versus me—that’s the only competition that matters. And yes, those who know me know I’m competitive, but mostly with myself.

Oh, and speaking of competition… I’m currently in a team of five doing a virtual around-the-world challenge! It started last Monday (the 10th) and lasts for 21 days. As a team, we’ve already racked up over 403K steps and are currently ranked #14 out of 496 teams—not too shabby, right? There are 15 destinations total, and we unlock a new one every 53K steps. So far, we’ve “traveled” to Iceland, Finland, Portugal, Hungary, Nigeria, India, Japan, and New Zealand—and now we’re working toward Kailua, Hawaii! 🌍🏃🏾‍♀️

I’m the team captain, and at one point, I held the number one spot, but now I’ve slipped to number three. Hopefully, today’s race will help me climb back up the leaderboard! But honestly, this whole experience reminds me how important it is to keep moving and believe in myself. It’s so much fun being on this health and wellness journey—and even more fun to have others join me, whether in person or virtually.

If you’ve ever thought about trying something that excites you the way this race excites me, go for it! There’s nothing like that rush of knowing you’re challenging yourself and growing in the process. Let’s see what today brings—wish me luck! 

Just having a little fun and feeling grateful for the sunshine!
I put my own spin on "My Girl" by Smokey Robinson (originally written by Smokey Robinson and Ronald White)—because honestly, sunshine on a sunny day in March in Arizona just hits differently! 😎🎶💛

With joy, energy, and love,

Stacie J. Whitaker-Harris