Jessica Yost

I honestly couldn't tell you exactly where it comes from, but I think going through my divorce and how blindsided I was really shaped me. When I told people I was getting divorced, they were so puzzled because his friends were saying they would love a wife like me - that I'm a cheerleader, I do all the things, I'm interesting. A friend said if that happened to them, they would be on the couch, 400 pounds, and wouldn't have gotten up. But somehow within me, I have a natural ability to see silver linings. Somebody, maybe Mark Twain, said the depth to which you experience pain and sadness and suffering is the exact same amount of joy and happiness you can consume. Being a military spouse, people die at the drop of a hat, and you never know - we're all living on borrowed time. Life is so short, and I believe that if we're still here and we still have breath in our lungs, we absolutely have a reason to be here, even if that is just to be good to other people and create relationships and live every day full of gratitude. Things can always be better, but they could always be worse. I've learned that if I don't take care of myself first, I can't fully take care of other people. If I don't get sleep, feed myself well, get in a workout, make sure my house is tidy, all of these things add up. I've been given so much and I'm blessed with so much, and I think it's part of my job to always pay that forward too.

The best advice I've received is to always put yourself first, because if you don't, you can't show up for the people you love. I learned this from my strength coach who trained me for the marathon. He's an incredible human with incredible drive, and he has two super sweet little girls, 5 and 10. He's a single dad who still wakes up every morning, travels constantly for work, and gets in his workout every single day. He's constantly telling me that you have to put yourself first, because if you don't, you can't show up for the people you love. If he can do that with two little girls and he doesn't know what he's doing, then I can do it too. I don't have kids, so I can get up, I can get in my workout. He taught me that lesson about self-care being essential to being able to care for others.

Don't listen to any advice. Truly, just do what you know is best for yourself, and it'll work out. You know yourself and your gut, and what you should be doing better than anybody, and every time I've tried to do what I'm quote-unquote should be doing, it never works out as well as when I just do what I know is right. I've had that same instinct from when I was a little kid, and it's always served me well. It doesn't mean it's easy, but just know what you want, and have a plan to get there, and know that it's probably gonna change. The biggest thing I could ever tell anybody is to always practice gratitude and be where your feet are - that's something you learn when you're running. Yeah, you want to get to the finish line, but the actual race is the experience. If you had finish line after finish line, that wouldn't do anything. It's the training, and it's the showing up at the start line with the nerves, and going through the pain and suffering of a race, and then you get the accomplishment. You have to be grateful for everything.