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Mele Miles

@melebelle

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Business Management | BYU MBA 2020
Training my heart out 🖤🐺
26.2- 3:20:21 • 13.1- 1:30:17

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A dream come true. Boston Marathon 2025. 🩵🤍

Post-race thoughts & musings:

Running a PR marathon two weeks before the Boston Marathon was likely THE most ridiculous, cracked idea I’ve ever had.

My leggies hurt THE WHOLE TIME. But, my heart was so full the whole time. 🥹🩵🤍💛

I think I high fived a thousand people. It was MAGIC. The girls at Wellesley were my favorite part. Gosh. What a fkn vibe.

Runners are so nice I can’t handle it. I feel like I ran with 30K of my best friends. You just feel the energy out there. And the love that everyone has for SUFFERING.

I got really sick after walking out of the finish chute. My poor body is like, “k thanks, can we have a break now??”

I started marathon training last July w two back-to-back cycles of 900+ miles each. It’s been a long haul. I’m excited for some off season lovin.

Thankful for my daddy spending the weekend w me. Thankful for @kkapinos helping me get here. Thankful for @cakebycourtney talking to me at mile 15 and sharing in my moment (today & every day).

Thankful for the blessing that the marathon is to me.
For teaching me to dig in and NEVER give up on my dream.

For showing me that failures can be overcome, that pain is ONLY pain, that the emotions to be felt while racing are peace & joy.

For the understanding that outcomes mean nothing bc the growth is in the journey. For being a space where I do wut I want.

And for letting me experience some straight up bat shit FUN today🦄 #boston129 by @melebelle

3:20:21 🖤🤍
3 min PR. 7:38 avg. pace. 2nd BQ. And the ride of a lifetime.

I prayed for peace all week. I got a hail fire of emotions that I processed and put aside so that I could settle into my race.

The marathon and training is probably the one place where I no longer panic, where I feel at peace with who I am. But, it doesn’t mean it’s not an internal battle to get to that calm solitude.

I felt so many insecurities unveiled while out there today & I had to quiet them and be curious about how my body would handle the day. I focused on 3 things this race: staying in my bubble, enjoying the sunrise, and settling in.

I’m grateful for today. I’m grateful for my journey. I’m grateful for my people. I’m grateful for all the texts, messages, love, care & calls. I’m grateful for the CHANCE to learn about myself and dig deep when it hurts.

I got peace today. I got fiery. I got fkn determined. I got dehydrated as hell. And heaven knows I got the ‘cannot walk hobble.’

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

🖤🤍🐺♠️ #blackjack by @melebelle

HAUNTED TIL WE DIE 👻☠️🎃

Did I just have my abdomen cut open 7 weeks ago?
Did I just go redline a 5K for no good reason?
Does my abdomen feel split open rn?
YEP AND I’D DO IT AGAIN FOR HAUNTED VIBES.

My first half marathon was the Halloween half down Provo canyon the first year they put it on in 2009.

Never would I imagine how I’d later go all in on running and how much joy it would bring to my life. And, at the same time - I never imagined how much anxiety, panic, depression that the run game would bring up for me and how I’d have to work through it mentally.

This is my second race all year. I ran Boston and this. And I spent the other 6 months throwing my guts up, sick in bed, so nauseous and ill I could just cry.

So, here’s to the good ol run game. The friends. The running music. The mental battle. The emotional battle. The party. The time out pushing your body bc you’re stronger than you think. The comeback game - however that looks for YOU.

And here’s to never missing Haunted bc this is the type of shit I live for. by @melebelle

Sometimes, in your darkest days, a dog will come to save you.

For the first time in a decade, as my heart aches to the core and my chest constricts to where I can’t breathe, I don’t have my dog to comfort me. He’s not on the floor next to the bed for me to crawl next to. To hold onto and weep.

I called my mom sobbing. He’s not here to comfort me. She told me to write him a letter.

Dear Blackjack,

To the dog who saved a girl in her deepest horrors, darkest days, and most comfortless nights.

To the dog who traveled the country with his girl. Who flew on just under 100 plane flights. Who rode on subways & trains all over the east coast & Utah. Who listened to her blasting music in the car while she blasted the A/C bc they both like it cold.

To the dog who covered the miles with her. Running, walking, hiking. Watching her. Watching out for her. And running with her in the early hours of the morning to keep her safe. Who went to the gym. Waiting and watching. Just as happy to wake up at 4 a.m. as she was.

To the dog who went to grad school with her. Got his highly esteemed Honorary BYU MBA. Who went to painting classes with her for years, adding another masters pedigree to his resume.

To the dog who loved bow ties. Who loved sledding down the hill. Who loved snow. And the beach. Who loved gardening. Who loved to sit on the porch. Who loved painting classes. MBA classes. Going to the office. Traveling. Hiking. Running. Who loved and lived a fullest life.

To the dog who loved harder. Understood better. Communicated clearer. Cared more. Than any dog should be able to. And who willed his body to live way past its deadline bc he would never leave her.

To the dog who saw me through it. Brought me to a better place.

To the dog who saved me.

I miss you, Blackjack. You’re my best friend. And I’ll love you forever. 🖤🐺 by @melebelle

One thing that is true about me is that I’m tenacious.

And, after finishing the Boston Marathon in April, I completely abandoned running after seven years.

Throughout the race, I was extremely sick, nauseous from abdominal pain, and had no energy left. It was a terrible experience, and I was devastated both physically and spiritually.

Something was wrong. I couldn’t recover after the race, and this entire summer, I’ve been going from one sick day to the next.

I got convinced to get labs drawn. The results showed some abnormalities, so on the journey I went. More labs, specialists, scans, passing out, violent puking, convulsions. More sick days. More days spent in bed.

After 14 weeks of doctor’s visits, we discovered through a HIDA scan that my gallbladder ejection rate is only 15%. No bile is coming out for digestion, and so nutrient and vitamin absorption is not happening, leading to no energy.

A 15% ejection rate is actually severely low. It’s called biliary dyskinesia, and it doesn’t improve when it gets this bad.➡️

The most fascinating part of all this is that it takes YEARS (like 4+ years) of dysfunctional gallbladder for it to get that bad.

Go back and look at my RMC 2024 post. One of the three things I focused on the whole race was pizza. Because I hadn’t been able to eat pizza while training without it hurting my stomach.

For years, I followed a low-fat diet solely for running training, which masked the fact that my body wasn’t functioning properly. My digestion was failing, and stomach pain, nausea and low energy weren’t due to “training hard.” ➡️

Doctors, physical therapists, friends, nurses and even my piercer say I have a high pain tolerance.

Maybe it’s because that’s how I came. Gifted genetically to me from my mom’s high pain tolerance.

Maybe it’s because a drunk driver irreparably damaged my back when I was 15 and I’ve dealt with that pain every day since.

Maybe it’s because I’m just that stubbornly tenacious. ➡️

And yet, I somehow BQ’d twice and ran the mother freaking Boston Marathon twice while all that has gone on in my body for years. ➡️

I know a lot of people feel like things are just hard. Me too. I get it. Things by @melebelle

Happiness looks like THESE moments in the 130th Boston Marathon.

It looks like high-fiving over a thousand people out of 1/2 million spectators.

It looks like knowing I earned this day and no one can take that from me.

It looks like running alongside Doorly.

It looks like a call to Courtney @ mile 10 and reframing my mindset.

It looks like running without music bc the crowds are ACTUAL life.

It looks like kisses on the cheek from the Wellesley girls.

It looks like stopping the lost bus driver and running into a live intersection to get a police escort to the start line. (It’s me, the A-type).

It looks like running into the famous ‘right on Hereford, left on Boylston’ with a roaring crowd.

It looks like settling into the experience, digging in, letting go and accepting what the day gives you - this day. And every day.

Bc we don’t get to force an outcome, but we sure as hell get to enjoy the journey.

And I got one journey I’m fkn proud of.

#boston130 by @melebelle

5 years at Burn Boot Camp 🔥🩵

I never imagined the transformation that could occur when I signed up 5 years ago. How much happiness and joy would come from the high 5s and community. Or how it would teach me how to fuel my body for my marathoning and cross training. Or that I would become capable of lifting more than my bodyweight in dumbbells.

It’s been both a body and spirit transformation.

In the last 5 years, Burn has held me on some of my lowest days. When my depression debilitated me and left me gutted, numb and inconsolable, I always found peace here. And on my happiest days, Burn celebrated me. Because that is what Burn is all about - holding each other on the worst days, and celebrating each other on the best days.

I had a life altering back injury when I was 15-yo. When I was 22, my back specialist told me to stop running. So, I did.

The only reason why I can run the mileage I do and handle it without injury for 6 years is due to the intentional training @ Burn. It’s the strength training life for me - so that I can go run 😉

I’ve been blessed to see huge progress. It’s taken work. I’ve hit plateaus, gone backward, had to wake up @ 4:17 (yes, 17) a.m. to fit it in for 3 years.

And it has been worth it. Every day of it.

Week after week. Year after year.

Thank you, Burn, for all you’ve done for me. Here’s to many more 🩵🩵🩵

Fun Burn stats:
- Over 1,200 camps attended.
- Double-under PR of 225
- Deadlift PR of 180 lbs. x 8 reps
- Front Squat PR of 150 lbs. x 8
- Pull-up PR of 10
- Push-up PR of 36
- 1 million high fives 🤗
- Countless liters of sweat 😉 by @melebelle

A haiku for myself.

Thirty-five - fly high.
Legs rise, heart brims, soul says yes.
Grateful for my life.

If I could go back 10 years to my former self and try to convince her that at 35, she’d love her stage in life, she wouldn’t loathe herself daily, she’d be surrounded by her most beautiful friends - I’m sure it would be a pointless effort - bc she never thought life would get better. Or be happy. But happiness is such a real part of my life now. Settled. Present.

Everywhere I looked today, I saw the divine touch of goodness and love. Something bigger at work for all these years. To have these people enclose me w love and care. To run 21.35 miles in joy and settled peace.

Blessed by these people. Blessed by the divine. Blessed to be here.

Cheers, my friends & fam 🤍🤍 I love you all. by @melebelle

130th Boston Marathon to VA.

A whole lotta hard work & marathon training did not pay off this year. I trained >900 miles in 14 weeks and I’ve spent the last 6/7 weeks sick.

It’s always disappointing to put in the time and effort and have a miserable race experience.

I had to reframe HARD at mile 10, let go of what I wanted for the day, buckle up and grit. Bc running a marathon sick after having been sick for 3 weeks already *actually* sucks.

I then went home. Not my Utah home. Not my CA home. I went to the home I’ve never lived in, but where stillness and calm could work on my heart.

I detached from the business and bustle of my world. The daily GSD attitude. And I settled in.

I felt the disappointment 2 days after Boston. I wrestled with why it mattered so much to me.

I leaned into my feelings. (Side note: feelings suck more than marathon running).

And then I rode my horse.

I worked in the dirt.

I spent every minute of the day when I wasn’t at Burn with my mom, sissies, nieces & nephews and my best friends who came out.

I let myself heal.

I’m still bummed about Boston. I worked hard this cycle.

And yet. Somewhere in the grey space is that uncomfy understanding that it can suck and be joyous at the same time. 🤍 by @melebelle

This was a little crazy considering the summer I’ve had.

Hard quit on running in May (see previous post 🫠) opened up a craving for Burn.

My mind & heart love movement and suffering.

I had more than a few days that were very modified following tests & passing out episodes.

But the cool thing?

I showed up for 100 consecutive days in person.

Because community, movement & consistency matter to me.

Lesson? Show up — on both the good days and bad days. It may surprise you how much life it gives you to do so. 🤍 by @melebelle

Happiness looks like a weekend on my home dirt.

It looks like witnessing my hard work regardless of the outcome.

It looks like working to calm the panic, accepting what the day gives me & detaching my worth from a time.

It looks like calling @kkapinos, @emallan5, @doorlymwinegar, @cakebycourtney & my sissy, @bynwhite, to pass the time the last few miles bc I’ve got some really, absolutely amazing friends/siblings.

It looks like spending time with myself in places where I grew up & feeling gratitude for all those who help mold me.

It looks like my dad dropping by simply bc he is driving all over CA for work.

It looks like excitement because marathon training block is up next.

It looks like feeling a sense of belonging to myself bc I’ve got me- no matter what. by @melebelle

HOLY war 💙🤍 Holy heart rate, hoarse voice, adrenaline rush. HOLY SWEET MERCY. I cried. Two degrees from BYU & tonight was the first time I’ve seen a win in person.

PLUS Haunted 5K pics for the mems. Bc today was DEF one for the record books. 2nd place AG • 6:58 pace 👻🎃🕸️🕷️ by @melebelle