First post!

Welcome to Breathe Deeply and Smile, my very own blog! I'm Lauren and in the past year since I've gotten into running I started reading healthy living blogs. I've been thinking about starting a blog for a while and finally decided to.  This is going to be more amateur than most you probably read since I really have no idea what I'm doing.  I figured if a blog would be a fun hobby and would help me stay accountable and connect to even more people in the virtual world of social media.   

Like many people I had a bumpy start gaining the freshman 15 in college and not really exercising after being a high school athlete   At the end of college I became more conscious of my health, but it really has been a focus in the past couple of years. A year ago this month I ran my first 5K after training all summer.  After running my first half marathon a few weeks ago (blog post all about that to come) and having a really emotional moment afterwards, I realized how important my lifestyle changes had become to me.  If reading other people's blogs inspire me, maybe I can inspire somebody out there.  

The main purpose of the blog is to share my journey in trying to find peace and balance in my life.  I suffer from a lot of anxiety and feelings of self-doubt.  Just earlier, a few days out from my second half marathon, I was having thoughts of how it's not really a big deal to be running a half marathon!  I love cooking, healthy living, running, and eating dessert! I will post updates on my journey to try to live a more clean and healthy lifestyle (all while being a sweat pink ambassador!), my introspective journey in learning how to enjoy each day, and random things I find that I love on the internet!  

So take a moment to breathe deep and smile, today is a beautiful day :)