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\\u201cThis year has been a huge year of mental transformation.\\u201d\\xa0

Heather Quinlan, who penned Happy Pace Diaries for the MRG blog a few years back, shares the significant mindset change she\\u2019s experienced in recent time\\u2014and how this has affected her running and overall wellness. Heather, who is from Sterling Heights, has always been open and honest about her health journey\\u2014she once wrote about her weight \\u201cfluctuating anywhere between 360-390 lbs.\\u201d in 2010, the year she felt something stir within her as she watched her sister-in-law run her first half marathon\\u2014and this conversation is no different.\\xa0

\\u201cI don\\u2019t think there\\u2019s been any one thing that\\u2019s happened, like a lightbulb moment. I think it\\u2019s been a host of things that have happened over time,\\u201d she says.\\xa0

She had become a runner, with her favorite race the Detroit Half Marathon, but in 2015, \\u201cI hit a bad spot.\\u201d\\xa0\\xa0

\\u201cI have an anxiety disorder, like many people do \\u2026 and running was hard for me. It was hard for me to get back into the ring \\u2026 I just kind of lost my mojo. I was losing myself a little bit again.\\u201d\\xa0

Things began to turn around when she joined a new gym about two years ago. It was a slow and gradual change as she spent more time with people she describes as family. \\u201cIt took time. You sign up for a gym, or you decide to do something big, and you think this is going to change everything right away. And it doesn\\u2019t. It took me some time to find my way.\\u201d

\\u201cWhen you put yourself around like-minded people who get you and encourage you, and want to see you succeed \\u2026 I think it just started to come back to me. This gym really focuses on the mental aspect of health and wellness and nutrition. I just started to make that a priority. I kind of shifted that mindset of what do I have to do, to what do I get to do.\\u201d

Heather says focusing on gratitude has been huge. Community also is integral.

\\u201cI\\u2019m huge on community. The gym I go to now is community. It\\u2019s like family. I truly believe you can enjoy hard, challenging physical work \\u2026 it\\u2019s fun to work out. It\\u2019s fun to go someplace where you feel valued.\\u201d

Read Heather Quinlan\\u2019s blog posts for MRG here:

Her first Happy Pace Diaries post: https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-introducing-mrg-contributor-heather-quinlan/

Crossing paths with another runner (when you need it the most):

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries/

Feeling renewed as a runner \\u2026 thanks to the treadmill:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-feeling-renewed-runner-thanks-treadmill/

\\u2018In my eyes and in my heart, I am a runner\\u2019:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-eyes-heart-runner/

Bayshore Half Marathon race recap:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-2014-bayshore-half-marathon-race-recap/

New Beginnings:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-2/

Running 13.1 in Chicago with Friends:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-running-13-1-chicago-friends/

10 (from the heart) Tips to Get Started Running:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-10-tips-get-started-running/

No Regrets:

https://michiganrunnergirl.com/happy-pace-diaries-regrets/