marathons

Celebrations

Maybe you’re like me and you have been going through your Facebook feed of pictures, events, and celebrations you shared throughout the year 2019.   I am recalling all the good things that we celebrated this year and couldn’t be more grateful.  

The profile pictures that are selfies or with loved ones.  Memorable vacations or your proud parent moments.  Whatever you hold dear to your heart usually becomes the highlight, the shout out, the statement of the hour, day or month.  I honestly can’t come up with one perfect moment this year.  The top ones are usually the ones not captured on film.  Many moments this year were celebrated with James and Blaire getting married.  I think the moment I cherish the most is when Blaire and I laid on her bed the day before her wedding. We just had an emotional family breakfast and her bedroom furniture was being moved out of my house and into her new house.  We held hands and cried.  We laughed and recalled great memories.  Knowing our relationship would change was difficult but I celebrated her new life as a wife. 

The ten days being shown around California by Jacob and Rachel was memorable since I wanted to love the state that claimed their second and third year of being a married couple but also knowing they were moving back to Michigan later in the year.  We laughed, we swam, we tasted wine and ate great food. 

The moment we surrounded Scott the night before his long awaited race in Boston can’t be captured by a camera.  We presented him with a binder of letters and pictures celebrating his running career and his ultimate goal achieved in Boston!  So precious as we saw tears stream down his face and I could feel the relief and pain and dedication and pride all rolled into one moment. 

Celebrating both my parent’s birthdays is always precious and not taken for granted.  Family weddings and welcoming new babies to our growing family.  Scott and Jacob launching their new company and seeing the highs and lows of being a boss, leader, mentor.  Proud moments of when Zoe steps up to be kind or when we have a good hair day.  They aren’t captured on film but so important to our story of 2019.  I guess I haven’t thought much about the last decade since we are turning the calendar to 2020 in one day.  I have a word for the new year but a word that comes to mind for the last decade is HOPE.  Scott began his crazy marathon training ten years ago!!  He has run 20 marathons and not slowing down.  When we decided to run for a purpose it changed our lives for sure.  Not long after in 2013 we got to bring Zoe home and for a few years in a row one of us has had the privilege to visit Africa and serve the people there.  Raising money for clean water has been a family mantra for sure.  A drive to make our actions count.  Running has definitely defined us in the ’10’s for sure.  

Pain hit me in the beginning of this year and getting a procedure on my foot gave me hope.  It gave me a change in attitude and later in the year made me get a handle on my health and eating habits to be the best me for 2020.  This is the year Scott and I turn 50.  I’ve been experiencing some pain in the same foot again and trying to stay positive.  I had hopes for a half and full marathon by May and I might have to settle for just one half.  Stay tuned.  But, if I head into 2020 focused on just me, it will be a sad year.  God has shown me through Scripture and well, obvious signs around our house, my word for 2020 is SERVE.  I’m expecting I will be able to serve in areas that won’t be captured on film and hopefully go unnoticed.  A friend posted this quote talking about Scott’s company. ‘To serve is beautiful, but only if it’s done with joy and a whole heart and a free mind.’ (Pearl S. Buck).

Celebrate the hurts, the struggles, the victories, the milestones and just every breath.  

1 Samuel 12:24 says, ‘Fear God and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.’

Happy New Year!

Mental Marathon

 

Here I go again. I don’t like repeating this training pattern but it seems to just find me. I begin each training season with vigor and enthusiasm and lately (like in the last five years) I get injured, life happens and I don’t complete my training schedule as well as I set out to do. 

That time has come yet again and believe me when I tell you that I have been downright discouraged. My next marathon will be my 7th and maybe my hardest. I mean I once trained for a half and ended up running a full but it was in my city with 1000 teammates running along side me and many more cheering from the sidelines. That can make anyone move. I ran two marathons in two months once and was injured for both. After the first I decided to take the two months completely off to ‘heal’ before running the second in Disney. This one again, was along side some great teammates and it wasn’t my slowest. I’m not writing this to brag or anything. It definitely is not the results I’ve wanted but who says what a marathon should look like anyway? I know that when I run I feel more vibrant. I know many people who run to bring clean water to Kenya and that can motivate the walker or runner, young and old. I have found that each marathon experience helps you alter, change or repeat what went great or was detrimental to your race.  Usually that means what I should do the week leading up to my race and what food will work best for my performance.  That isn’t in my game plan right now.  I just have to find a way to finish this thing.

Someone once told me they would take up running when they see a runner who smiles. Well that is what I do when I run. I do love the sport and it creates a high like no other. Runners greet one another along a trail and we encourage each other since we know we each run for a purpose. There’s a story behind every race. What brought you there? What motivates you? What keeps you going when everything hurts?  

My husband and I have planned to run a few international marathons and the Berlin marathon is next up. I’ve basically suffered an inflamed toe, that caused me to change my gait to resist the pain and as a result I got bursitis in the opposite knee. I rested, and got discouraged when even walking hurt. I’ve since got cortisone shots and anti inflammatories in my system that was just to get me through 14 days in Kenya and I’m happy to say I feel great! God is faithful!  I have three weeks to train at home and mentally prepare myself to just finish. I guess in hindsight, planning this trip to Kenya wasn’t the best idea due to the timing of the trip but as I’m flying home and looking at my pictures I’m feeling quite the contrary. In the last two weeks I have felt many emotions but one I have experienced before is purpose. I ran on rough, rocky, hilly and dusty roads in Kenya and although the miles were few the very act of getting up early and running alone has propelled my spirit to answer the ever popular question, why? And so I will tell you why. 

I run with the purpose to bring clean water to the Pokot region in Kenya. Why? They’re well being starts with water. I have met these beautiful people and will forever have their wonderful smiles and exuberant spirits in my heart. One day I was running a mile long road completely uphill. I stopped to walk from time to time (I will blame the crazy elevation). I was turning around to repeat my mile long trek uphill when I had to walk and noticed a lady walking in the opposite direction. As I passed her she calmly says to me, ‘pick it up’. I smiled and instantly began to run again. As I came down the hill I ran along side her and stopped. I told her I run in America to bring clean water to her fellow Kenyans. She smiled and thanked me. She told me her name was Anne. That interaction just validates why I need to complete this marathon. First of all, I told Anne I would but I also told many children I met at a few orphanages. Everywhere I turned I would see girls young and old carry water on their heads to their homes. Tears would well up in my eyes when I would pass dried up water beds and there were many. Or worse, the sight of watching children draw water for their families in dirty, contaminated waterbeds. 

Another great moment I experienced was when we pulled off to the side of the road to witness a brand new water well that was completed and celebrated just two weeks prior. We got out and spoke to the few women who were drawing water together. This well is closer to their village and providing healing to everyone who is able to use it. I pumped the water, which was not my first time, but it still gives me chills. Our leader then told me that this well went in because of the money raised from our annual 5k. My family ran this race this past June. I felt proud and humble at the same time. 

I recently heard that the limitations we feel while moving our bodies are in our heads and we can push past them.  Luckily, I also believe in the power of prayer and so when I am weak He is strong. Our running community should celebrate their ups and downs, their successes and injuries and as our race season approaches you better believe I will be repeating my new mantra  ‘pick it up!’