Perspective

I was going to complain about how hot it is, then I realized that: 1.) It isn't 115 degrees; 2.) I'm not 5,700 miles from home; 3.) I'm not dressed in a full BDU uniform a metal helmet and carrying 70+ lbs.; and 4.) There is very little chance that anyone will shoot at me or that I might drive over a bomb in the road today! Thanks to all who serve.


Maybe some of you saw this floating around as a Facebook status this week.  It was one of the ones people encouraged you to "repost if you want to show how thankful you are".  My default is to never repost a status, as that reminds me too much of the aunt who send you the FWD:FWD:FWD:FWD: email about how we are going to knock the moon out of orbit by sending a rocket up to it.  But this one actually made me think for a minute, since virtually all I've done this week (and the few weeks before this one, frankly) is complain about this miserable midwest weather.  Triple digits nearly every day.  100% humidity. No wind.  I continually use the term "ants under a magnifying glass".  I lament that I ever had to leave the cool, blissfully overcast Pacific Northwest.


And if it's not bad enough to merely exist in this heat, I'm training for an ever-loving marathon in it!  I realize, of course, that they have contraptions that allow you to run indoors, away from the kiln-like heat.  My father and I call them "dreadmills".  The thought of being on one for more than about 5 miles makes me a bit twitchy, though I will do it if it is stormy out.  On Monday I ran nearly 6 miles in the crazy heat before giving up and finishing the remaining 4 miles in the luxury that is my apartment's gym.


But this status really resonated with me.  And so for my 5 mile tempo run on Friday, I committed to completing the whole thing outside.  (For me, this means 1 mile warmup, 3 miles at 9:27 minutes/mile, 1 mile cool down)  And while I ran, I thought about what it would be like to be thousands of miles away from my family and the comforts of home.  Running in boots instead of Nikes, with no icy water and warm shower to reward my finish. And every time I started to slow down, I remembered that I did not have an extra 70 pounds strapped to me.  And it truly did put my run and the heat into perspective! 

So thank you, to those who serve and have served, for all you do!

I've signed up to raise money for the American Cancer Society while I'm training. $1250 seems so much easier to me than the hundreds of training miles I'm putting in. But even though there are people encouraging me to run, in the end it's up to ME to lace up and dig deep. For the fundraising, I have to encourage YOU! So please, I'll endure the heat and rain and blisters and pain. It won't hurt that much to open your wallets, I promise!

Why Am I Doing This?

So many people ask me why I'm running a marathon at all. It's sometimes tough to answer, especially when I'm asking MYSELF in the middle of a 10 mile long run in 100 degree heat!

I have already completed one marathon, so it's not as though I'm looking to cross it off my bucket list. Crossing that finish line was such an amazing feeling of accomplishment, relief, elation...a flood of so many emotions. It truly ranks second only to giving birth in the memorable moments of my life.
Since I am all set on the procreation end of my life, I'm doing it all over again. 16 weeks of training. Ugly, blistered feet during sandal season. Ice on my knees. Sunscreen in my eyes. Tears-sometimes from sunscreen-sometimes from pain-sometimes from the crazy emotions running for hours will pull out of you. Chafing. Giving up hours of my week to expose myself to whatever mother nature is throwing at me, just so I can be fit enough to run in a giant damn circle around St Louis.

But those little bits of encouragement along the way are wonderful. Staff at Fleet Feet giving high fives when I tell them what I'm training for. All the 'likes' and comments on my Facebook status when I post a run. A cool bath to soak my legs in when I get home. The look of awe on my 11 year old stepdaughter's face when I tell her how far I went. Knowing waves and simple nods from other runners.

But that finish is what I'm craving. Pounding my feet for 26.2 miles so I can hold my arms up across that finish line and say that I made it!

This time there's even more to it. I've signed up to raise money for the American Cancer Society while I'm training. $1250 seems so much easier to me than the hundreds of training miles I'm putting in. But even though there are people encouraging me to run, in the end it's up to ME to lace up and dig deep. For the fundraising, I have to encou

rage YOU! So please, I'll endure the heat and rain and blisters and pain. It won't hurt that much to open your wallets, I promise!