Yesterday, we began our journey on our way to 460 miles. I have to admit that it wasn't an easy start. We had to get all the kids up, dressed, fed and out the door by 7AM. On a typical Sunday, we try to be out by 8:30. And those of us who see us cruise up the side aisle at church looking for an empty pew know that we hardly ever meet that goal.
The kids have been running races for a while now. J started when I did, around 2 years ago. She even ran a few 5ks. Then running started to be painful for her last winter. Whether it is growing pains or food allergies, we are still uncertain. She still loves to compete, and often takes prizes in her age group, but always pays a price after she runs. She wants to run, but doesn't want to run. Between signing up for a race and race day, she often changes her mind several times.
C started running 1.5 years ago. He was still young enough to do the kids fun run during the Great Train Race. It is 400 m all downhill and they have snacks at the finish line. Who wouldn't love that? Now he is old enough to run the mile. He is quite fast, but often has trouble staying focused on running. Many times I have seen him during the mile striking up conversations with his fellow runners, course marshals, costumed characters, etc.
I've been running races for 2 years. I started to try to lose weight and just to prove to myself that I could finish a 5k. Now I have four half marathons behind me and I am looking to finish a full marathon before this challenge is over.
The past month has been tough for training. The challenges that come with working a full time and a part time job and being a Mom to four kids have made finding time hard. I tease that I can't train without a bib on my shirt, but this past month it has been true. I ran a 10k on Oct 20th and a 10 miler on Oct 26th. Then my sister-in-law passed and we traveled to be with my brother's family. I had not run at all for 2 weeks before this 5k.
Every runner knows how therapeutic running is. It is a time to be alone with your thoughts, which can be good or bad. I tend to run with headphones in case I need to drown out those thoughts, though it doesn't always work. Our local running club often enforces no headphones rules for safety. Little do they know the voices in my head are much more distracting than those from my Ipod. I had headphones yesterday, but I may as well have run without them. I had a question to answer. What was this website for?
My sister-in-law's death has left many people with holes in their heart. She was much too young to go and she had so much left to do in this world. I know I am not alone in wanting to do something, anything to lessen the pain for her family and friends. I know that our challenge can't do that, this website won't do that. I think it may be more our own therapy than anything else. It is something we can do to honor her memory. I know that she enjoyed running, and she was successful in using running to lose weight and improve her health. But her determination to accomplish her goals was evident in many things that she has accomplished during her life. And so we are determined to accomplish our goal.
In short, this website is part therapy, part accountability, and part tribute. I guess we will have to figure it out as we go.
But I do hope that if you read this, and happen to find yourself in a situation to help out a stranger in some way, however small, please do so and let us know about it. You never know how much a small act can change a person's day. You never know what people are going through. The world can always use more kindness.
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