Getting On-Task (Mile 8)

I've written several entries that are dedicated to teachers.  I believe that speaks to the influence of teachers in my life.

The past week has been very difficult for me.  I had an.. um, running related injury and ended up in severe pain 5 miles away from my car.  I spent the next six days doing the bare minimum of physical activity necessary and lost my drive to run.  When I thought of running, words such as "stressful" and "exhausting" instead of "peaceful" and "strengthening" came to mind.  I was most certainly off-task.

Mr. Lee was a very special teacher.  He taught American history and his pride was his Advanced Placement class that was offered to juniors.  He gave many students their first taste of what a college class is like with his quick pace, his lengthy assignments, and his great expectations.  He took joy when his students succeeded and responsibility when his students lagged behind.  He was well known for his personal catch phrases such as "off-task," "on-task," and, after reproving a student, "Still a good kid, though." He was successful in taking a student's energy and capabilities and funneling it into something positive.  He never let a student settle for less than his or her best.

Another thing I think about when I remember Mr. Lee is the fact that he would open up his classroom to students at lunch time.  Students of all social groups could come eat their lunch, play chess, and be mentored (whether they realized it or not).  His job as a teacher never ended when the bell rang.

Now that my week of being benched is over, it's time to get back on-task. Starting back up is very difficult, but I know Mr. Lee wouldn't accept anything but my very best.  I would have already told him it wasn't possible for me to run 13 miles and he would have already told me I just wasn't trying hard enough, however, he still thinks I'm a good kid.  Mile 8 will be for Mr. Lee.

Day by Day (Mile 7)

I've mentioned before that the proudest moments of my childhood were not related to athletics or even academics, but to the arts.  I was fortunate to have grown up in a town where every child had the opportunity to experience art first hand.  It wasn't until I went to college that I realized not every student has the chance to perform in a community play, submit visual art to be viewed by the community, or take place in a songwriter's convention.  I had these special and life-changing experiences because of the hard work and dedication of Janine Earney.

Ms. Janine was a role model to me before I was old enough to understand what a role model was.  I always admired the way that she found talent in everyone and beauty in everything.  She took the challenge of working in one of the most underprivileged regions in the state and showed students what it meant to love the arts.  She made young actors, artists, and musicians out of countless youth, many of whom are now slightly older actors, artists, and musicians.

Although my career choices have led me away from working full time in the arts, it is a personal goal of mine to be a lifelong patron of the arts in a way that would make Ms. Janine proud.  And for once I'm going to be proud of doing something athletic--but when I'm running mile 7 for Ms. Janine I know it will be more artful than athletic.

If you build it, he will come (Mile 6)

Everyone has something they want to do in their lifetime.  The question is: What are we waiting for?  This is the story of a man who was brave enough to say to death: "Hold on, I have a few things I'd like to do first."

Coach Williams (or just Coach as I call him) was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer while in his thirties.  He was given just months to live but was "coached" back to health by his wife, son, and many friends and family members.  After being told he would never see his 40th birthday, he lived to be 46 years old.

There was nothing more important to Coach than spending time with his family.  After meeting death and walking away, he decided to do the things that were important to him.  He traveled with his wife and son all over the country and even abroad.  He wanted to see all the major baseball stadiums in the country and travel to all 50 states.  He was an inspiration everywhere he went.  His story was simple: you never know when your life will end, so live and love to the fullest extent.  He inspired others to do the things they always wanted to do.  I haven't always wanted to run a half-marathon, but now I can't imagine making it to the end of my life without reaching this goal first.


Coach was a few states short of the 50 at the end of his life but I have heard his wife and son recently completed the journey to Alaska, the 50th state on the list.  I have found when someone dies and you continue to live in their legacy, it is as if they have not left us at all.  They are just living in a different medium. This is the core discovery of my half-marathon journey.

I was always secretly amused that I called him "Coach" because I've never really played a sport.  Now that I am an athlete, and the name is fitting.  Mile 6 will be for Coach.

Running Update (pictures of puppies)

This past Saturday I had my very first experience with running on the Little Rock River Trail.

Have you seen the River Trail? It is gorgeous.

Oh, and there were a lot of these:

Do you realize how hard it is to stay focused on running when everyone is out walking their puppies on the first beautiful Saturday of the year? Well, my lagging pace was actually more realistically due to the fact that I was for the first time facing wind, hills, pedestrians, and, oh yeah, ten whole miles.

But I'm blaming the puppies.

Sarah said, "God has brought me laughter, and everyone who hears my story shall laugh with me." (Mile 5)

When you are named after a loved one, you have pretty big shoes to fill.  Especially if the shoes belonged to a beauty queen.

I am named after my mother's mother's mother, Sarah Myrtle McDonald Ross.  I pride myself in coming from a strong line of independent (i.e. stubborn) women as far back as I know. 

Grandma Sarah Myrtle gave piano lessons and played for the church.  My mother was always disappointed that she inherited no musical capabilities.  Her genes combined plus my father's non-musical genes meant there was really no hope for me.  However, she prayed when she was pregnant with me that I would have the musical talent of my namesake.  God was faithful and I was bursting with musical ability.  I used that ability to earn a BA in music, which eventually led me to the Audiology program I am in now.

I only have a few memories of my Grandma Sarah Myrtle.  I remember she would smile really big when she would hold me and I thought she was "happy" and "fun" (I had the vocabulary of a 4 year old..).  My very favorite story of my Grandma Sarah Myrtle was when she was named the "Beauty Queen" of her nursing home.  I was too young to know what this meant, but I remember being so proud of her! My great-grandmother was a beauty queen and I was named after her!

When my great-grandma reached the end of her life, she was still very happy.  I've heard stories of when people would ask how she was feeling and she'd say, "I'm great! I'm going to see my maker soon! Will I see you there one day?"  She died at the age of 92.  My mom says it is the happiest funeral she has ever been to.

Matt recently said to me, "Honey, you probably already know this but you're aren't going to come in first place in the half-marathon.  However, you'll be the prettiest girl running that day."  I am dedicating mile 5 to my namesake, Grandma Sarah Myrtle.

Sarahs

Running Update (one thing in common)

One of the things I was unaware of when I began my journey to 13. 1 miles is running culture.  There are websites, magazines, stores, clubs, discussion groups, etc that are completely dedicated to running.  At first it seemed kind of silly to me that so much thought goes into something as simple as running. However, now that I am spending nearly as much time running as I used to spent scouring the internet for obscure bands, "Runner's World" makes just as much sense as "Spin."

One of my favorite things that I have come across while learning about running is a documentary by PBS called "Marathon Challenge." In this documentary, twelve average, sedentary adults dedicated nine months to prepare for the Boston Marathon.  The participants came from all walks of life--a 56 year old male who had suffered a heart-attack, a 59 year old female school teacher, a 38 year old male who was living with HIV, a 28 year old female coping with the loss of her mother who was the victim of a drunk driving accident--each person had a unique story.  The interesting thing is that these people who were, on the surface, so very different had one thing in common--they had made up their mind to run the Boston Marathon.  It was quite a challenge and most participants could not run a mile on the first training day.  However, with hard-work and dedication every member but one crossed the finish line (the one who could not complete the marathon was benched due to injury).

This video is the perfect inspiration for anyone who has a goal that seems unattainable.  It takes less than an hour to watch and you will be very encouraged when you are through with it!
Click this link to watch the video at its original source or you can view it below.

Every good and perfect gift is from above (Mile 4)

Some of these posts will be very sad.  This is the saddest of them all (fair warning).


We met Don in 2006 when he moved into a house with Matt and some mutual friends.  Matt and I say this in the most affectionate way (as Don is one of our very best friends) but Don is one of the most unusual guys we know.  Don is a modern American hero with two tours in Iraq under his belt--where he was brilliant enough to work as an AC mechanic which made him the most valuable (and likable) guy around.  He always has some sort of experiment going on, like the time where he labeled his socks for the days of the week and examined their tread patters (which i recently found out is on-going).  We were all pleasantly shocked when Don began dating Alissa, one of the kindest, sweetest, and un-unusual people you'd ever meet.  And somehow, they are a perfect pair.

In early 2009, we were again pleasantly surprised when we heard that the couple was pregnant.  A few months later, the expecting parents had a house and a room prepared for her, and I (along with many friends) had the privilege of throwing sweet Amelia Erin a shower.  I painted a canvas that hung in Amelia's room that said "Every Good and Perfect Gift is from Above. -James 1:17."  Her due date was Halloween and Matt and I had our costumes ready to go meet little Amelia at the hospital.

The most shocking and tragic moment in my life thus far was receiving a phone call that Amelia had not made it through childbirth.

Words cannot express the emotions--denial, grief, and anger--that accompanies the death of a child.  I wanted to tear the whole world down.  Everything is unfair after that.  What was worse is I knew Don and Alissa were experiencing the same pain one hundred-fold.   It was a feeling of complete hopelessness.  However, it was Don and Alissa that gave the rest of us hope.

I have never met two stronger or braver people than Don and Alissa.  They have taken a situation that had the capability to destroy two people and have used it to grow stronger individually and together.  They had a decision to make--they could have been bitter and angry (and no one would have blamed them) or they could strengthen themselves in their faith and love and be a blessing to others.  They never miss an opportunity to talk about their daughter and it is a blessing every time.  Seeing them find the good in such a tragedy gives me and others strength to do the things that seem impossible. Just like with running, I have learned from them to take challenges one step at a time.


Every day I think about what Amelia would be doing now.  I would probably get to log some running hours by chasing her around the house at this age.  Mile 4 is in memory of sweet Amelia Erin.