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.

Running Update (runner's high)

A common misconception about runners is that they all actually like to run.  That is something I have always believed. Since I have started this blog I have had at least 50 people tell me the same thing: "I just don't like to run."
 
I was really looking forward to enjoying my new hobby.  After a few weeks I still wasn't having fun on the treadmill.  I asked my running mentor and marathoner Shanna Jones when she started to like running. She responded with "Oh, I don't like running." Wait, so all these years... all those people... and no one really likes running? "But I like how it makes me feel," she responded.  Now this I can relate to.  Running is really strenuous and usually not very much fun (also, what am I supposed to be thinking about on the treadmill for an hour at a time?) but the result is very rewarding.  I have lost weight and I have more energy.  I have a hobby and goal that makes me proud. 

I telling very best friends Brittany (Pepper) about my new hobby and I heard the typical response from her, but with a twist: "I don't like to run. Also, I see runners all around St. Louis and I just want to swerve my car and hit the smug bastards." She has a point.  Runners can look quite smug.  However I can see where one might interpret the look as "Oh God. I can't BEAR to think about how much more awesome I am than you; if I did my head would explode and that would really hurt." when the runner is actually thinking, "Oh God, I can't BEAR to run another yard; If I do I will pass out and bust my head on this concrete and that would really hurt!" Note to self: practice not looking so smug while running.

The one thing that I have heard runners and non-runners talk about is the "runner's high." This sounds fantastic! However I must admit, to me the task still feels more like running for four miles and less like riding a unicorn to candy mountain. 

My advice to those thinking about running: we aren't having a blast.  You aren't doing it wrong if you aren't getting the high.  I've never felt the high and I don't love to run.  However, I do love to eat and I'm getting to do plenty of that now that I'm running 4 times a week.  Don't get discouraged if you don't like it.  Just hang in there and maybe one day you (and I) will feel that famous runner's high.  And in the meantime you may find that you can't stop thinking about it, and talking about it, and blogging about it...

Let it Be (Mile 3)

"Don't ever assume that anything works the way it should." (-Kyle's Facebook "about me")


Kyle was one of the first people I met at UCA.  We were in the marching band together and were in the same music theory classes.  I downright avoided him the first month of my freshman year because he was flirtatious and I had a boyfriend back home.  The next several years after we became friends he (playfully) never let me live down how "stuck up" I acted that first month.  We eventually got over the awkwardness of being new to this college thing (or I did, he was a year above me).  I think it was the day that I walked into music theory early and he was alone playing Beatles' songs on the piano (note to everyone: it is impossible for me to dislike anyone who likes the Beatles).  It became a thing--we'd show up a little early, he'd play Twist and Shout or Let it Be and I'd sing along.

The next semester I went through sorority rush.  The night I got my bid for Alpha Sigma Alpha we went to all the fraternity houses and "meet the guys" (which meant awkwardly bob to the music with people you don't know while your older sisters whom you've just met encourage you to meet the pledges of the fraternity).  I was completely relieved to walk through the doors of the Sigma Nu party room and see a pledge I did know--Kyle.  At UCA it is uncommon (and discouraged) for a band nerd to go greek.  Kyle and I were the only two to break the laws of band nerd-dom.  We proudly endured the consequences together.

We spent a lot of time over the next four years together.  We had all the same friends and enjoyed trips to Memphis, Dallas, Willy D's, and the Conway VFW together.  I could always count of Kyle to be at the UCA tailgate grilling, on stage at the Sigma Nu house playing guitar, and at the piano bar singing Journey songs as loud as he could.  Kyle eventually changed his major to nursing and we saw less of each other during the week.

When I graduated UCA and moved to Little Rock I lost touch with Kyle except through the weak bonds of facebook.  This past March I was completely devastated when I found out he had killed himself.

"Don't ever assume that anything works the way it should."  Out of all my friends from undergrad, Kyle was one of the last I would expect it from.  He was the one painting himself in purple for the football games and making the smart-ass comments.  However, those closest to him at the time said the past year Kyle had faced some challenges that he kept well hidden.

Suicide is the result of a illness.  Until you accept that as fact, you will never be able to cope with the death.  Kyle's death taught me that this illness won't always show outward symptoms.  You should always take the time to tell people you care for them, and not just your closest friends and your family members.  Take the time to listen to people and don't become frustrated with their short-comings.  Most importantly, don't ever assume that anything works the way it should.  We can be superficial beings.  Since Kyle's death I have tried harder to really listen to people.  You never know everything someone else is dealing with.  Treat others with love at respect no matter the circumstance.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with depression, please seek help.  Many wonderful orgnizations with trained professions are out there waiting for a phone call.  Hopeline is one of those groups.  Their number is 1-800-784-2433.




Kyle had the bluest eyes and the whitest smile of anyone I have ever known.  At the wake for Kyle, Louis said that every time we see blue skies and white clouds that is Kyle smiling down on us from heaven.  The LR half-marathon is exactly one year to the week Kyle died.  I have a feeling there will be blue skies and white clouds.  Mile 3 will be for Kyle.

The two of us at Willy D's, circa 2007

Kyle (far left) "doin' it like a big bear"

Running Update (target speed)

I am really looking forward to school starting back in a week.  Yes, mainly because I am completely fascinated by ears.  Also, I love my classmates.  But I am REALLY looking forward to having access to the University gym again.
Over the holiday I have been running on a treadmill that was given to me by my grandparents.  It is ~20 years old, held together by duct tape, and most definitely inaccurate.

 

Ain't she a beauty.

The most hilarious thing about the treadmill is the speed controls. There are no numbers, just a slider that moves from turtle to rabbit to trick me into thinking I am instead on a riding lawnmower.

My target speed is halfway to rabbit mph

However I am grateful that I do not have to run outside in the January wind.


If you would like to keep up with my progress in 140 characters or less follow me on twitter! Search for @RunningForPoets or click here!

Hold on to the Rope (Mile 2)

Once there were two mice that fell into a barrel of cream.  The first mouse panicked and flailed about until he ran out of energy and gave up.  The second mouse, however, slowly began swimming round and round the barrel.  The cream churned and churned until it became butter and the mouse hopped out of the barrel unharmed.

This was one of Ms. Shelia's favorite stories.  An active West Memphis High School band and athletic booster, Ms. Shelia would tell this and other stories to her "kids" to encourage them to work diligently and persevere.  She was the living example of that second little mouse who fearlessly and tirelessly lived.

Ms. Shelia lived her life to serve others.  In everything she did, she made you feel like a better person.  I know there are countless people in this world who have accomplished previously unimaginable things simply through the encouragement of Ms. Shelia.  She had the most beautiful heart you could ever know.

Ms. Shelia suffered from a rare condition that caused growths to form under her skin.  The growths would rupture, causing painful and noticeable disfigurations.   The condition eventually caused her to lose her hair, some hearing, and at the end of her life she was confined to a wheelchair.  However, this never stopped her from being a visible representative of  every group in which she was active.  She traveled on mission trips, band trips, and every Blue Devil football game.  When her condition confined her to a wheelchair, my family would go pick her up and make sure she was seated where she could see her Blue Devil team play football and hear her Blue Devil band play the fight song.  I've even heard stories of her making sacrifices at Christmas so different kids could have something special such as a Blue Devil letter jacket.  For years I watched her pour herself into the students at WMHS and our whole community.  She lived with so much fervor that just the thought of her makes me want to get off my couch right now and run 13.1 miles.


I found out recently that Ms. Shelia was a runner herself.  If Ms. Shelia were alive today, she would have been the very first person to tell me that running a half-marathon is possible.  She would have said it with so much conviction that I would have believed in myself from the very beginning.  To Ms. Shelia, nothing was impossible.  "Hold on to the Rope" as she would say.  I am running mile 2 for her.

(photo to come)

Running Update (registration)

Below is my training schedule for the ten weeks preceding the marathon.

The past week was week one on the schedule.  I ran every day but Thursday due to a pretty terrible cough I have been battling.  I found it somewhat of a coincidence that I was having trouble breathing in a week that I have been thinking so much of my friend who had CF.


With or without the cold, running after a two-week holiday is a real pain-in-the-everything.

I finally officially registered for the Little Rock half-marathon.  Clicking the "submit" button was more challenging than I anticipated.  I have never attempted a feat so great and not followed through.  I'm committed now!