There are 2 reasons I signed up (in February of last year!) to WALK the Disney Marathon... #1, I wanted to a take on something so much bigger than I thought I could achieve, and #2, I wanted to do something with Ryan. In fact, I signed up BEFORE discussing it with him, and when I told him "What I had done", he started crying. Either he thought I was going to die, or he was really touched that I wanted a part of something that was so important to him. Truth be told, I got it in my head to do it in about 3 seconds, and it was one of those very annoying moments in my life where this happens, and I go, "Oh man, now I HAVE to do it..." This is also how I "decided" to become a nurse, and how I grew out my bangs. In the end, all good decisions! Anyways, I think based on those tears, I told Ryan that I really wanted to keep it between us, and that I really just wanted HIM to help me and encourage me along the long road ahead. That was a GREAT decision, and one that REALLY added so much to us both, personally.
The great thing about "Training" for something like this, is the amount of time it takes! Notice, I said "GREAT THING"... I say this because I had so much time "by myself" where I really had to focus and had time to think. This was so amazing! I spent hours talking to God about EVERYTHING... and I guess just growing. I needed this so much. Each week that I was able to increase the distance I walked/ran (note: very little running, mind you... I'm NOT a runner) I was thankful for the strength to do it... really. I learned first hand about the value of scripture memory... which I completely stink at. Many times while running (ok, I'm calling it RUNNING now because it just sounds WAY cooler) I needed encouragement DESPERATELY to continue on and that I could do "This"... verses that I learned when I was little would fill my head and I would be so frustrated because THAT is what I needed (and certainly couldn't RUN with a Bible in my hands!) and my "supply" was SO limited! I want to lock more into my head now, for just this reason. The whole PROCESS over these many months was an awakening, if you will, and I'm more thankful for that than to be able to achieve any goal that I set out to accomplish nearly a year ago.
OTHER things I learned "along the way"...
When it's lightening out, I can, amazingly enough, run VERY fast. While praying. Out loud. There were MANY days I had to do my "long RUNS" in the rain because I was VERY limited to the day I could actually do them due to my crazy work schedule. One particular day turned into a pretty nasty storm, and I was running at Flatwoods and was the furthest away from my car that I could possibly be, and 6 miles short of my 16 mile goal. I am pretty THANKFUL for a Ranger Rescue that day! Also thankful that I was so annoyed to have to stop at 10 miles because I was feeling REALLY good (minus the near heart failure over the lightening).
RUNNING with Ryan is a complete disaster. We decided to "have some fun" and do our 18 mile run together. We got the kids to my mom the night before, and got an early start one Saturday morning. Ryan was perfectly happy to go at my MUCH slower pace. He was VERY patient with me, and of course, SO encouraging. Then he got entertaining. And made me laugh... then we were going REALLY slowly. And I wasn't focussing AT ALL (which is REALLY important for me when I'm RUNNING)... then we were talking so much and well, going EVEN slower. You get the idea. It was fun, but we both agreed we weren't doing THAT again! Certainly enjoyed going to Chili's afterwards, however!
Not So Random People are REALLY encouraging. Can't tell you the amount of times people were "randomly" outside their house when I ran by and "chose" to say, "Good Job!" to me as I trucked slowly past. So, to the lady taking her trash out... the kids waving frantically... the people backing out of their driveways who saw me JUST IN TIME... THANK YOU SO MUCH! One thing I've learned, you NEVER know when your seemingly random words of encouragement are really going to make someone's day!
Vanilla Goo is gross. If you ever ran more than 6 miles and had to eat it, you know what I'm talking about. And you agree.
Guardian Angels Exist. And mine has a Spanish accent. On the day I was RUNNING 22 miles, I pulled a crazy muscle in my calf and had to JUST walk starting at mile 15. Ugh. It was EXTREMELY slow going, and HOT. And I was tired. Oh, and I was way out in the middle of well, NoWhere. I was very discouraged and feeling so annoyed that it was going so poorly, and to be honest, having Marathon Anxiety. Around the 18th mile, I decided I had had enough. I leaned against a breaker box outside the wall of a subdivision... thoroughly discouraged. No kidding, a man went by me on a bike and said, "Hey! You can do this! Don't stop now!" (that quote is VERBATIM). I will be honest, my split-second thought was "easy for you to say, you are on a bike!" my NEXT split-second thought was, "Random isn't Random, so perhaps God sent someone my way to encourage me" and I dragged up whatever I could find and immediately started walking again. I promptly turned a corner in the sidewalk and saw before me a VERY long stretch of very empty sidewalk. With no entrances or exits, or roads leading off it for what looked like a mile. No biker in sight. It was meer seconds since he spoke to me. Yes, God sent Someone my way to encourage me. 2 miles later, on a very deserted section of road, a very Frightening-to-Me looking person was headed in my direction with a very, shall we say, lecherous look on his face. I was feeling pretty nervous when "Out of NoWhere" the GUY on the bike was suddenly heading my way as well... and the Creepy guy took off. THIS time, I noticed "He" was wearing a Cross necklace. (Which means nothing, but makes for a fun "end" to this story).
The Chipmunks make about the BEST running music. I know... just what you want to hear after a very spiritual Angel experience. But it's true... Plus, it made me think about my kids, which is ALWAYS inspiring! Ok, and Aerosmith, too. Which, for some reason, makes me think about Ryan. Go figure!
Mile Markers are Important! I HAVE to know where they were every time I go out to "Run". I need them to know how far I've come, how far I have left, to readjust my pace (FASTER!), and to stay "on course". Trust me, it was NOT lost on me how much this parallels my relationship with God. I feel like I need a Mile Marker tattoo'ed on my forehead most days! Or at least on my right hand, which I can see more clearly. Whenever I didn't know where they were, I got very lazy and went very slowly and had a very hard time keeping up with my goals. It didn't take me long to realize that I HAD to have them written down for every course I ran.
Nature is Amazing. I loved loved loved being out "early" in the morning... I saw some really amazing sunrises. And one morning, for some reason I was thinking about The Trinity (random thoughts) and 3 beautiful deer darted out onto the road! (Again, at Flatwoods, because WHERE ELSE in Tampa is THAT going to happen?!?!). It made me laugh right out loud, I was so startled by the humor in it! Anyways, I guess I'm usually so busy and distracted, that it was REALLY great for me to "have time" and a clear head to actally notice this goodness around me.
Nothing tastes better than a SLURPEE after running. Nothing.
Turns out, "Running" a marathon wasn't such a bad idea after all. For the amount of times I said, "Who's stupid idea WAS this?!?!" and for the times I said, "Ooooh, I really wish I was doing the HALF marathon!"... it was worth it in the end. Seriously? Burning about 2600 calories in one morning? And if for nothing else, than to realize this:
My husband has a Gift. And it's called "Encouraging the Wife". I guess he's always been that way, but honestly, I never needed it as much before, apparently. It started and ended with this: He believed in me. He sent me text messages EXACTLY when I needed them the most.
It is the image of God
that makes us try grand things,
to achieve our dreams,
to make ourselves better.
Came my way on a particularly hard mile. No kidding, it made me gasp it was so encouraging! It made me think hard for a really long time. You know, which I found entertained/distracted me for a few more miles! During the actual marathon, he sent them to me while he was running himself. He spent hours coaching me along and reminding me, "With man, this is impossible. With God, all things are possible." It was so great for me to be so encouraged by him, and to share something so intense with him, that we've already signed up to do it again NEXT year! Ok, ok... he's taking on the Goofy Challenge again, and I'm "just" doing the 1/2 marathon with him. It was such a great experience. No kidding.
Pictures coming soon... for now, I did not want to forget these really important lessons and memories.
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