"When obstacles arise, you change your direction to reach your goal; you do not change your decision to get there." Zig Ziglar
"Mom, you and dad are starting to act like old people..." Austin says to me with his little sh#% eating grin.
Reality is, I will be 48 years old this year. But I try so hard to stay youthful. Behind the scars, the gray hair, the creping skin and wrinkles I really am young at heart.
I have changed directions many time but I have never gave up. There will be a day either my body or my mind will give up, but I am fighting like hell to avoid that as long as I can.
RUN THE MITT:
"A man who moves mountains begins by carrying small stones." Confucius
The first place winner finished this week. Alex ran 1035 miles first. Behind him is Donnie with 1018 miles. I am barely hanging onto 3rd pace with over 930 miles. ( I didn't log todays miles).
12 weeks ago you would never have told me I would be hanging on this close to the top. As of right now, I am in the lead for 1st place female but I am getting tired and burned out. Part of the "burn out" is emotional distraction. I am competing with another runner who puts no verification up. She posts 65-70 mile weeks w/o a picture, or a link to Strava or Garmin, running every day since January 1st. She is amazing. (I just wish she had some verification, I would trust her miles more.)
I am moving mountains by the grace of God. The last few weeks, I have felt that competitive spirit flame again. I may not be able to hold on but it has felt so good to try.
It has humbled me to see how much I CAN DO I would never have thought possible, had I not been inspired.
Most people give competitive people a bad wrap. Being competitive isn't bad unless it changes your moral compass. You can still be encouraging and kind and compete. I don't know who this "Jamie" is but she has inspired me to do things I never thought I could do especially after cancer, all my surgeries and ailments the last 2 years.
TRAIL WEEKEND:
"Never give up, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn."
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Monday, I got an email that I was no longer on the waitlist for this race. A RACE!? Not just a race, an ULTRA, a lil one but none the less a 50k, this coming up weekend. I was dancing and shaking with JOY!
Even though I had no races until June, Charlevoix marathon, I was living on a prayer I would get in. I trained with confidence that I would get to run Trail Weekend. And its a good thing I did because I only had 2 weeks to get my head in the game.
The tide turned, I am beyond stoked.
COACHING again
"Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward." Dieter F. Uchtdorf
"COACH! You have hair again!" with the biggest smile, one of the kids I XC coach shouts at me as I walk towards the team.
I am totally not qualified to coach 35 junior high athletes but they keep asking me to come back. I absolutely love the kids and running.
"Thank you Coach Harless..." one kid after another, the kids came up to me thanking me for coaching them after practice Thursday.
We ran, we laughed, we sweat and I taught them the value of being a TEAM. Teaching them more than running drills but team bonding drills. If you have a relationship with the kids they will not just discover a passion for the sport but they will have a relationship with one another that will inspire and encourage them to better success.
2019 I coached those kids through chemo. I showed up shouting and running after them at meets. I was so exhausted and sick. I will never forgetting preparing the kids for my hair to fall out. They all gathered around me outside on the grass. 40 kids huddled together looking up at my new pixie cut. All clustered around, they eagerly waited for me to say my final words of the day before they headed home from practice. Trying to stay strong I asked them all to raise their hands if someone in their family was bald. They younger ones quickly raised their hands while the older ones could see where this was going and held their response. I held my gaze on the ones I had coached for a few years trying not to cry. "Well, now you know someone else, I will still be the same coach, I will just have less hair but the same heart and love for you..."
My life is like my legs on a trail. I fall all the time. I flip, dip and trip. But I get back out there. No matter the obstacle, no matter the stumble, the mistakes, the sucker punch life throws you just have to get back out there. The tide turns. Just keep moving. Don't give up. Do it ugly, do it slowly, do it tearfully, just keep doing it.
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| Danielle and I got so lost at Proud Lake this week. Chaperones welcome! It was a beautiful and fun run! |
RUNDOWN:
Monday: 14M
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Run10M, walk home, 1.76
Thursday: Proud Lake w/ Danielle 11.35, Run w/ Complete Runner 5.35
Friday: Off (fell asleep on couch after work)
Saturday: 15M
Sunday: 18M Holdridge, Grubers and North loop
TOTAL: 75.47
* I am tapering this week. This is where I will loose my place on Run the Mitt. You can't do both and be successful. My body has to recover from these high mileage run weeks to be strong Sunday.
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| Chris, Lacey and I had a hilly run to Ortonville Saturday. |
Anita~
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