Thursday Training Tip: Pacing off Others.

FulPacing Off others.
Today I was a little concerned that I was P*$$ing off the guy in front of me as I secretly Paced Off him!
When I stepped on the track I really wanted someone to run with. I like running with others when I am on the track so I do NOT have to keep track of my pace. I let them do all the work!
I saw this guy about 200m in front of me. He looked like a good target and a good target pace that I could possibly maintain.
As I counted my laps the gap between us slowly began to close. He was running in the middle lane where I was running in the outer lane. This meant that I was running longer and a hair faster then him. Within a couple miles I found myself running ear distance from him. Most likely he could hear my breathing or my shoes turning over on the track. He never looked back or altered his pace.
My goal was not to out run him. I had no intentions of pounding my chest and letting an ego get in the way of my run. I just wanted a running partner.
After 15 laps he slowed down enough that I had to continue onward. I took my music out of my ears as I came back to him walking. Smiling at him I quickly yelled "Hey, Thanks, Great Pace." He looked up at me as I passed and replied out of breath "Thank you."
I was bummed out that I lost my secret running partner. Now I had to work. I looked at the overhead clock and started to keep track of my pace.

 "The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share your riches

but to reveal to him his own."
 - Benjamin Disraeli



On my final lap around the track I saw this older gentleman kicking it up. Keeping my eyes fixed on the back of his shirt I tailed him in that last lap around the track. My lungs were burning as I gasped for air. He stopped right in front of me almost at the same time I stopped. He turned around and yelled something. I took my music out while he repeated himself. "WOW, YOU didn't  LOOK like you were going that FAST!!" I laughed and answered "I was trying to keep up WITH YOU!!"
This older man waited for me to walk up to him as he too desperately tried to catch his breath. With his hands over his head he says  "I saw you coming and wanted to try to keep up with you only you were going faster than I realized."
We chatted about how it is nice to pace off others. It helps you to get motivated to push yourself.

As I walked off the track I found it so circular how I paced off this man earlier for almost 4 miles and  here this man used me to pace off of as well.

Tips on Pacing off others:

1. Run your own Race: Be careful not to get too competitive and end up injured.
2. Have a Plan BEFORE you pace off others and stick close to it.  
3. If someone helped you run better, stronger, or faster take a minute and let them know. Most likely they knew you were pacing off them anyhow. You could end up with a new running partner!
4. When pacing off others try and concentrate on your form. If you see them slouching remind yourself to run strong and upright. By watching others' form you can hold your running form accountable.  
5. Try not to be a nuisance. If you think you are annoying the person in front of you then be courteous and back off a few feet. No one wants to hear heavy breathing in their ears unless it is their own. And most of us don't like to even hear our own breathing!

Full Circle:
Pacing off others outside of running is equally as important. Unless you have "Arrived" most of us are always striving to be a better person.
I have my eyes on several people that I Pace Off:

1. With Finances: My Girlfirend Lisa. She did the Dave Ramsey course and I really respect how well she and her husband manage their money.
2.  Godly Woman: My Girlfriend Kimberly P.  She  is soft spoken and yet a sweet firecracker. She lives life with honesty. She is not afraid to proclaim Christ and lives to honor HIM in ALL she says and does. This takes great courage in todays world. She is not Wishy Washy in her walk. I have watched her grow so much the last few years. I love pacing off her.
3.  Encourager and Motivator: My running friend "Heidi" She has a smile that never leaves her face. She is transparent as a person even in her struggles she finds joy. She is always cheering someone on.
4. Hard worker and disciplined: Danielle, my running partner. She is like clock work when it comes to getting up every morning and doing her work out routine. She works hard at all she does and maintains a very good attitude. Danielle balances me when I get to excited about issues.
5. Support and Love. Hands down Andy's mom and dad. They actually are so supportive and loving it is almost to a fault. I am reminded daily how much they support not just Andy and I but many others. They give love unconditionally. They would rather show you love and get hurt by the choices they don't agree with then not give love and feel like they shut the door on you. They are trying to work on this. They are just the most loving people I know.

There are many many others that I Pace Off of in Life. People that do not know that I am watching them and taking notes.

• Sometimes we have to back off when we can see that we are no longer running with the same agenda.
•  Sometimes they are moving at hyperspeeds that we are just capable of.
• Sometimes they are moving slower that we thought and we have to move pass them.

Overall we have to keep in mind they we need to RUN our OWN RACE. God set others around us to build and grow from. To edify and encourage one another along the way.

Remember too that most likely some one is Pacing Off of YOU.  Be the best You "you" can be.

RUNDOWN:
Distance: 8 miles
Time: 1:03:38
Pace: 7:57


WHO do You Pace off OF???

Anita

A little Piece of me. HOMEless-

A house is made
of brick and mortar,
but home is made
by the people who
live there."
M. K. Soni

Home is where the Heart it:
As I looked at Alec I questioned what I had done. For ten weeks we had a For Sale sign on our home. And for months I  had been preparing the house to put it on the market.
We had to be out of our house in 2 days and we had no home purchased in its place.
Together Andy and I had raised both our boys in this house. Alec came home from the hospital here.
Alec knew no other.
With almost everything off the walls and out of the house except the junk and dirt left to clean I saw Alec.
Alec was hunkered down sitting on the bottom of the steps. His little body looked so lonely while I just cleaned around him.
I stopped and just stared at him. He felt my attention and looked up at me. His eyes were glossed over with his lips quivering. My throat got a big knot in it. I slowly walked towards him. I reached my arms around him only to feel his head bury itself into my chest.
"Mommm, I don't want to leave." He cried. "We have so many memories here." He whimpered.
I held him tighter as I found myself tearing up alongside him. His little body shook in my arms.
I searched for the perfect words in vain. I wanted words of comfort and wisdom. "Alec, this house will give someone else great memories and we will make more memories in our next house."
It sounded so cliché.
We lived here for 12 years. Some of the most instrumental years of my life were in this house.
"What if I made a mistake?" I silently questioned.
Just that morning Andy was walking out the door to go to work. He was very agitated. The last few days had really taken a toll on him. Right before Andy walked out the door for work he snapped at me. He wanted me to hang  pictures on the wall where we would be renting. I didn't want to put pictures up in hopes we would not be there too long.
"Andy, I don't want to hang pictures we are not going to be there that long." I said sternly.
As I got a closer look at Andy I could see his face reddened and flush. "Nita, I just want to come to that house and have it feel like my home."
I instantly felt sick as I saw his eyes begin to well up.
"Andy, Home is Where the Heart is." I said with all sincerity.
"I understand that but I want it to feel like my home."  Not wanting me to see him in this vulnerable state he quickly left out the door for work.

We all had our moments leaving that house on Weller Ct. I came there after work on Saturday. Noone was there and all the furniture had been removed. As the garage opened I was shocked to find it empty. My stomach came up to my chest. Salty tears rolled down my cheeks as I looked at the spray painted lines across the garage floor. Alec not knowing any better when he was 9 years old took a can of black spray paint and made 3 lines across the floor. He labeled each of them very large 1, 2, 3. These lines were innocently painted as his starter points for shooting ninja stars. I remember coming home and seeing this black spray paint all over my garage floor and wanted to have someone's head. "WHO did this?" I charged into the house for answers.
Little Alec fearfully admitted it. I burst out laughing at his sweet innocence. I didn't have the heart to scold him.
I loved coming home to that spray painted floor. Now I sobbed as I looked at it for the last time. So many memories.

Andy lived in the same house all his life growing up.
I lived in over a dozen homes by the time I was 15!
The ones I remember:

1. N.Johnson-Pontiac
2. E. Colgate- Pontiac
3. A couple foster homes
4. Somewhere in Lansing in a trailer park with a woman I never really knew. She had a beautiful trailer and was very clean. I think this is where we lived when my mom got back on her feet.
5. Some nasty apartments on E. Holly Rd and Dixie Hwy. Those got burned down by a neighbor while my mom was off the wagon and on a terrible binge.
6. Parkway Motel in Dixie Hwy in Holly. We lived her for about 9 months.
7. We moved into a school house on Oakhill road. We lived in the top apartment that was about 600 square feet!
8. The bottom apartment opened up and we moved downstairs of the schoolhouse!
9. When I was 15 my mom bought a trailer at Sashabaw Meadows trailer park in Brandon.
10. My mom burned that down with a case of beer and a cigarette. We moved into another trailer on the same park! I moved out when I was 18.

These are the homes I remember. I remember more but they are sketchy.
Moving is just something that I am used to. I don't mind moving. Or so I thought.

Comedy of Errors!
Sometimes you just have to laugh through the tears. The closing date was given to us 5 days prior!

1.  We had to scramble to find a UHAUL truck.  Apparently everyone was moving on the same blizzardy weekend!
2. I got home late from work on Friday. Andy was on the cusp of a nervous breakdown when he called me from Flint. The person he thought was going to go to Flint with him and me to get the UHAUL cancelled. Andy was so upset. I was desperately trying to calm him down. "Anita, you are going to have to in meet me up here and leave your car here." He directed. I argued with him that I did not feel comfortable leaving my car in Flint. "NITA, Are you Listening to me?  We do not have a choice." I hung up the phone with him feeling helpless. I couldn't believe no one could help us just drive up to Flint and back. Out of pure desperation I called my neighbor. "Amy... Would you, Could you PLEASE PLEASE  go with me to Flint...I will buy you Starbucks! ANYTHING you want, PLEASE.." I begged.  She put on her Wonder Woman cape and saved my day. This meant so much to not just me but Andy as well. "Nita, You are going to miss me when you are gone." Amy laughed. Yes, I will miss her terribly. She was an incredible neighbor.
3. OH...BUT it just starts to get good here!!...It was a stinking BLIZZARD going to Flint. We saw 3 cars in ditches and had not even made it 5 miles from home!
4. Amy drove my car home and I took Andy's truck. We lived on a hill. This makes driving up my driveway VERY difficult. Amy had to park my car in HER driveway because she knew she couldn't get up. She couldn't even get up her driveway in my car!
5. OH...And the UHAUL...It was NOT going up the driveway. Andy is a very good driver. He used to drive trucks bigger than this when he was younger working for a tent company. As he attempted to back it up and up our driveway it slipped and came all the way back down.
6. It got caught in the crest of the driveway and the sidewalk. The UHAUL was hung up on a patch of ice and snow. After Andy attempted to rock it out he came in more frustrated to ask for my help.
7. "Nita, I need you to get in my truck and PULL me out." He explained. I thought, "You have got to be kidding me." Andy Drives a Ford F150. It looks big but not next to this UHAUL. He then added "BUT, You have to make sure you pay attention, you only have about 8 feet to work with." OH Great.  It took about 5 minutes and sure enough I pulled him out. I felt hair growing on my chest. Without gloating too much I headed into the house.
8. I was not in there more than 5 minutes when I saw Andy stuck AGAIN! This time the 26 foot truck was perpendicular with the road. This meant no one was able to come or go. We are right smack in the middle of the road. It was almost 9pm. I got dressed back again to help him. He was already getting the tow strap on. "OK, Now I need you to get up in the UHAUL and I am going to pull you out." Andy tells me. "WHAT?! I have to get into that THING?" I replied. This time Andy's truck was in the neighbors driveway. He had even less footage to pull me out with. If he went to far forward he would either hit their cars or go through their window. I was sick.
9. Back and forth we laid the gas pedal down. The smell of burning rubber turned my stomach, When I let off the gas all the fumes and smoke wafted through the air. You couldn't see anything. It seemed futile. 10 minutes we worked to get the UHAUL out of the snow embankment. Finally Andy told me to go into the house. He reached for the shovel in a last ditch effort to dig his way out. I looked out the window after him a few minutes later to discover he was no longer blocking the street!
10. Saturday I worked and Andy moved. We had a snow storm. My brother in law and his family of 8 kids all came out to help. Mom, dad and my brother in law Bruce all put their sweat and muscle into moving us. We didn't hire movers because we are going to be doing this again in the next several weeks.
11. On Sunday when we were unpacking and finishing up at the Weller Ct house I made the mistake of mentioning my long run. Andy looked at me like I had 2 heads. Mom, well she just laughed at me. I knew better than touch that one. No run on Sunday!
12. In the days to pass I have lost my purse a half dozen times, my keys a dozen times, my cell phone more times than I can count and my mind has yet to be found!

Home is Where the Heart is. We are settle in. I pray God gives us a house soon. I am very thankful for the house we are renting. It is over a 150 years old!  God Is Good All the Time. The last 2 weeks I have spared you with the details of stress. I have put on my game face making the best of very tough times. Emotions are sifting. There are pictures on the wall. Andy found some holes and nails.
It feels like home.

"If Home is where the heart is then may your Home be blessed . . ." 

RUNDOWN:
1mile w/u
8x800m repeats 3:20 (6.40pace) .05% incline
1.25mile  c/d
Total miles 7.25

Say "HELLO" to my little friend!

Yesterday I just didn't have a minute to post. I am the slowest at typing anyhow. And as you ALL have noticed I am NOT a writer so I usually have to edit everything a half dozen times. Even after editing I still have mistakes. I AM SO A WRITER...I AM A RUNNER!
The point is I just didn't have the time for all that.

I did have time to RUN.

The truth is I wanted someone to run with me. Thursdays are Danielle and my running day. Danielle went on a cruise. HOW DARE she leave me behind in this God Forsaken Freezing Tundra!

So I have a friend whom I admire a lot. He is an "OLD Warrior".  "Jeff" is going to be 61 in March. Jeff qualified for Boston!! This has been a DREAM of his for years. He has been running since high school...That was probably his means of transportation! (OLD JOKE)
Jeff is stitched together by running. He knows the fasted kids in the country. He follows all runners. He remembers the runners and their times from 20 years ago. He gets antsy when he talks about them. He can calculate your marathon pace within seconds of knowing your 800m splits. He can review your training and project the times of your future races within seconds! Jeff goes to the high school meets and just enjoys watching the runners. He stands there all jittery predicting their times and always spot on! He is not a coach no matter how much I have tried to convince him to be one.
Jeff got injured last fall. He struggled with the Crim in August with his feet. Plantar Fasciitis. A nasty nagging injury.
He took some time off in hopes that it would heal. Jeff got a membership at the club in January and started to slowly train.
THE TRACK: I texted him to see if he was going to be running yesterday and see if I could join him. I wanted a partner. I knew that everyday that Jeff was at the gym was a TRAINING day.
I was happy to see he said I could join him.
I did his training.
800m w/u
6X800
800m c/d
I didn't want to mess his training up. I asked if I could just run at his heals. Jeff is a very consistent runner. He did his 800m very well. He was gassed at the end of them. A couple times I had to remind him to run strong and get his posture back up. I didn't want him to get mad at me though.
By the time he did his last 800 he kicked it in. He remained strong with me talking to him from behind.
"You HAVE to do this Jeff."
"That's it, that's it, FINISH Strong."
When he could catch his breath he repeatedly thanked me for pushing him and helping him.

No, yesterday wasn't about Anita. Sure I could have run my routine 8 miles. But it was more fun to run with Jeff and see him reach his goals. I still did a couple miles after he left making my total miles 7.
I found it interesting that Jeff's mantra was the same as mine earlier this week. "You just Have to do it."
"You do not have another option."

It is that mind set that gets it done. You have to control your thoughts. Our Mind is more powerful than our legs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
My son had a basketball game out at Swartz Creek. They beat us a few weeks ago by almost 20!
Austin my 14 year old is a great basketball player but he lets failure hold him hostage. If he shoots and misses a basket he just won't shoot anymore. The crowd always encourages him to shoot because they know he can do it.
Last nights game was no exception. He was having a great game but he missed a lay up. You could instantly see the discouragement steal his joy. Very soon he had the ball again. The crowd coaxed him into shooting a 3 pointer. It was very intense. He shot and made it! Again and again he made 3 pointers.
He score 18 points and played very well. His team ended up winning the very good team of Swartz Creek. Yes, he still had some mistakes in there but he conqueror himself!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yesterday was about being on the sidelines for someone else. It is equally as important to be on the sidelines for others as it is to run your own race. It is a good reminder that life is not always about YOU. Sure we can make it all about us. But it feels so good to put your own training, your own issues aside and encourage someone else.

Anita

Coaching Strength.



When it comes to running there is always going to be someone that runs faster, stronger or harder.

I looked to my right and saw "Bill K" blazing around the track.
"WHAT the "H" have I got myself into?"  I heard my voices screaming in agony as I ran on the TM.
My legs were already burning and I had not even ran a mile yet. My breathing was labored and my quads were so tight. I began to get scared. Afraid I was going to fail at my goal. Afraid that maybe I was just getting too old. Afraid that I would hurt more.

Mathew 19:14 " But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.”   

"God Please,PLEASE help me." I was begging him. I am always pleading with God. I often wonder if God thinks I am a needy. "Oh, that's Needy Nita again, what does she need now?"  I am constantly asking things from him. Like a young child unable to care for themselves I continue to seek him. I go to him without Fear but in Faith. Faith of a Child.

I put the towel over the TM so I did not have to see the numbers. I thought of those that are fast. "Melanie P" doesn't even know I exist but I know her. She is a speed demon. Melanie runs ultras. I ran a run out at Pontiac Lake last summer with her only she was injured and had to turn around. She allowed herself to heal and came back as strong as ever. I thought of how she knows Strength.

"Anita, You HAVE to be STRONG. There is no other OPTION." I heard myself being coached.
That was it. We NEED to BE STRONG. Even when our Mind is weak there is a still small voice that is screaming "BE STRONG." We have to DIG in. There is NO Other Option. There is no place for WEAKNESS.
No one ever says "I want to be like them, Weak!"

I could hear these words coaching me. I could actually feel my legs going faster than the belt. I had to be Strong enough to be disciplined in the pace I was.

I thought of times when I wanted to cave into Weakness and give up. But I quickly coached myself out of that. I reminded myself of how Strong I have been over the last 16 months. I have been emotionally pummeled by hurt both physically and emotionally. People are mean. You have to be strong enough to love them anyway.
I have begged God to give me STRENGTH. I am so thankful He has an endless supply of STRENGTH  that He continues to bottle feed me.

We have to get to the place we accept it. We have to see that PAIN will make us Stronger if we LET it. Sure we can have a plate of hurts and disappointments and let it dissolve us into the person we were never meant to be.
Or we can accept that Pain as part of our diet, much like vegetables that are GOOD for us!
It will help us to grow if we choose to do the work and allow it to.

I was scared to look at my distance as I felt the sweat creep down my temples.
"What if I look and it says I have only ran 3 miles?"
"Oh, God Please, Please, Keep me STRONG to finish this out."

As I removed the towel the distance read 3.99!!!
"I got this, I got this."  I cheered myself on as I punched the numbers in to pick up the pace to Finish the last mile Strong.

RUNDOWN:
Tempo RUN:
 1 Mile w/u
5 Miles 7:19 pace
1 mile c/d

YOU GOT THIS!! Whatever you are going through. Maybe it is your running. Maybe you are struggling with work, or choices that you have to make. Maybe you have been doing things that you shouldn't be doing because you think you have no the strength to stop. YOU GOT THIS!
Maybe you have had a recent loss or are struggling with family or friends. DO Not GIVE UP. Do the right thing always. Stay STONG. Dig In, Brace yourself and Seek God for the STRENGTH to Keep going when you want to quit.


Anita

Tips for training around the Track.

I went to the gym after dropping Austin and his friends off at basketball practice.

After yesterdays long brutal run I felt like I got into a fight with Mother Nature and SHE WON.
I was in the hurt locker. Everything was so sore.
I had a blank slate for a plan as I pulled into the packed gym.

Here is what I knew:

1. I was sore.
2. I didn't want to run on the Dreadmill.
3. I wanted to run at least 5 miles.
4. I wanted to stretch, do abs and hit the Cold Plunge.

TIPS NUMBER 1:
Leave the watch at home. There are many runs that your watch will be glued to your wrist. There are few where you remove it and this is usually because the batteries are dead! We often so get caught up in the madness of time, pace and distance that we forget to just LOVE the RUN.

TIP NUMBER 2:
Let the Pace plan your RUN. Today that is what I did. I knew I was sore. I ran a long run yesterday where the distance didn't beat me up as bad at the elements. Because I ran over 13 miles yesterday I knew that I needed to be gentle to my body. I needed to feel my run. Let my run come to me rather than me pushing towards my run. By doing this I have allowed my body to come into its own. I took it slow and finished strong.

TIPS NUMBER 3:
Try something new: Normally when I run around the track I bring my watch to program my mile splits. This is how I keep track. Today I had no watch. My counting is terrible. I forget to count as I calculate pace or I start daydreaming and lose track. As I took my first mile slow I began to feel a plan unfolding. 7 miles easy. I decided to count how many times I went around the track instead of counting every 4 times and marking my miles from there.
FUN TIMES with TIP Number 3!

You are probably wondering how I could count to 28 without losing track. I did WORD ASSOCIATION!
4: "Made the first MILE!
8: "Only 20 more times around!"
10: "Double Digits"
12: "12 months in a year, we run all year long!" 
13: "Bad number, Bad MOJO" 
14: "Half way there." 
17: "I have been married 17 years."
21: "My Sweet Ariel"
24: "1 Mile left to GO!!"
28: "DONE..heavy breathing ..DONE!"

The plan worked out.
"RUNDOWN"
Distance:7 miles
Pace: 8:42
Time: 1:01
ABS, rolled, stretched and COLD PLUNGE, BRR!

Just Because I ran a long run yesterday was not my exit from running today. Just because my body was tender and raw was not even an excuse for skipping my run. My training has me run Sunday and Monday. NO MATTER what. My training is not at a place I can dodge runs.

I found this and wanted to share it:
A Guy who has run 20 Boston Marathons was asked "Don't you feel like skipping a day when its raining?"
The old warrior replied, "If you start skipping runs because the weather is too lousy, pretty soon you start missing runs because the weather is too nice!"
~Florence Griffeth Joyner and Jon Hanc  Running for Dummies

Anita

                                    

Spring Marathon training STINKS! BAHH!

Spring Marathon training in Michigan is a bunch of CRAP. Yup, I said it and I will say it again. Crap, Crap, a toilet full of great big stinky turds.

I had a long run today in the miserable Michigan canopy of CRAP.
It was 21 degrees out with beastly winds knocking me sideways. I had Heidi to run my long run with me. We could see the winds before they threw up snow and ice at us. There was no place to take refuge. We would turn our backs from the whirlwind and attempt  to protect ourselves from the inevitable injury.
The snow came off the drifts like glass in our face.
I felt like I was running in place. I desperately tried to lift my legs and tackle the blasts. I was going no where fast.
I went somewhere...I went into the path of anger.
This was stupid. I tried to reason with God. I prayed the sweetest little prayer. I think I even tilted my head and battered my eyes towards Heaven.

Heidi and I ran close. She had no where near the layers I had on. However, she had this perfect smile the entire time. I believe the cold weather just froze her face like that! Because I wasn't smiling except for the few times I thought "THIS must be a cruel JOKE".

13.5 MILES of being dressed like the abominable snowman. I had so many layers on my arms couldn't rest on my sides! I ran in 2 layers of britches.
A hat, a hood, a hoodie and a windbreaker hat connected to my jacket.
My head was hot and my face was frozen. I was fatigued after 5 miles from fighting winds and all the weight in layers. I fought a good fight but I was tapped.

I am discouraged on my training for Boston. There has got to be a break from these torture.
I am however excited to have Heidi training with me. Heidi asked me if we could train together. She is training for Bayshore Marathon in May.
This will  help with these CRAPPY winter runs!



Anita

When Drinking and Drivng collides with Running. MEGS MILES

On January 13 "Meg" went out for a morning run. I can just imagine what she was thinking as she was lacing up her shoes.
"Hmm, how far should I go today?"  
I am envisioning her quickly lacing up her shoes and programming her watch before she headed outside.

To honor a fallen runner you hang running shoes in a tree. This is Alec and my shoes.

I did not know  "Meg" personally. My heart is broken for her and her family.  As an adult child of an alcoholic I am grief stricken even for the drunk driver.

As I set out to run in honor of Meg this evening I reminded myself that some of our best runs are for others.
Today is a reminder of how runners from all over the WORLD can come together to honor, pray, pay respects, give condolences and support a fallen runner.
In our little town of Holly Michigan we have a Roadrunners Facebook page. Post after post runners logged their runs they dedicated to "Meg".

It is a reminder to live life to the fullest.
To live life with Love, Honor and Integrity.
To live Life with no Regrets.
To live life not just for ourselves, that is easy, rather to live life for others as well.

This accident is tragic. I pray for the family. May God give them peace and healing. I pray that they feel the love and support from all of us.
Meg was very active in her church. I do believe I will see her again running in Heaven.

This is a watercolor the Anna painted to honor Meg. Anna never met her but was moved to paint this and dedicate it to her.



 Almost 90,000  people committed to Run in honor of Meg today!! We all put  in miles to honor a fallen runner and to help bring awareness to driving under the influence. 


It brought back a lot of memories for me with my mother and father. Both my parents died from Alcoholism. I had been in the car many many times as they drove drunk. The addiction owned them. They were beautiful and loving people but they were controlled by the bottle and the drugs.

My heart is heavy for the family. Their life has been devastated. Everything has been stripped from them in just a blink. A husband lost his soul mate. Children lost their mother. The family has been crippled.
Losing my Ariel just over a year ago to a tragic accident I can empathize. This hurts me even more as I look at how difficult it has been to heal.

Todays run was not just about honoring a fallen runner. Todays run was also about holding the family in prayer and in love.
It was finding gratitude for another run. It was not just any run.
It was a Honorable Run.
A Run that meant Something Beautiful.
A run that held Meaning.

https://www.facebook.com/events/489458451159627/



Post your Miles IF You Ran for Meg TODAY.

RUNDOWN:

5 Michigan MILES for MEG.

 

 

Anita