Running on Faith

Thank you to Flash’s Godparents, Jimmy and Beverly Corkern, for their donation and support to our Running on Faith marathon team!

I’ve always proudly boasted that the heat doesn’t bother me. In fact I always said that I prefer to run in the heat more than I do the cold. Well, I used to anyway. I don’t know if it’s because I’m 40 now or if it’s the 5 extra pounds I’m carrying but the heat is getting to me. I can’t remember ever sweating as much as I have in the past weeks. Is it just me or what?

In an effort to consolidate time, Paul and I decided to use the time that Blake & Cam were in swim class at Crawfish Aquatics to get our week day runs in. Unfortunately, their class is from 5:15-6:15 in the afternoon. Do I need to tell anyone how freaking hot it is running around the Jimmy Swaggert complex at that time of the day?! I can’t speak for Paul but the most mileage I can manage is 3miles at that time of the day. This past week, Paul wasn’t able to come one afternoon so I had to run it myself. I decided it would be a good time to just concentrate on hill work (I’m not comfortable running across the street in those parking lots without Paul). So, I jogged over to the ramp that goes over Bluebonnet and I just sprinted up and down the rap about 10 times. What was I thinking?! I had sweat dripping in my eyes, my lungs were clogged with hot air and my legs were numb by the time I was done. I tried to block out the fact that Bluebonnet motorists could see me and if I fell, everyone would get a show. I did have some young men in maroon truck yelling at me. I’m not sure if they were praising my efforts or suggesting I covered up my mid-drift and go home. I chose to believe it was praise, which was just littlt boost I needed to keep going. It was a good work-out and I’ll probably do it again this week.

We decided to get our long run done on Saturday morning and we wisely agreed to get up at 6:00 in the morning to get an early start. It was a little cooler and I thought I would be able to see the sun rise while enjoying an early morning run. Wrong! The sun didn’t just rise, it exploded into the sky and radiated heat, even at 6:30 in the morning. My thoughts drifted off again, I guess my brain knows that need that I need that mental diversion to complete my task, and I thought about how Paul and I both lost adult extended family members to cancer in the last two weeks. It’s hard to see an adult battle cancer even when they’re older and have lived long happy lives and had many wonderful experiences. I can’t imagine a child going through that when they haven’t had a chance to experience all the good that life has to offer. And I certainly can’t imagine watching a child go through that. That made the heat I was dealing with seem small in comparison.

I am Flash and I am running on faith that I will lose at least 10 pounds while training for this event, I am running on faith that I can complete the full 26 miles of this marathon and most importantly, I am running on faith that I will be able to raise the money that I said I could raise for St Jude Hospital. Please help me, I can get the training miles in on my own but I can’t raise the money by myself.

Thanks.

Well, I found out this afternoon that today was Flash’s birthday.  And a very important one at that!  But I am too nice to tell everyone how old she is.  Of course, you probably figured it out.  Special ones end in zero and it doesn’t start with three or five.  But I will never tell!

So Happy Birthday Marci.  That is an awesome diamond ring that Paul got you.  He sure must be special.

Enjoy the day!

Sunday 5/24/2009

I woke up Sunday morning knowing I had to run, despite the fact that I ate too much for supper the night before. Paul didn’t feel like running so I’d be by myself on the road. He loaned me his Garmin and I was skeptical because it was enormous on my skinny wrist (the only skinny part of my body). As it turns out, it was pretty cool and I can see what the hype is about. I run the same pace whether I’m running 1 mile or 13 miles….or so I thought.

I get through long runs by daydreaming and when I daydream, I now realize that I slow down. I’m capable of running faster but it seemed like I was slowing down without realizing it. So, this morning’s 6 mile run was a learning experience for me. What was I daydreaming about? Today it was about my mother in law and the fact the she is going through chemo therapy right now. Seeing what she goes through, I cannot imagine a child going through it and I cannot imagine being a parent of a child going through it. Every time I run, I daydream about something different.

Four miles in, my faithful father in law was waiting at the end of his driveway with a fresh bottle of water for me and an hour and ten minutes later I was done. Six miles may not seem like a long run to some people but after eating an enormous about of food the night before at Mike Anderson’s, it felt like a marathon to me!

Monday, 5/25/2009

We went to bed Sunday night to a thunderstorm. That doesn’t seem like a big deal but we knew we were getting up Monday morning and heading to St Francisville for a bike ride. Well, we woke up at 5:45 to the same thunderstorm. After checking the radar, we followed the same rule we’ve followed for years, we stuck to our plan. We woke the boys up, ate a small breakfast, loaded everybody up and headed to St Francisville, not knowing what the morning would hold for us. Paul and Blake were planning to ride the 62 mile course and Cam and I were planning to ride the 50 mile course. After we arrived, we unloaded the bikes, knowing we were going to get wet.

We rolled our bikes up the ride start, watching the lightning streak across the sky in the distance. At that moment, I was thinking, “this is not a good idea.” At 8:00, we rolled out and less than a mile into the ride, it started sprinkling. Five miles into it, the sky turned very dark and then it really started raining and then I really started praying. I wasn’t really praying for the weather to clear up, I was just praying that none of us crashed our bikes. I knew that because of the weather, Paul and Blake wouldn’t leave us too far behind.

While we were going downhill, our bike ride turned into a water ski event. I was scared to death but I didn’t want Cam to see that. At one point, I started sliding downhill (not rolling) and my front tire touched Cam’s back tire. I have no idea how neither of us wrecked, but we didn’t, we just kept riding, I mean sliding. We did take a quick break to wipe our eyes, we could’ve used windshield wipers for our glasses. Paul and Blake waited for us at the bottom of the hill and guided us to a left turn. This road that we turned on was a terrible road full of hills and twists and my heart stopped beating several times as I watched poor Cam’s feel come off the pedals because he didn’t have baskets. Not only was the road like a roller coaster, it was very rough and full of pot holes and just wide enough for one car to pass…and yes, you guessed it, a big farm truck came around us blowing exhaust in our faces.

Cam did need to walk one of the hills so I hopped off and walked with him, he was being so brave and I know he volunteered to do this because he loves to do things with his family. There was no point to insisting that he stay on the bike and power up the hill. That was the only time he asked to get off and walk, which is pretty incredible! I have no idea how long that road was but I never want to ride on it, on a bike in the rain again. 14 miles later, we made it to the first rest stop, and the sky was clearing up….EXCELLENT…my heart couldn’t take much more.

The only thing I worry about when it comes to Blake riding is that he stays to close to Paul’s rear tire, there is always the potential that he’ll run right over his dad. Well….I came pretty close to seeing that happen. I have no idea what actually happened but from where I was, it pretty spectacular. One minute Paul was up on two wheels, the next minute he was flat on his back looking like road kill….and he was really grouchy!

A mile later, it was my turn. There was a little old man walking on the other side of the road, Cam right in front of me, and a car riding what I felt like was too close to me. I took a nice detour through the ditch BUT my feel never came out of the baskets and I never stopped pedaling. I rode down into the ditch and back out, yelling a few choice words along the way. I thought we were home free until two dogs came out of nowhere and started chasing Camren….just Camren (maybe it was the red shirt). Well, Cam pedaled faster than I’ve ever known him to pedal and he passed me right up and took the lead.

He stayed there for a while but eventually the four of us had to shift positions again because for no reason, Cam frequently decides to stop pedaling. I’m used to riding with him and I’m prepared for it but I was afraid all four of us would go down. At one point, I yelled up to him, “Are you OK Cam?” He answered me and there was no mistaking his reply, “NO!” But he did it, he rode 27 miles, at least 14 in the rain, slipping and sliding, feet coming off the pedals and only one eye open (water kept getting in the other one).

We safely finished the ride with just a few minor scrapes but we were soaked and we had that wet dog smell. Was it the best decision we’ve ever made when it came to the safely of our boys? No. But it is a memory the four of us will have forever. Years from now I will still laugh when I think about Paul falling or those dogs choosing to chase only Camren but I will also remember how many times my heart skipped a beat while I saw one of their bikes skidding a little bit!

My name is Marci (aka Flash) and here is my story. When I first started running, my kids were too young to leave alone so Paul (Mr Xctmnt) and I ran up and down our gravel driveway. There were some evenings where we ran for almost two miles…in the driveway. My first 5K was the Mocker Beverage Run in 2003 and to this day, it has been my fastest time (I was scared to death). I’ve run dozens of 5Ks, a few 10Ks and a couple of half marathons in the years since then. My first triathlon was a Groovy Girl Tri in Alexandria and I’ve gone on to participate in a dozen sprint triathlons around the state. I’m not very good at it but I enjoy it and I do it because I can.

Why do I run? I run because my mom thinks it’s neat, my father in law always tells me how good I look when I run by their house and because I love to eat Big Macs, pizza and dark chocolate. I run because I want to set a good example for my boys and I know a lot of women my age (and younger) who think they can’t run and they won’t even try. I run because it’s something I can share with my husband and on those week-end morning runs when our paths cross on Old Settlement Road, we always meet in the middle of the road and give each other a high five.

Committing myself to training for and completing a full marathon will be my greatest personal challenge and I’ll do it the year I turn 40 (isn’t that cool?!). I chose this marathon because I’ll be running with greater purpose and because I know my Running on Faith teammates will give me encouragement I need to get through the next 7 months.