Tag Archives: race

Back in the Saddle

Today I decided not to be a wimp.

For the past five days since my accident, I’ve been moping and whining thinking that I’m not going to be able to run again anytime soon. Now, yes, I know running should be the last thing on my mind after what I went through. But the fact is, it’s just not. It’s very much in the forefront of my mind. Running has been my best friend for a while. Call me crazy, I don’t care. But that’s just a fact. When everything around me was changing, running was always there to turn to. Friends came and went, circumstances changed sometimes at the drop of a hat, family emergencies took place, etc. etc. But still. There was running. My old pal, my old confidant. It never left me.

So, to feel like it was going to be gone for a while made me pretty sad. Almost depressed even.

Especially given that this happened right in the middle of my half marathon training. As most of you know (since I mention it every other breath), I have my first half marathon scheduled for May 4. That’s 25 days away. I mean, if I were counting. But I’m not. Because ya know. It’s no biggie or anything….

MY FIRST HALF MARATHON IS 25 DAYS AWAY! AHHH!

And here I am sitting around missing valuable training days because of a dumb ol’ accident.

Well, today, I decided I’m not having that anymore.

Now, I was careful, mind you. I’m wasn’t going to jump back out there and run 10 miles again like I ran last week. But I did jump back out there. And I ran 3.5 miles. And I’m pretty darn proud of myself, even if I do say so. Man, it felt good. And I even did it on my lunch break from work. Even better.

As I ran, one of my favorite “I am woman, hear me roar” running songs came on my playlist, and the lyrics stood out to me more today than ever before. The song is Survivor by Destiny’s Child:

I’m a survivor
I’m not gonna give up
I’m not gonna stop
I’m gonna work harder
I’m a survivor
I’m gonna make it
I will survive
Keep on survivin’

You dang right. This girl is a survivor. Has been before, will be today, and will be tomorrow. That’s just all there is to it.

Today will be known as my “back in the saddle” day.

May 4 half marathon, here I come.

***

“I run because it’s so symbolic of life. You have to drive yourself to overcome the obstacles. You might feel that you can’t. But then you find your inner strength, and realize you’re capable of so much more than you thought.”
– Arthur Blank

Posted by Melissa Edmondson. Categories: Freestyle Writings/Musings, Running. Tags: accident, blog, change, changed, health, heart, inspiration, inspirational, motivation, motivational, passion, photos, Quotes, race, runner, running, wreck, writing. Leave a comment

Mar. ’13

Favorite Race (so far)

This is a picture I took at the Shamrock 4-miler, a St. Patrick’s Day theme race my son and I ran in Abingdon, Virginia, last night, March 15, 2013.

Now, granted, after every race I do, I seem to think that it was my favorite race. And this was no exception. But I have a feeling that this one may remain my favorite for a while. And I’ve decided to list the top 10 reasons why.

*** 10. The St. Patrick’s Day theme.
This was the first race I’d ever been a part of that had a theme. And themes are awesome. The atmosphere was completely different…everyone was in such happy spirits and seemed to be just a tad friendlier and a little more chatty than in other races. I’ll definitely be searching for theme races in the future.

*** 9. The cowbell.
Oh yes. There was a cowbell. About a half a mile in, there was a random guy standing on the side of the road with a cowbell. And, of course, the guy who was running beside me yelled, “Hey – we’re gonna need more cowbell!” as we passed. Teehee. That made me laugh all the way up the hill we had to climb right after we passed the cowbell man. I needed that.

*** 8. A pooping dog.
Yes, you read that right. A pooping dog made the top 10 list. And here’s why. One of the runners decided to run in the race with her dog. Around the 1.5 mile mark, nature called. She was standing, embarrassed, on the side of the road letting him do his business while other runners passed. Eventually, runners started high-fiving her as they passed. That was pretty awesome. Lots of laughter came from that. And laughter during a race is always awesome. So, thank you pooping dog for your contribution to my list.

*** 7. This guy:

Yeah. Meeting that guy definitely made the list. Duh.

*** 6. Being passed (yes, passed) by a man running the race while pushing his TWO kids in a stroller.
While going up a hill. Yes, I know. How did that make the list of reasons why this was my favorite race? Well, just because. People are awesome. That’s all.

*** 5. Remembering to thank the people at the water stations.
I always forget to do that. Always. This time, I remembered. There were three separate water stations and I remembered at every single station. I finally forgot my own misery during a race and just remembered that there are awesome volunteers sitting out there for long periods of time just making sure that we have the best race we can. And how cool are they? They deserve more than a simple “thank you,” but that was all I had to give at the moment. I hope hearing me say it made them feel as good as it made me feel to remember to say it.

*** 4. My time.
My MapMyRun tracking device told me that I ran 4.08 miles in just over 40 minutes. That’s less than a 10-minute pace. Best I’ve ever done. Heck yeah, baby! For this fairly new runner, that was something to be proud of.

*** 3. My kids’ dad.
Whoa. I know, right? How the heck did my ex-husband make this list? I think you’ll soon understand. Kevin (that’s his name) has Becker muscular dystrophy. He is lucky to still be walking because the prognosis long ago was that he would have been in a wheelchair before he was 30. (He’s 38.) As I was leaving for the race after picking up my son, Kevin said something that stuck with me. He said, “You guys do good. I’d run it with you if I could.” All I could think of after he said that, was this quote I saw once:

“I run because I can. When I get tired, I remember those who can’t run, what they’d give to have this simple gift I take for granted, and I run harder for them. I know they would do the same for me.”

That quote went through my mind many times during this race. And now I have a feeling it will go through my mind in many more races to come.

*** 2. Memories
I had run a 5k race on this course once before. It was last year. I was afraid that running it again would actually make me feel sad because the person I ran it with wasn’t with me this time. But you know what? It didn’t make me sad at all.

The course was filled with memories at every turn. At one point, I remembered how we both felt when we saw this dreaded hill looming ahead and realized just as we got to it that the course veered to the left and we didn’t have to actually run up it. When I saw the hill this time, I just smiled. Yep, no sadness. Just a smile.

I remembered how we stayed at each other’s pace and he refused to leave me during the brief time that I had to stop to walk, when I know he could have gone on ahead easily. When I got to the place that I had to stop and walk that time and the memory filled my mind – again, I smiled. (And went faster.)

There were many more memories throughout the race. And many more smiles that accompanied them. And that made me realize something. I think something has healed. And that’s a beautiful thing.

*** 1. And hands down, the #1 reason why this was my favorite race? This kid:

That’s my son. Now, this isn’t the first time we’ve ran a race together. But this is the first time that he finished the race well ahead of me (as usual) and instead of waiting at the finish line, he turned around and came back on the course to find me. I finished the race with my son by my side cheering me on.

So there. The list is complete.

So, see? How could this not have been my favorite race?

Oh, wait. One more notable mention.

Another reason this was my favorite race? I wrote this whole blog in my head while I was running it. Combining two of my passions is a beautiful thing.

So blessed to be a runner.

***

“Methinks that the moment my legs began to move, my thoughts began to flow.”
– Henry David Thoreau

Posted by Melissa Edmondson. Categories: Running. Tags: blog, change, changed, friendship, health, heartbreak, inspiration, inspirational, love, motivation, motivational, passion, photos, Quotes, race, relationships, runner, running, writing. 3 Comments

Mar. ’13

Stronger

This is the back of the shirt that my son and I got at a 5k race we ran in this morning in honor of Leigh Cooper Wallace, a local hero who passed away a few months ago from complications resulting from pneumonia. As the race director described it, this was a race “in memory of her compassion and generosity, her service to this community, her incredible strength, her support of young athletes, and her encouragement for all people to pursue a healthy lifestyle.” They put together this first annual race to honor the “incredible example she set, so that we may continue to live life as fully as she did.”

I didn’t have the pleasure of knowing Leigh Cooper Wallace personally, but I can’t help but be influenced by the example she set. She went through a lot in her short lifetime (most notably being that she was a kidnap/rape survivor), and she used her story to teach others to become fighters – to not let circumstances defeat you, no matter how tempting it might be to give up.

I couldn’t help but be aware of the timing of this race for me personally.

Although I am doing great and getting tougher every day, I do still have my moments. I’ve had a rough couple of months. I’ve lost more than one friend to various circumstances, including my very best friend who I miss every single day, and that’s not something that is very easy to bounce back from. But I’ve been trying. And as part of the trying, I’ve been pushing myself harder with my running. If you’re not a runner, it’s hard to explain to you what running does to you. I know there’s something chemical to it – endorphins and whatnot. But it’s more than that. So much more. It’s a way to measure your ability to endure. To teach yourself not to give up just because things start getting a little tough – but to push through. Push through. Even when you think you can’t keep going, you can. Yes, there are going to be tough spots and yes, you may have to allow yourself to slow down a little to make it. But you will make it. Push through. Endure. Stay strong.

So, not only did I proudly run today with those thoughts in my mind, but I managed to achieve my own personal record. I’m not a fast runner, by any stretch of the imagination, but I was a lot faster today than the old me ever was. I managed to fall under the 30-minute mark and ran the race in 29:42. It has been my goal for a very long time to break 30 minutes and I did it today – on one of of the toughest 5k courses I’ve ever run.

So, how about that? Here I am. My first race in this “new life” and I’m starting off with a bang.

Turns out I really am stronger than I think. Thank you for the reminder, Leigh.

***

“As I get older I see that running has changed for me. What used to be about burning calories is now more about burning up what is false. Lies I used to tell myself about who I was and what I could do, friendships that cannot withstand hills or miles, the approval I no longer need to seek and solidarity that cannot bear silence. I run to burn up what I don’t need and ignite what I do.”
~ Kristin Armstrong