The Purpose Driven Run

Years ago I read a book called The Purpose Driven Life  It was meant to be a guide to how you were choosing to live each day. (You can click on the link to find out more information.)  This book came to mind tonight while I was on my run.  In the past few weeks and even the past year, I have been able to run more than I have since I was 18-19 years old (I am now 37.)  Because of having children, but probably more as a result of several injuries that I incurred while running, I gave it up for the most part, until last year when through Facebook, I found out about the Run for the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness which has now become the largest virtual cross-country running event ever.  The purpose is to not only bring awareness, but also give support to families dealing with childhood cancer.  

Tonight as I was running, I literally was served a symbolic reminder of why we are all doing this.  It's been raining cats and dogs all day and while I was able to get the first mile in without much rain, by mile two is was steadily coming down.  I honestly didn't mind and was fine until someone decided to purposely drive through a large puddle of water, completely drenching me in the process.  It was at this point that I was reminded yet again why I was out here in the first place, at that moment I thought about all the babies I am running for and any small discomfort I might feel is nothing in comparison to what they deal with on a daily basis.  

The last thing I want this blog to come across is me trying to make myself look like a martyr.  I absolutely am not, its not about me, it's the complete opposite!  It's about something so much bigger than me or any of my fellow runners/walkers/bikers/swimmers who are logging miles, it's about the combined love that we all feel towards these little ones.  It's about having a purpose to our workouts, it's about running past aches and pains in order to give our team leader, Brian Jones, something to log.  It's about the huge inspiration that these children who are battling everyday, who are the true warriors, have become to us.  It's about Hailee, Jaydon, Missy, Lincoln, Talia, Nicholas, Sam, Ellie, Trent, Delaney, Leo, Ronan, Ethan, Colton, Heaven, Taylor, Ryan, Beth, Austin, Simon, Brooklyn and so many other little soldiers, some of who have already lost their battle, but still continue to inspire us. 

Everyday I am able to run I am grateful.  I know I am living on borrowed time as far as my body is concerned, but I thank God for every mile he allows me to knock out.  Sometimes when a certain song comes on Pandora, I swear He's cheering me on.  

My hope is to be able to keep this up until September, Childhood Cancer Awareness month.  My other huge hope, is to get others to join our quest.  Even if you aren't a runner, you can walk, bike, swim or even dedicate workouts to our kids.  One very inspiring story is about man who recently suffered a stroke and dedicated his physical therapy time towards miles, that's amazing!  Truly anyone can join us, all you have to do is log into Facebook, like our page and post your workouts on the Run For the White House for Childhood Cancer Awareness 2014.  That's it! The reality is that childhood cancer gets pennies to the dollar when it comes to funding and there is not enough being done currently to stop this epidemic, we need to bring light to this.  If you want to learn more, you can also check out this link, The Truth 365.  Come on, Let's do this, Let's kick Cancer's ASS!
  

Running, Peace, Boston and My Momma.

I started running competitively in middle school.  Running has always been an outlet for me and even at that young age, I found peace in the sport.  Looking back on all the meets in both track and cross-country, my mom was by far my biggest fan.  She literally blew out her vocal chords cheering on my siblings and I during our sporting events and I will always be grateful for her loving and unconditional support.   Win or lose, my mom was there with a smile on her face at the end of each race.

At some point in time, around the end of my high school career, my mom started running with me.  Maybe you could say that my mom taught me to love and I taught her to run.  We started walking together at first, then jogging and then slowly but surely we began to run.  Looking back and remembering those runs up and down the back-country roads of Indiana makes my heart happy.  We would talk, laugh and even sometimes cry as we dealt with both the happy and the heartbreak in our lives.

Chicago Marathon 2012

Unfortunately I also dealt with a lot of injury and sickness as a result of running.  Over the years I had knee and back injuries as well as chronic bronchitis and sports induced asthma.  Ironically these issues led my mom and I to running our first half marathon.  In the spring of 1996, I was running track for Indiana University and came down with walking pneumonia and was forced to take leave from the team.  I was heartbroken, but was not cleared to continue the grueling three hours of sprint conditioning I had been undertaking.  So my mom, knowing how disappointed I was, came up with the idea of running the Indy Mini, a half marathon held around the Indy 500 every year.  During that race, my mom the runner, was truly born.  She has gone on to run multiple Marathons and had even qualified to run Boston this year.  However, at the urging of her family as a result of the toll that the October Chicago Marathon took on her, she didn't.  None the less, I know her heart was there that day and aches for all of her fellow runners and their supporters who were mercilessly attacked during one of the most peaceful sporting events that graces our country.

 

Today President Barack Obama spoke of the resilience of those in Boston by paralleling the runner who fell, only to get back up again and finish the race.  I really related to that, as I am sure many did.  He also spoke of Martin Richard, the eight year old little boy who was killed during the Boston Bombings and his symbolic picture of Peace as seen in the Boston Globe.  So today, my mom's birthday, I decided to run for her, Martin and all those affected by the Boston Bombings.  My mom is known in Placitas as "Our Lady of the open road" because she waves to all those she passes.  This inspired me to greet everyone who passed me tonight with a salutation of my own, a peace sign.  With Martin and my mom in my heart I smiled and said "Peace" to each and every car that went by. 

As I said, I may have taught my mom to run, but she taught me to love.  I believe that the ability I have to love deeply, talk to strangers like friends and even feel their pain like they were my own family, is a gift from my mom.  She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and has been my own inspirational example of how to get back up when you've been knocked down.  I could have just run for me tonight, but because of my mom I ran for more, I ran for peace, for healing and for love.

I love you momma!  You are a true light in the lives of everyone you know... and even those you don't!

Happy Birthday!