Missoula Marathon and Ricky Tims

My blog has been quiet as I have been out west for the Missoula Marathan and then returned home  and immediately started three days of programs with Ricky Tims and friends. A post will follow later this week on this happy event.

The marathon was significantly warmer than last year with starting temps in the mid-60's rather than the high 40's. Needless to say, my time was much slower than the year before but I finished.  My daughter and son-in-law were with me in Missoula and ran the half marathon. They found me in the last mile and my very special son-in-law ran to the finish with me, cheering me on. How great is that! Emotion overwhelmed me at the finish - here I am, 64 years old - and able to run 26.2 miles and blessed with such a wonderful family.

Here are some quick photos from the event.

Out on the course

Finish line in sight, son-in-law encouraging me

An Impressive Lady

 A while back, I came across an article online in Runners World about Serena Burla. She had run the New York City Marathon in November 2010 along with 55,000 other runners including myself. What caught my eye was that Serena ran the marathon after having surgery for a rare cancer in her leg which resulted in her losing a major muscle that makes up a good part of the hamstring.

Click here for the link to the article.

The article points out that Serena had never run a marathon before but that she wasn't nervous. They quote her as saying, "I was just so happy to be there, and felt so blessed, that the outcome didn't matter to me." (She finished in 2:37 which is pretty darn impressive.)

I loved that quote about just being happy and feeling blessed. You hear that often from people who have had a brush with mortality in some form. It definitely helps one to wake up and appreciate the present moment.

I did a search for Serena on the web before I started this article. I am happy to report that she is still running. And, she hasn't lost her joy for life. Here is a blog post on the Mizuno site by Serena from earlier this month. She writes about some joyful experiences running in the rain. A great reminder that we always have a choice on how we view situations through our filters. Whether it be a serious illness or a rainy day, we can see the hindrances or look for that silver lining.

Back to quilting that marine biology quilt! :)

Cross-training: Marathoning and Art Quilts

Checking out the finish line with my son-in-law the day before.

Last weekend I ran in the NYC marathon with a singular goal. I was determined to run throughout. It was less important to me to achieve a particular time goal than to simply keep going until it was over. This is my fourth marathon in four years. In the other three, there has always been a point where I was reduced to walking for long periods. And, usually, when I evaluated my performance after, I realized that my head was typically the problem - telling myself that I couldn't keep running any further. So, this time, my goal was to run throughout. And, I did.

I mentioned just that earlier this week in journaling for the SAQA Vision project and another artist astutely pointed out that my self-confidence in one area of life transfers to other areas. How true. The encouragement and support that I have received from people in the past year in the Vision Project has propelled me well into the realm of art quilts. There are still moments of self-doubt, but the network of participants is quick to remind that we can do anything we set our minds too. I have no doubt that my newfound self-confidence in art quilting strengthened my determination in my marathon. And, I am sure that my success in my marathon will feedback into my art.

The power of the mind is amazing. Countless books have been written about overwhelming odds being overcome when someone decides upon a course of action and dedicates to it. In the mind/body workshops that I have taught with Tom Crum, we have a saying: "True power is energy flowing freely towards a vision." I have a poster in my bedroom closet where I dress to go out for a run that alludes to the same concept. It is from Olympian marathoner Deena Kastor and is signed, "Believe and Achieve."

I am sure you can think of many more sayings that express the same basic truth. The important thing is, of course, that we all make the choice to live this idea. It doesn't happen unless we choose to try.