Marathon Training Thoughts....
Many of you already know that Robb and I are training for a Half Marathon in August. GrandmaMom and JimPa will be coming out here to be with Nevi for a night while we take on this challenge, running from Idaho Springs, CO to Georgetown. TRAINING: I ran 9 miles this morning.... I ran for 1 hour and 48 minutes, straight. I never imagined in a million years that I could do this. And that I could enjoy doing this is even more wild. For the first time since I can remember, my body is accepting the challenges of running and it is being received with a small but welcomed sense of grace. Also contributing is my mind, with focus and perseverence. AMAZING how much the mind contributes to our successes and/or our failures. I have a lot of time to think during these long runs and this is what pervaded my mind this morning........After 7 miles, I felt tired but I still had 2 to go. I had to dig deep to find the strength and energy to continue. So where was this strength coming from, I asked myself? The answer came in less than 1 second...the sum total of all my experiences that have made me who I am today. My age, my continually changing perspective and the wisdom that comes with these has been slowly turning my pond-sized spirit into an ocean. Everyday, I see older people struggling in life, with physical pain and with the emotional challenges of facing death and loss. I find that I easily get caught up in the sadness of aging, the 'courageous journey' of it all. But I think I'm becoming more in tune now with the amazing things that happen with age, too. I'm finding that SO many components of my life just keep getting better and better (and yes, I understand that I'm not 'old' yet, but the way I see it, if life keeps getting better and better for me now, imagine how amazing it will be with exponential levels of growth and awareness, something that takes time to simmer and brew). Everyday I thank the Creator for my life, but I find this happening more often when I'm running, surrounded by the beauty of wilderness with nothing but time on my hands. Time that I don't have in many other parts of my day. I think a lot about Robb on these runs. How he supports me in whatever I do, even allowing me/encouraging me to run for 2 hours on a Sunday morning, all the while, holding down the fort and playing with Nevi while I'm gone. He has so much faith in me, that he alone has energized my spirit to infinite levels of expansion. He brings out my humor, which is a skill that is held by very few. AND, after all of our experiences together, we are still each other's biggest fans. Also contributing to my pool of strength is Nevi. My body endured a 9 1/2 month pregnancy, a 14 hour unmedicated labor/delivery and 13 months of nursing. And while I know that women do this all the time, all over the world, it is impossible for me to minimize this experience and the effects that it has on one's body and soul. Bearing a child, then raising a child is hands down, the most intense experience of my life. And all the while, feeling exhausted and surrendered, I also feel like I have a bottomless well of love for my family and feel a deeper happiness and greater sense of accomplishment than I ever thought possible. Bottom line....the most miraculous and fulfilling things in life are most often the ones that challenge us to no end. Right now, I feel like I can do anything. I feel like all the strength and love I need is in me and it will always be there for me if I need it. And that the ocean-sized spirit I feel in me now may even turn into something larger if I keep filling it with the right stuff, like the accomplishment of a Half Marathon! I feel like anything is possible if I dig deep and keep my faith, all the while continuing to dance on that fine line between the simplicity and complexity of everything that exists in nature. 
Many of you already know that Robb and I are training for a Half Marathon in August. GrandmaMom and JimPa will be coming out here to be with Nevi for a night while we take on this challenge, running from Idaho Springs, CO to Georgetown. TRAINING: I ran 9 miles this morning.... I ran for 1 hour and 48 minutes, straight. I never imagined in a million years that I could do this. And that I could enjoy doing this is even more wild. For the first time since I can remember, my body is accepting the challenges of running and it is being received with a small but welcomed sense of grace. Also contributing is my mind, with focus and perseverence. AMAZING how much the mind contributes to our successes and/or our failures. I have a lot of time to think during these long runs and this is what pervaded my mind this morning........After 7 miles, I felt tired but I still had 2 to go. I had to dig deep to find the strength and energy to continue. So where was this strength coming from, I asked myself? The answer came in less than 1 second...the sum total of all my experiences that have made me who I am today. My age, my continually changing perspective and the wisdom that comes with these has been slowly turning my pond-sized spirit into an ocean. Everyday, I see older people struggling in life, with physical pain and with the emotional challenges of facing death and loss. I find that I easily get caught up in the sadness of aging, the 'courageous journey' of it all. But I think I'm becoming more in tune now with the amazing things that happen with age, too. I'm finding that SO many components of my life just keep getting better and better (and yes, I understand that I'm not 'old' yet, but the way I see it, if life keeps getting better and better for me now, imagine how amazing it will be with exponential levels of growth and awareness, something that takes time to simmer and brew). Everyday I thank the Creator for my life, but I find this happening more often when I'm running, surrounded by the beauty of wilderness with nothing but time on my hands. Time that I don't have in many other parts of my day. I think a lot about Robb on these runs. How he supports me in whatever I do, even allowing me/encouraging me to run for 2 hours on a Sunday morning, all the while, holding down the fort and playing with Nevi while I'm gone. He has so much faith in me, that he alone has energized my spirit to infinite levels of expansion. He brings out my humor, which is a skill that is held by very few. AND, after all of our experiences together, we are still each other's biggest fans. Also contributing to my pool of strength is Nevi. My body endured a 9 1/2 month pregnancy, a 14 hour unmedicated labor/delivery and 13 months of nursing. And while I know that women do this all the time, all over the world, it is impossible for me to minimize this experience and the effects that it has on one's body and soul. Bearing a child, then raising a child is hands down, the most intense experience of my life. And all the while, feeling exhausted and surrendered, I also feel like I have a bottomless well of love for my family and feel a deeper happiness and greater sense of accomplishment than I ever thought possible. Bottom line....the most miraculous and fulfilling things in life are most often the ones that challenge us to no end. Right now, I feel like I can do anything. I feel like all the strength and love I need is in me and it will always be there for me if I need it. And that the ocean-sized spirit I feel in me now may even turn into something larger if I keep filling it with the right stuff, like the accomplishment of a Half Marathon! I feel like anything is possible if I dig deep and keep my faith, all the while continuing to dance on that fine line between the simplicity and complexity of everything that exists in nature. 
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