Go Girls!

LISA:

When Niki and I run Boston in April it will be the 40^th anniversary of the first time women were allowed to officially enter the Boston Marathon.  Up until the early 1970s it was thought (by mostly men!) that women couldn’t physically handle the rigors of the 26.2 mile distance.  Kathrine Switzer proved them wrong when she entered the all-male Boston Marathon in 1967 under the name K.V. Switzer.  When one of the race directors saw her on the course and realized she was a girl, he ran after her, grabbed her and screamed, “Get the hell out of my race and give me that race number!”  Fortunately friends came to her aid, freed her from his grasp and she went on to finish in 4 hours and 20 minutes.  It wasn’t until the fall of 1971 that Boston officially opened the race to women and in 1972 eight women started the race and all eight finished.  Compare that to today… in 2010, 42% of the 22,540 Boston marathon finishers were women!  Oh my, how the attitudes about and opportunities for women in running – and in sports in general - have changed in my lifetime!  Go Girls! 

 

My girls, who are 10 and just starting their “sports years”, are blessed to reap the benefits of the last 40 years.   Pioneers like Kathrine Switzer and the impact of Title IX have provided them opportunities galore.  In just the last year my girls have played on soccer, baseball (against the boys), volleyball and basketball teams.   They truly CAN DO almost anything they want to do.  And I’m glad they’ll never know different.  Go Girls!

Who knows what the future holds for women in sports.  Maybe one day they’ll change the name of the epic Ironman triathlon competition to Ironwoman???  Just a thought!  J But here’s what I do know… if my girls have kids (thus my grandkids) how cool will it be that I can tell those grandbabies that their GRANDMOTHER ran marathons?!?! But then again, by then there will be a whole generation of grandkids whose grandmothers have run marathons… and that’s awesome.  Go Girls!    

Photos: Niki and I are currently coaching our girls’ City Rec basketball team.  Every game we have a different “theme” to help us remember that sports are FUN as well as competitive.  Crazy Socks/Crazy Hair/Crazy Bandanas!  

Perspective

NIKI:

20 miler done!  Hard and hot...this weather is so unpredictable.  For this run we were planning on running 2-10 mile loops.  I really dislike running loops but we rarely do them so I figured it might be a nice change.  On top of running 20 miles and running loops I had been thinking and praying all week about what I might write about for this entry.  I must confess...I'm not a writer!  I actually dislike writing more than running loops!!!  So I've been asking God to give me something to write about with one condition...no more suffering or tragedy...I just wanted Him to give me something meaningful with no strings attached.  HA--I laugh as I write this at how ridiculous I am giving conditions to the Creator of the universe!!!  Well, He came through...of course with me suffering while running the loop...I am such a mess.

At mile 10 we were not quite back to our starting point so we decided instead of continuing forward we would turn around and run the loop backwards.  As we turned around I realized that we had just run down a long hill with the wind at our backs and now we had to run back up it with the wind in our faces.  At that moment the word "perspective" came to my mind (it's funny when you are running that downhills never seem so "down" until you turn around and run them UP nor do tailwinds feel like wind at all until you turn around and have headwinds in your FACE) and immediately these verses from Romans came to mind, 

"33 Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! 34 For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, OR WHO BECAME HIS COUNSELOR? 35 Or WHO HAS FIRST GIVEN TO HIM THAT IT MIGHT BE PAID BACK TO HIM AGAIN ? 36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen"  

I was reminded of my limited perspective while struggling up the hill with the wind in my face...this same hill I had just run down.  And I reflected on how this compared to my life, my everyday life, my life to this point and my limited perspective I have in this life.  My life is not at all what I would have planned--widowed at 31 years old with 2 young children!  But I also wouldn't have agreed to turn around if I would have known that I would be running into the wind and uphill!  I had to laugh as I was struggling up that hill.  I had a smile on my face and a song in my heart.  I was smiling because He did what I asked...gave me something to write about.  And singing praises to Him in my heart for doing it His way...His unfathomable way.  So I praise Him for teaching me about perspective, for reminding me that mine is limited and for getting Lisa and I through another long run.

Starting our 20 miler

Still happy at 5 miles

Niki happy, Lisa no so happy at 10

15 down and 5 to go

Done!

Think of Us

LISA:

Tomorrow we run 20 miles.

When you’re on your way to work or are taking the kids to school, think of us.  Feel free to say a little prayer for us.  Safety is always a good thing to pray for.  Running 20 miles in a town where 40,000 college students live and DRIVE can be dangerous.     

When you’re on your second or third (or maybe fourth) cup of coffee tomorrow, think of us.  We will STILL be out there running.  Feel free to say another prayer for us.  Health is a good thing to pray for.  We need our bodies to stay injury free as we continue on our road to Boston. 

When you go to lunch (that is if you’re more of an early luncher than a late luncher) think of us.  We should be just about finished.  Another prayer would be much appreciated… a prayer of thanks that God got us through all the miles. 

Tomorrow we run 20 miles and we are EXCITED you will be thinking of us and praying for us along the way!

(Below is a flyer Niki and I received last Spring.  We ran the Tyler Rose Marathon in October 2010 as a training run for the Dallas White Rock Marathon. Afterwards, as we like to do, we were hamming it up for the race photographer.  To our surprise, they used our photo for their promo flyer for their 2011 race!)  

3M Half Marathon

NIKI:
For long run #5 we headed to Austin to run the 3M 1/2 marathon.  We arrived in Austin on Saturday afternoon (L and I coach our daughters' City Rec basketball team and we had to squeeze in a practice before we left town).   We went by the race expo to pick up our running packets then headed to my sister-in-law Madelyn's house (where we decided to channel our middle school days when you and your friends decide to dress alike on certain days of the week and we all wore hats).   Next was on to Macaroni Grill for dinner (thanks Texas Beef Council). We ended our day back at Mad's for nighty-night.  Sunday was up and out early for our 6:45am race start.  Lisa and I needed to get 16 miles in on this run so after crossing the finish line we added on 3 more miles.  God blessed us with beautiful weather, travel safeties, meaningful conversations and pretty good run times.  I want to send a thanks to Madelyn for hosting us and driving us around this weekend...love you Mad!  Check out the attached pics and our first post-run video clip!

Qualifying

LISA:

The Boston marathon is a qualifying race.  That means the majority of entrants must qualify by running at, or faster than, a specific time goal for their age and gender at a Boston sanctioned qualifying marathon.  I did not qualify for Boston when Niki, Taylor and I ran the 2010 Dallas White Rock Marathon.  I missed it by 10 seconds.  Yep, you read that right…. 10 seconds.   Now, you’re probably saying, “Lisa, what happened?  Couldn’t you just run a LITTLE faster at the end?  How could you let that happen?”   I’ve thought about that ALOT and the answer is complicated: 

1)  I never thought I could run that fast.  My speed trainer John had extrapolated the numbers and, according to them, on my BEST day I would be 3 to 4 minutes off the needed qualifying time. Best days are rare.  Lesson #1 – Don’t believe the numbers.

 

2)  I tore my hamstring at mile 17.  I felt the pain, knew something was wrong and immediately sent a prayer… “God, if you will keep my hamstring strong, I will keep my mind strong.”  Lesson #2 – Believe in the power of prayer.  I finished the remaining 9 miles.  A week later I couldn’t run 1 mile and had to rehab my hamstring for months following.  I’m thankful God kept me in the race that day.

3)  I didn’t know my qualifying time.  Since I didn’t think it was possible to run fast enough to qualify I didn’t really know my qualifying time.  I wore a wristband I picked up at the race expo that was clearly marked 3:50.  I thought that meant my qualifying time was 3 hours and 50 minutes and 0 seconds.  Well, what I learned AFTER THE FACT was that it meant any time with a 3:50 qualifies you… a 3:50:01 or a 3:50:59.  When I crossed the finish line at 3:51:09 I was 10 seconds too late.  Lesson #3 – Know your qualifying time!  

So how am I running Boston if I didn’t qualify?    The thanks go to God and a special little boy named Dalton Lawyer.  Dalton’s birthday was last week.  He would have been 11.   We love you and miss you Dalton! 

Many of you know this story but I think it’s worth repeating.  Below is the email I sent to friends and family in November, after learning I was accepted to run Boston on a fundraising bib.   

In July 2009 my dear friend Jeri lost her 8-year-old son, Dalton, when he was struck by a truck while riding his bike.  Almost to the day a year later, my friend Holly's son, Logan, suffered a severe brain injury while wakeboarding at church camp.  A few months after Logan's release from the hospital (he was blessed with a miraculous recovery) our sweet friend Taylor Pratt was diagnosed with non-smokers lung cancer and passed away last month.  To be honest, I'm really ready for a new start in 2012!

Well, God has provided an awesome reason to look forward to 2012... the Boston Marathon!  Now this story gets complicated, so hang on:  

As you know, my running partner is Niki Pratt, wife of Taylor.  Last year we trained for the Dallas Marathon and Niki qualified for the Boston Marathon, the marathon of all marathons!  While going thru Taylor's cancer, one of the things we talked about and held on to was going to Boston in April of 2012.  We were all going... Niki running and me, Taylor and Les cheering her on.  What a fun trip it would be!   Well, as you know, Taylor didn't make it.  Enter God.  :)  

One day I was driving down the road with my friend Jeri, Dalton's Mom.  I got a phone call from a friend who had heard about Niki running Boston.  Jeri asked, "What was that all about?"  I told her about Niki running Boston and that I sure wish there was a way I could run it with her.   I couldn’t imagine her doing it by herself, not now.  Jeri said, "Just a minute."  She picks up her cell phone and calls Cheryl Toole.  Cheryl is the mother of Avery, the little girl who received Dalton's donated heart.  Cheryl works for Boston's Children's Hospital which is one of the designated fundraising charities for the Boston marathon and where Avery had her heart transplant.  The competition to be accepted to run for one of the Boston charities is fierce but a week or so later I found out I was accepted to run as a fundraiser for Boston Children's!  So Niki and I are going to BOSTON!  I know both Dalton and Taylor are smiling in Heaven.  :)

That was the email I sent and here is the rest of the story....   

To run Boston I have to raise a minimum of $4000 for Boston's Children's.  I’m not a fundraiser.  It’s not my personality.  All my life I've AVOIDED any type of fundraising events because it's just not me.  But a wise friend told me that if God got me a bib for Boston He would surely take care of the cash.  So,  I decided to give it to God and He answered through so many of you!   In just over a month, more than $4000 was donated.  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  THANK YOU!  You are a very special part of God’s plan and a blessing to me. 

So no, I didn’t qualify for Boston but I’m pretty sure I am meant to be there!   

To learn more about Dalton and Avery and their amazing story, go to  

http://howtohelp.childrenshospital.org/bostonmarathon/page/Lisa-Williams.htm