Stay with me here…you’ll be glad you did.

On Sunday, Dec 7th my 32-year-old daughter qualified for the Boston Marathon. It’s one of the few Marathons that you must qualify for in order to participate. She set her goal a year ago, hired a trainer, followed her pre-run plan and put in her (many) miles. She thought she’d reach her goal in October when she ran the Long Beach Marathon. Unfortunately, the night before the run, she came down with a stomach virus. Still, she finished the 26.2 miles (!!) but not in the time needed to qualify for Boston.
Her tears of disappointment were heart wrenching.

But, instead of giving up, she resurrected her training program, reminded herself of her intentions (c’mon Beantown!) and registered for the December Sacramento Marathon. As a wife, first grade teacher and mother of two small children – this was no small feat. 8 more weeks of training. Up at O’Dark Thirty to run (15-20 miles!) before the kids got up, and then off to work. And she did it! Her qualifying time in Sac was 3:37 – more than enough to qualify for Boston. Congratulations Claire!
Why am I writing about this in a midlife woman’s venue? Well, to brag a little… and to praise her a lot. But mostly because we could all learn from her. Especially me.

Midlife can be a time when many of us think there’s more life behind us than in front of us. Given that more and more of us are living to age 80, and many past 100 – that’s not necessarily true!

While our goal may not be to run a 26.2 mile marathon, let’s not forget that life is a marathon. There is still SO much to be experienced. It’s time to put all our training to good use!  Reawaken slumbering dreams, shake out the cobwebs and decide who we intend to be in this second half of life. How are you going to make a difference? What are you passionate about? What skills and talents have you accrued along the way that you can employ to meet the challenges we now face as a country in crisis.

Sure there are obstacles, but clearly they were there in our youth as well. How is it they were easier to overcome back then? No, it wasn’t just because we were younger. Perhaps it’s because we now believe it’s going to be harder, and it is – only if you believe that!    Remember, just because you think it doesn’t mean it’s true.
How about if the first plan doesn’t work out – have a good cry and make another one? Knees ache? Tired? Rather watch TV? Really? Set your intentions. Push through the mental blockages, see it happening and go for it.

We each have a choice. Pack it in – or rev it up. Tell me – which are you choosing?

Thanks for the inspiration honey.

Love, Mom

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 11th, 2008 at 8:07 pm and is filed under AMAZING GRAYS Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.