Believe it and you can be it!

So, the following has come out of my thoughts from my 15 mile run last friday. First, it may sound conceited but isn't it amazing that I did a 15 mile run? I am getting there with my goal of a well run marathon. My training has been strong and this amazing fact dominates this blog.

Lately, I have been able to experience not only my own accomplishments but those of several other people in my life as they step out of their comfort zones and reach for what they believe. I will give you four examples.

One of my dear friends in Honolulu made a decision recently. This friend lost a bunch of weight a couple of years ago however hit a plateau. Now, this plateau included some major life events including evacuating for Katrina, losing her father to cancer, and losing her best friend in a tragic, unnecessary car jacking. This amazing woman came here as a traveler, looking for something different but not knowing what that was. In the process of looking she has found a great guy, a tropical wonderful place to be, and a working environment that she enjoys. But I think something was missing. Well, a couple of weeks ago, this girl took a stand. She probably doesn't even know it, but at some point she said to herself "there is more in me." My friend started running a week ago. I don't think she was too excited about it but she is determined to get the extra weight off of her. A week ago she could barely run for two minutes. Well, yesterday she ran a one mile race and was completely successful. She ran the whole way. Imagine what the future brings for her! She is already planning to run a 5K. This is a true example of an individual that can do anything they put their mind to. "I can't's" have been replaced with "I did's".
Example two: My husband. Wonderful, happy, supportive Dave. When I decided to run the marathon, Dave immediately became my trainer. He has organized and focalized my meals, my workouts, and my runs. He made a calender and has joined me in much of my training. His goal was to be able to run a half marathon (13.1 miles) by December. Well, Dave has to get a new goal because this one is insufficient. Dave ran 13 miles on Friday with me. He is way ahead of his goal. He has been amazed at how much he has been able to do. Let us not forget that Dave has only one lung. Makes you wonder if you could do it too, right?

Example three: I have another friend who recently decided to lose weight. This friend, different from the friend above, has a long past that she has dealt with emotionally and recently became available to deal with physically. This friend has a long hard road ahead of her. She has many lbs to lose but every bone in my body knows that she will be successful. Why do I know this? Because she believes she will be successful. She has gotten all her friends and family on board and has taken some steps that aren't easy to take. I am so proud of her and I know we will all be able to see her at the end when she is thin and fit.

My last example is myself. This is a hard example for me to believe in and others to see as anything but conceited. But one thing I am working on is confidence. I woke up on thursday night nervous. I do this almost every thursday night before my Friday morning runs. How will I do it? That is the thought that enters my brain every time. But guess what? I always do it. In the end, I know it is because I believe I can. Over and over again, I can see where if you believe you can do it, you will be able to do it. I have just started believing in myself. When you believe it, it's as if you place an order that is filled without you having to worry about how. Running those 15 miles was an amazing accomplishment for me. As hard as it is to believe, I loved it. The pain, the fatigue, and the rush. I loved it. Believe it and you can be it. I know this is true.

No matter what you are trying to accomplish....believe it and you can be it.

Oh yeah, that's why!

Okay Kids! Put on your hip waiters and grab a shovel because it's about to get deep in here! You have been forewarned.

Many of our friends and family have wondered in roundabout and in not so roundabout ways what our plan for the future is. Some have even wondered, why hasn't Dave gotten a job? Why is the focus so much on this book?

We have had trouble answering these questions. Sometimes, Dave and I have wondered ourselves what the final outcome would be. This book started out in a simple manner for my husband 11 years ago. His dream has been to share it with others and to encourage and inspire those touched by cancer. Hey, if he could actually survive what he went through, anyone can. Dave and I started planning to actually get this book published almost from the first time we met. I was one of the ones he inspired. It was one thing that drew us together. As two people who have survived so much physically and emotionally, it went unsaid what the reasons were. But how do we tell others? How can we help those closest to us understand. Why are we doing this?

An answer with some degree of clarity came to me yesterday. The Thunderbirds performed an Airshow over Waikiki yesterday. Dave and I were almost exactly in the center, right where they called out what was being done. As an aside to my incredibly deep thought, I have to give a shout out to the women on the team. 2 out of the 6 were women. This was an amazing performance by the Thunderbirds and if you have never seen it, you are missing out. They did stunts and tricks that gave me near heart failure. During this 1/2 hour performance, I started to wonder...who would ever want to do this? You have to risk not only your life but everything you know to get in that plane and do the amazing tricks that they do. That display was the most convincing argument I have for knowing this: these people must believe that this, and only this is what they were born to do.

If you have ever met Dave, you know this is what he was born to do. He was born to impact others, encourage them, help them survive as he did and improve their overall quality of life. Not just anyone can survive the trials he did during his two time cancer treatments which total almost 2 years of his life. I truly feel he was put on this earth to improve the lives of others. Oh yeah, that's why.

I have also been glad to be the one to go to work during the last six months. Giving my husband the gift of time to develop what he knows is his true purpose is a gift to me probably more than it is to him. Oh yeah, that's why.

Others may think it's crazy and they may not understand, but Dave and I both feel this little book of poems is just the beginning of our journey. Our happiest times are when we get to share our story with others and see on their face that they are encouraged that someone else has actually passed the test and come out a better human being on the other side. Oh yeah, that's why.

And when Dave is a world renowned speaker and author touring the country and improving the lives of not just the hundreds that he has now but the millions that he will one day, I know you will say, Oh yeah, that's why!

Enough time?

I was talking with a friend recently, both on the phone and on email. During our talks, it came up that time was "whipping" by us for all that we want to do. I had to stop and wonder, do we have enough time? If I live to be a hundred and I am healthy for those years, will it be enough to accomplish all that I want to get out of life? Am I on par if my life is already a third over? Do other people have these thoughts? I mean, I have traveled extensively in the US (My toes have set foot in 43 states) and even traveled outside the country a little. But I want to go EVERYWHERE! Okay, maybe I could cross off the pleasure tour of Iraq and/or Afghanistan. Humanitarian voyages are on the list, such as building schools in Mexico or working in a clinic in Africa. Of course my fancier tastes could take the QE II around the globe (can If only I had 75K I didn't know what to do with!)

I have worked in 18 different places as an OT in under 6 years. I will never be that person that stays with one company her whole career. Couldn't be if I wanted to. But I wonder, what would that be like? Doing the same job every day my entire adult life. Is it rewarding or mindnumbing? I will never know as I get bored with a place after a couple of months. I also generally have major conflicts with the bureaucratic nightmares I usually walk into. And I am not even sure I know what Bureaucratic means!
Since I went to college, the longest I have lived in one place was a year and two months. Our average length of stay in a place is 6 months. That is over 11 years of moving every few months. Normal people don't do this, yet I find myself wanting to live in other places. I like traveling to a place and actually living there, finding out all of its secret nooks and crannies.
I have run a marathon and am training for another. I thought twice about doing a second one since I have already done one but running is fun for me because I can do it. The loss of vision in my eye limits me from tennis, volleyball, frisbee, basketball, etc. Maybe that is why I try to do so many other things.
Am I bragging here? I don't think so. I have gone through some near death experiences in my life with cancer when I was young and a car accident at age 18. Am I just making up for lost time? Will it ever be enough? Will I hit a level of doing new things where I will just say ENOUGH! and do one thing for the rest of my life? Will one thing come along that I will WANT to do for my remaining days?

At any rate, I am on to the next goals. Dave has written his book of poems and I have helped him with writing a second book about his survival with cancer (due out soon!). Personally, my own books are ready to bust out of me. My latest aspirations are to author a children's book that aims at helping kids cope with a classmate who has cancer and about my experiences with having a facial...how shall we call it...difference. That experience in itself is an experience that I have had for the last twelve years that I didn't ask for but I am not sorry it happened.
I guess life is long enough for us to choose our experiences and for some experiences to choose us. Trust me, eventually they will find you, if they haven't already.

The Waikiki Tour for Early Risers

I ran 12 miles yesterday. Dave ran over 10 of them with me, his personal record for longest distance run. We woke up at 5:15 AM to complete the run. Our tiny little studio overlooks Fort DeRussy Park with Waikiki Beach as a backdrop and Diamond Head in the distance. I can look at Diamond Head from my side of the bed. At 5:15, the stars were still out as the city still slept....well, most of the city. 6 cop cars and an ambulance were present at the hostel next door....always some kind of action there. As we started out, we ran down Kalakaua Avenue which parallels Waikiki Beach and takes us by all of the famous Waikiki resorts. We ran through Kapi'olani Park toward the base of Diamond Head and came back down the Ala Wai Canal. As we turned down the Ala Wai, the sun began to peak out behind the Ko'olau Mountain Range. Our run took us down to Ala Moana Beach Park and Magic Island which has a three mile path that circles the park and yields some of the most majestic ocean views that Waikiki has to offer. We ran by a group of fisherman as well as a group of elderly Japanese doing their morning Tai Chi (no, not drinking Chai Tea). After circling Magic Island, we finished at Fort DeRussy Park. As we ran down Ala Moana Avenue, now 2 hours after we started the run, the city was awake and alive, the sky now brilliantly shining on another beautiful Hawaiian day. We had been able to share a tour of Waikiki before most people had their first cup of coffee. What an amazing gift.
So, you are probably thinking that's great but why???? Why run that long when the bus would take us on a similar tour for $2? Okay, so you have to ignore the homeless guy with his cardboard sign heading toward his daily spot of choice on the bus but still! Well, there are several reasons, actually. First, it feels amazing to be able to complete a run like that and still be able to down pancakes at the Wailana Coffee House (all you can eat!) while you work off your runner's high. However, more importantly, I have decided to run the Honolulu Marathon on December 9th. It is 4 days after my 30th birthday and the stars seemed to align on this one. I can train in the place where the marathon will take place, which also happens to be one of the most beautiful places on the planet. During my last marathon training, 4 1/2 years ago, I was in Colorado (also a beautiful place but is very BRRRRRRRRRR for half the year) waiting for it to warm up to 20 or 30 degrees so I could complete my long run without snot-cicles forming on my face. This time it's a little different! My reasons are personal. The benefits of training are many. Dave has tailored our meals and weight lifting workouts for marathon training and we are even doing yoga. The added (spiritual) experiences as described above are unexpected benefits that add to the whole process. I feel it is important to have a goal for your fitness/life/wellness. I just completed my fourth week of training and already the changes are amazing. I sleep like a log, eat heartily, and work out 5-6 days a week. I have also found that I am someone who needs a certain amount of structure to my workouts. I like following a calender and having it decided for me what my exercise will be for the day. Before I started marathon training, Dave and I still worked out 4-5 times a week but we didn't have focus. If you find you are feeling the same way, I urge you to pick a goal and stick with it. It doesn't have to be a marathon because I know that is not on the top of everyone's list but there are a lot of different events you can train for. To quote W, it's all about benchmarks! =-)
I have started this blog as a journal of my journey through the marathon training process but also about our everyday lives. I feel that Dave and I lead a different life than most and we do a lot of new and interesting things. So, this serves as a journal to keep you all afloat of the latest and greatest in our lives--hopefully that doesn't sound too bold. Our biggest news is that we will now be Honolulu through December 29th. We are truly enjoying our time here and can't seem to pass up the opportunity to extend our time here.
My friend Chris, who was recently here for a visit started a blog (she is a traveling OT as well) and it is almost like crack in that I check it almost daily to see what her new activities and insights are, or just to find out what is going on in her life. She actually dubbed me as having "Vagabond Shoes" when I worked for her in Franklinton, LA. Telling her I had to leave was a very hard day for me because she had become such a good friend but you know what Frank Sintra says, these Vagabond Shoes are longing to stray! So, though we are far away from our friends and family most of the time, I want this to be a way to keep in touch with you all a little bit more.
Until next time!