My Cousin Lori...

My cousin Lori is like a best friend/sister all wrapped up into one incredible person! Those that have met her swear they come away like they've known her for years! She never meets a stranger, she has an amazing heart for others, and she's just about the most positive person I've ever met! I can't tell you how blessed I am to call her my "sister."

In fact, I don't even have a name anymore... she calls me "Bro." I'm the brother she never had... or the one that she's stuck with now! Ha! We grew very close after I finished up with college and settled in with my life... She's been there for me through the good and the not-so-good.

Lori is probably one of my biggest cheerleaders in life... no matter what I'm going through, she's always there to support me. I can't tell you how many phone conversations we have had... and for those that know me typically know that I always have some sort of "story" to tell. If you think I've made you laugh, you should hear how many times I've had Lori in tears from all of the stupid stuff I've done! And, it goes both ways! She cracks me up, always has a listening ear, and looks out for me like big sisters do...

Yep... that's Lori. I figured I needed to shed a little background on her before I tell you the next part.

If you've been following my blog, you know that my race is coming up. Next Sunday... April 26... 6:30 AM... Oklahoma City. I've been focused on this one race since the beginning of the year. It's been one of my goals... one of my objectives. It's actually been a Mission, I guess. Yes... I've been a man on a mission.

Losing weight, getting healthier, and pushing myself to see how far I could go... that's been my mission this year. To me, it's made the year a little bit better. Work doesn't weigh on me as much as it used to. The frustrations of life haven't been as "frustrating." Maybe it's because of all of this... or maybe it's because I have enjoyed this "hobby."

Running... it's my hobby. I'm a runner. Actually, I still believe I'm an athlete first. There's something else I want to do before the year is up, but I won't go into that right now. It will push me, that's for sure... and yes, it's another athletic challenge. But I digress...

I was fortunate in that the first 3 months of this "mission," I didn't suffer any injuries. Well, we all know that has changed. Even when my leg was hurting, I kept running. I wasn't sure what it was, but I figured I just would push through it. Deal with it. "Handle" it, you know...

A few weeks ago I finally got fed up. I guess it was the near-death experience - almost falling off the treadmill! I say "near death" because it would have embarrassed me to death had that happened... So off to the doctor.

Doctor Doom told me that it was most likely a damaged nerve that ran from my ankle to my knee. Somewhere along the training I strained a muscle that caused this injury. An orthopedist has since called me to see if I wanted to come in... I declined. And ever since, I've just dealt with the pain...

Well, this "thing" has really impacted my training. My gait is different, my breathing has been labored, and worst of all it feels miserable. Yet, I have tried to run on one good leg and just "pull" the deadwood along for the ride.

This past week, I stopped running. Oh, I ran a 4 on Thursday, but I knew my heart wasn't really in it. Not only was I dealing with the pain, but I was frustrated. I had trained too damn long and hard to get to this point, just weeks before the race, to be subject to this.

Personally, I think it bugged me the most because I was cruising along faster and better than I have ever run. I started to think, "Hey... maybe I can set a personal record?" I really wanted to beat 2:24 - which is what Chandra and I ran in Nashville in 2007.

However, I knew I probably would be lucky just to cross the Finish Line.

I had gotten pretty dang low in my spirits. Mad at myself. Mad at my leg. Just plain discouraged...

Well, yesterday I was gone all day so I never picked up the mail. This morning, as I retrieved my newspaper, I went to the mailbox. I saw something that wasn't a bill (shocking!) and thought, "Hey... that looks like a card." I then discovered it was from Lori...

"Strange... it's not my birthday. What would she be sending me a card for???" I thought...

When I opened it up, it was everything I described about Lori and much, much more... She had written the most positive and encouraging letter to me! I couldn't believe it! Knowing her, she sensed I was down and knew just what would pick my spirits up. I was shocked... and then, a little fire started up within.

Instead of running at the gym, I decided I would hit the lake. It would be just me... Chandra had already run earlier in the morning, and I hadn't made any plans with anyone else. Me and my music...

Right out of the gate, I knew something was different. First, I saw Becky! She was there running with someone else. She had seen me coming around a corner and ran down to cheer me on! That was awesome... a few minutes later, I saw Kevin... her husband... biking. He called out to me!

"OK, God... this is getting interesting..."

The first mile was painful... but not as painful as previous runs. It was very windy, but the temps were in the low 60s. Would you believe I ran the first 5 miles and then took a water break? I was doing great. Not fast... but still great for what had been going on!

Knowing next Sunday I'll be running 13.1, I wanted to reach 10. I kept going and going and it just felt smooth. There was still a little pain, but nothing like before! Around 8, I started feeling a little tired... but I pushed on. At 9 I had lapped the lake. Now, I just needed to go a little further. Finally, I hit 10. I was done... spent... game over!

Walking back, I just kept thinking that the power of positive people really do make a difference in your life. I'm so blessed to have people like that, and I'm just so thankful to have someone like Lori. Wow... what an amazing person!

If you'd like to see the run, you can click this link to see all of the data/map. Link