Daily Archives: April 1, 2006

Blessings, Gardening, Happiness, Love, Nature

No limits.

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“Argue for your limitations, and sure enough, they’re yours.”
— Richard Bach

“We are all capable of more than we do.”
— Mary Baker Eddy

I joined the Fleet Feet group for a 20-mile training run this morning. I had done very little physical preparation ahead of the run, but I tuned out the aggressive mental suggestions that kept telling me all the reasons I couldn’t finish and kept up a pretty strong run for probably 18.5 miles. I walked a lot of the last mile and a half, but as coach Paul Cox pointed out, “You’re still standing, and that’s all that matters.”

I was more than standing. I mustered all my strength so I could have a strong finish. I stretched out with the group, downed some Gatorade and Carb-Boom, and came home to take a shower. Very few things in life feel better than a shower after 20 miles.

I’m tired after all that, but I feel great. No pain. I don’t do pain any more. It’s against my religion.

We ran the Utica loop, which took us through some GORGEOUS neighborhoods in Midtown. I’m not into big, expensive houses, but I’m all about swiping ideas from people who hire professional landscape artists to install azaleas and dogwoods in front of their big, expensive houses. My little Red Fork cottage is going to be irresistibly charming when I get done implementing all the ideas I’ve stolen from Tulsa and Oklahoma City’s upper class during runs through expensive neighborhoods. If you are reading this, and you occupy a high tax bracket and a fancy house with a fancy yard somewhere in Tulsa or OKC … thanks! You’ve probably helped make my yard cuter. 🙂

Running through upscale neighborhoods, we saw every imaginable shade of azalea, redbuds (some with pink blossoms and some with white), a rainbow of tulips and pansies, some jonquils, wisteria, dogwoods, and I don’t remember what all else. It was beautiful.

Our route took us through downtown, where I marveled again at how blessed I am to live in a city full of such gorgeous Art Deco buildings, and on to the river trail, where I saw plenty of geese and ducks. Mockingbirds were playing in the trees over in the arbor garden. They were really cute.

Quite a way to spend four hours on a Saturday morning.

Emily

P.S.: If you’re thinking about giving yourself a marathon finisher’s medal this year, and you happen to live in Tulsa, I cannot say enough good things about the Fleet Feet marathon training program. I signed up for it last fall, and it really helped keep me focused as I trained for the now-defunct Oklahoma Marathon. I’d have signed up again this spring if I’d known I was going to want to run OKC, but I didn’t remember I was a runner until last Monday. (Typical.) I’ll be training with them for the Route 66 Marathon this fall, anyhow.