Race Number Pick-Up, Parking Spots & Rain…
Tomorrow I am running my 9th marathon. The sixth time I will be running the Twin Cities Marathon–The Most Beautiful Urban Marathon!
Seems like it should be old hat by now, but every time I get the same feeling of nerves and excitement, not to mention just the feeling of how great it will be when it is over! Well, one thing that I have embraced over the past eight times running is that I am no world class runner…I always finish, and I have learned I have to just be ok with that. So, tomorrow I will start out running with my friend Berit and we will see where the day takes us! I promise you this though…I will finish!
So, my embrace it story for today goes something like this…yesterday I ventured to St. Paul, MN which is 15 miles or so from my house, but for some reason can always take so much longer with traffic and all the construction we have going on around here. It has been pouring rain and dreary here in Minneapolis for the past week now, so that too makes driving and getting around more time consuming. This year since I am unemployed at the time, (that is a whole EMBRACE IT post in itself) I was excited to have time to experience the Marathon expo and see all the vendors. After driving around in the rain for 20 minutes trying to find a place to park my favorite song came on the radio and I looked to my right and there was my spot! Whohoo! The positive thinking thoughts started to pour into my head and I was embracing the rain and the fact that I had been in my car for over 40 minutes now.
As I made my way inside, I got my race number and then walked around to a number of the different vendors. I have been promising myself to be more mindful of my spending these days, so I just picked up a couple packs of Jelly Belly Sport Beans and was on my way out. Then I spotted these cute headbands and just had to have one! They were on special of course so I felt justified as something I needed to have to get me through the race. This is pattern of the one think I am going to wear tomorrow on race day! Super cute, isn’t it?
When the gals was checking me out, she asked me to put my phone number on the credit card slip, so I did and then gathered my things and headed back to the car. As I was pulling out of my spot I heard my phone beep and decided to get on the road before I checked my voicemail…big mistake! It was the gal from the Bondi Band booth telling me I had left the headbands on the table! Ahh…I was so frustrated for a minute, but then I realized it wasn’t the end of the world, and how thankful was I that they asked for my phone number and called me! If I hadn’t left my number I would have gotten all the way home before I realized I didn’t have them. Alas, I am so thanksful to the gals at the Bondi Band booth for calling me that it changed my attitude for the whole day!
From there on out, every time I needed a parking spot somewhere yesterday, including finding another one in downtown St. Paul, it just appeared! I stopped at Costco on my way home, which is always a zoo and found myself a spot right by the front door. When I went to the gym last night for a workout at 4:30 pm which is usually the craziest time of day I drove down the main aisle and the first spot by the door had a car just pulling out! You know, the power of positivity is amazing. I get excited every day thinking about how I will overcome my frustrations and negative thinking with positive thinking and just embracing whatever is thrown my way!
I will have to post how the marathon goes tomorrow night! That is unless I am too tired!
Embrace The Full Court Press of Life…
After fighting myself on this for the past 6 1/2 months, I am finally putting all my blog thoughts into my blog. I can’t tell you how many times a day I blog in my head…it is too numerous to count. Many of my most profound thoughts come on my long runs when I have time to think, dream and explore–yet I have no pen in paper in hand to jot down notes.
Well, welcome to embracethefullcourtpress! My idea for this blog started last winter while at one of my husband’s basketball games. He is a high school teacher and Varsity Boys Basketball coach so I find myself in the gym every once in awhile during the winter months. ( A pretty big change for a midwestern girl that grew up playing hockey!) Thus, the idea of embracing the full court press was born! Nick and I have been married for just over a year, and although I knew there would be an adjustment to married life and life as a coach’s wife, I had NO idea how tough it would be. I often would get frustrated at his long hours and commitment to all things ‘basketball,’ however when you realize someone’s passion you have to let them run with it and more importantly let them know how much you believe in what they are doing.
At one of the most important games of the season last year we were playing the #1 ranked team in the state—a team well know for always having the best players, and rumored to have recruited players for as long as I can remember, even kids that I went to high school with transferred there! Anyway, long story short I can sometimes get real into the game being that I am so competitive and whenever we play this team it is an all out fight! Typically our team can hold their own for the first half, but usually the other guys pull ahead as they are just bigger, faster, stronger and more athletic. That is just the reality. The thing that gets me though is that no matter how big their lead is, they always continue to lay on a thick Full Court Press! This gets me going every time…I mean come on, you are already beating us by 30 points, is it necessary to be up in our guys faces every time they try to bring the ball up the court?
I get so fired up and irritated that I have often caught myself yelling at the refs or even catching myself saying something to myself that others around me can hear! It is so bad and not classy of me at all…I mean the coach’s wife is suppose to be an extension of her husband’s image, as well as maintain a calm composure. Attitude is everything you know. It took me a few more games and conversations with Nick to come to the conclusion that the game of basketball and the full court press is a lot life life. I have watched enough good basketball teams whether it be high school or college, break the full court press, thus it just takes focus and the right attitude to not get frustrated or let the other guys get under your skin.
I have not always been the best at embracing life by the horns and letting things roll off my back…usually I would dwell on them or let things eat at me until I couldn’t stand it any more. Well, gone are the days of asking why all the time…I mean I know I will still have days and moments that I am not able to embrace the challenges of the day or of life. However, this here is my outlet, my way of saying to the world and myself that when the going gets tough, the tough “embrace the full court press!”
