Forever Changed-Part One

"Courage is the Price life extracts for granting peace."  -Amelia Earhart

After running 26.2 miles

My Dad died the day after Father's Day.

It was a beautiful June evening...the kind

my Dad liked best.

Hours before he closed his eyes

one last time I sat 

on the edge of his bed, stroking his

forehead...feeling the warmth of his skin.

I knew it would be the last time I felt

him that way. The end of his life

was near and I was saying my 

goodbyes.

As he lay there, weak and unable 

to speak...I made my Daddy a 

PROMISE.

I told him I would change my life.

I would live each and everyday.

I would never, ever take another moment for granted.

"I PROMISE you, Dad."

Three years later I found myself,

sitting in a conference room in 

Gladstone, Missouri...

signing up for the Leukemia Society's 

Team in Training.

A few of my teammates

"The power to change yourself is the power to change the world around you."  -Anwar Sadat

From January to June 1999

I trained 6 days a week. 

Now you MUST know that before this

I was NOT a runner. I was in shape...but running

had never been something I did.

I was determined though and 

soon found myself running 

and training

and getting 

STRONG!

An excerpt from my training journal

What makes Team in Training so unique...

is that not only do you train and run a marathon...

you train and run with a TEAM.

And if that weren't cool enough

we were all able to meet with the 

sweet, little girl we were running for...

Melody. She was only 7 years old and had 

already been battling the ugly disease.

Part of my Team with Melody. That's me in the red jacket on back right.

"Life is lived in the present. Yesterday has gone, tomorrow is yet to be. Today is the miracle.

I live in Maryville...approx. 100 miles north of Kansas City.

My Team trained in KC every Saturday 

and I was determined to make EACH Team day. 

But just how would that work??

Keep in mind my son Jackson was just 4

 and Emma wouldn't turn 

two until May. 

Along came my MOM to the rescue!

Every Saturday 

{approx. 20}

Dave and I would get up at 3:30 AM,

shower, get the kids ready, take them 

to Grammy's and hit the road.

Our runs were often in south KC

so that meant longer driving time.

And did I mention they started at 6 or 6:30 AM?

Jacks, Me and my Mom at the Pasta Dinner the night before the race.

"Confidence is the inner voice that says you are becoming what you are capable of being." 

I know you can't read what I wrote here...so here is an excerpt....

"This was a turning point in my life....14 miles with Team. I can walk this...even though it's the longest distance I've ever done! A few blocks into my walk I spied Terri and Lora. They were running so I decided to try and keep up. I challenged myself beyond my comfort zone. We amazed ourselves by running 2 miles without walking. What the heck, we thought...let's see how far we can go! 2 miles turned into 3. 4, then 7 our turning point. We were feeling strong. We kept going. By Mile 10 my left leg was going completely numb. I wanted to STOP! To walk. To keep myself going I would only look at Terri and Lora's feet pounding the pavement, very rhythmic. My lungs felt like they were going to burst. At Mile 12 I said  FORGET IT! I was limping...The girls looked at me said... We have gone this far, Les...LET'S GO!! I went. I hurt. I wanted to cry. At last we came to Mile 14. I had made it! I felt so POWERFUL! ACCOMPLISHED! I grinned the rest of the day! My life was evolving into something I had only imagined. What a feeling to be living a long sought after dream. My anthem from this day on has been the song "Change in my Life" from the movie "Leap of Faith". One of my DAD'S fave films."

**Be sure and listen to that song at the end of this post. You will LOVE it!

Here is a story they did during my training. This article and race gave me courage to ask if I could write a column for the paper. I went on to write my column "View from the Front Porch" for several years.

Running this marathon 14 years ago completely changed my life, girls. I will share more photos and the finish line with you in Fridays post. Thanks so much for taking the time to read!

Here is my song Change in my Life