2016 Goals, Aspirations, Intentions, Plans, Hopes, Desires....

What is a goal?  the object of a person's ambition or effort; an aim or desired result.  

Goal setting is a process that starts with careful consideration of what you want to achieve, and ends with a lot of hard work to actually do it.  

I'm sure you've heard or seen the word "Smart" to describe goal setting.  They say you need to have specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time limited goals.  

I've thought a lot about this over the past couple of weeks.  It can be hard to set goals because some you may fear that you can't really attain them and you will be a failure.  As for me, I think it's important to write down a list of weaknesses or qualities that you would like to improve.  (No one has to see this list. It's for you to use to focus on goals you are going to set.)  Then write down a list of your strengths and best qualities.  This list is just as important as your weaknesses.  You will be able to draw strength despite your flaws and set some reasonable goals.  

"The battles that count aren't the ones for gold medals.  The struggles within yourself- the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us - that's where it's at." - Jesse Owens

So what are my BIG goals for 2016?  

1.  Back 2 Back Challenge - This is a half marathon on Saturday and another half marathon on Sunday.  I'll be doing this right off the bat in January.  What a way to start the year off, huh?  I've wanted to do this for a couple of years and never had the opportunity.  This year there will be 8 of us from Team Run4TheKids doing the challenge.  I'm excited! We have so much fun as a group!  This statement describes my running friends perfectly:

"People who have an amazing sense of positivity are great to be around and train with.  When you are around them, they make you want to be a better person.  They just have that aura."  - Amy Yoder Begley

2.  Swim 1 mile with confidence - boy this one is a BIG one. It's going to be tough.  I had worked up to swimming 1 mile in the pool before all the holidays hit and then slacked off.  It will be like starting over but come January 1st it's on like donkey kong. :>) This is going to take a lot of hard work and dedication.  I will need to swim during the cold months when no one goes to the pool.  However, now that I've talked 3 of my teammates into also training for the Ironman, I won't be alone at the pool. 

3.  Strength Train - I always start out the year gung ho on this and then around April slack off.  Well, this year I'm going to have to stay focused!  I'm having a bit of an issue with my knee right now (runners knee.. I won't go in details.. you can look it up if not familiar) along with my normal arthritis and sciatic nerve pain that is giving me fits. I firmly believe it's because I slacked off on strength training the last part of this year.  Running takes a toll on your body.  You need to make sure you are doing strength training along with core work to stay injury free.  I recently brought a new DVD that I'm going to do 1X a week for 3 months and see if it helps.  It's called "Iron Strength".  Some people say that the magic number is 90 days (3 months) to see results.  I guess I'll soon see.  I also plan to attend our lunch classes here at work on Tuesday & Thursday.  They've offered us a 30 minute toning class.  I've been a couple of times recently to try it out and I must say it is tough! You wouldn't think so being that it's only 30 minutes, but this lady knows her stuff. 

4.  Ragnar Trail Run - This will be way out of my comfort zone.  It requires camping. LOL  The race will be in April in Atlanta,GA.  A couple of us from team Run4Thekids are doing it together.  I'm not sure of all the details, but I think we basically run for like 24 hours straight by taking turns running different loops.  The race starts on Friday and ends Saturday.  I doubt there will be much sleeping.  We will be in a TENT not a camper.  So let me just say... Out of my comfort zone! ha  I am looking forward to the laughs.

5.  Track and visualize my training.  My kids gave me a running calendar for Christmas.  I plan to mark off every day that I workout whether it is running, biking, or swimming.  I've got it hanging in my office on the wall in front of me so each day I will have that visual to keep me focused.  

   

6.  Read my Bible every day before I start my day.  I really should have put this as #1 cause without this I'm nothing.  I use to never make time regularly to read the Bible on a daily basis.  I would think about it while at work and maybe stop and read my devotion calendar or something real quick, but until I really started setting down in a quite place each morning and reading my Bible 5-10 minutes before checking emails, Facebook, twitter or anything else, It really didn't make a difference in my life.  Now I feel as if I'm closer to God.  It gives me a sense of peace each day.  I challenge you if you aren't already doing this...start now.  It will make a difference. 

7.  Well, 7 has always been my favorite number so here it is...... AUGUSTA IRONMAN 70.3 - This will be a HUGE goal for me!  The "70.3" represents MILES.  Yep! Miles!  On September 25, 2016 I plan to do the Ironman 70.3 race in Augusta, GA.  This is a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike, & 13.1 (half marathon) mile run.  It will require a lot of training during the year to build up to be able to do these 3 things back to back on the same day.  I will need to be READY. I will do a couple sprint TRIs before this race to help me prepare.  These are shorter distances.  It's going to be a challenge due to the swim.  I feel confident in my biking and running but not so much in my swim.  We will be swimming in the Savannah River.  I can swim in a pool with no problem but panic in open water.  I did one sprint TRI this year were I felt more at ease.  I'm hoping that will continue in 2016.  The one thing that I'm looking forward to is the fact that I've talked 3 of my girlfriends into doing this race with me! I'm super excited about that fact! Girls road trip soon! 

8.  St. Jude! I plan to work hard all year long with team Run4TheKids in raising money for St. Jude.  In 2014 we raised $28,000.  In 2015, we raised $42,000! There is no limit to what we can do in 2016!  I'm also excited that we are planning on adding Blair E. Batson to this fund raising.  I pray for God to lead us.  We will be meeting on January 17 to kick off the year and brain storm fundraising ideas.  

9.  Save for Disney 2017 - Dopey Challenge in 2017! Registration will open April, 2016 and the cost is normally close to $600 just to register! So I must SAVE.  Two of my teammates plan to do this challenge along with some other peeps from the local area.  I had always said if I had a friend to do it with that's when I would try to do it. It's 4 days of running.  Day 1 - 5K, Day 2 - 10K, Day 3 - Half Marathon, Day 4 - Full Marathon... so yep that's the reason they call it the Dopey Challenge.  But what better place to be dopey than Disney World?  So if they register, I register and we do it together. :>) 

10.  Listen before speaking - Whoa..tough one.  I'm really going to have to practice this with some people.  

I have other small goals but I will not go into the details on those in this post. I wanted to use this post to specifically focus on my BIG goals. 

So...It's time to FOCUS.  Most of us runners understand there is NO quick fix!  You must put in the time and train.  So let's turn the impossible into the possible! 

Each one of you will have different goals, different ideals, different priorities, and life situations.  So my goals will not be your goals.  However, I'm a firm believer in setting goals.  After you've set some goals it is very important that you take one more step:

SAY THEM OUT LOUD 

Tell someone your goals.  When you verbalize them it makes them a part of you.  When others know where you stand, you are held more accountable to your goals. 

And let's not forget to Pray about our goals.  Let God lead us. 

May you have a Happy New Year!  

Much Love,

D

Rehash of 2015 Races

The end of the year is a natural pause point to access your progress.  Here is 10 simple questions to ask yourself: 

1. Where did you succeed?

2. What did you enjoy most?

3. Where did you fail?

4. What regrets did you have?

5. What lessons did you learn?

6. What will you do differently?

7. What is the status of your goals?

8. What do you need to do more of?

9. What do you need to stop doing?

10. What are your new goals for the new year?

As the year ends, it can be a great time to look back at what you accomplished in the past 12 months.  I was thinking I didn't accomplish much this year because I didn't do any half marathons which are my favorite.  It's very unusual for me to not do at least 2-3 during a year AND it's very unusual for me to do 3 marathons in a year which I should say 4 cause I did one 50K which is considered an ultra marathon because it's 31 miles.  So I decided to jot down all the races I completed this year and take a look.  

Races I completed during 2015 in date order:

1-1-15 Steam whistle 12K
1-11-15 Walt Disney World Marathon
1-24-15 Frosty Frolic 5K
2-7-15 Double Bridge 15K
2-14-15 Q-Pid 5K
3-7-15 MS50 50K
5-9-15 Mud Run 5K for Autism
6-6-15 D-Day 5K
6-27-15 Mission at the Cross 5K
7-11-15 Sunfish TRI
8-29-15 Cultivation TRI
9-12-15 Brett Robinson TRI
10-10-15 Rotary bike-a-thon 65 miles
10-24-15 Halloween Hustle 5K
10-25-15 Pink Up 10K
11-1-15 New York Marathon
11-26-15 Hobble then Gobble 5 miler
12-5-15 St. Jude Marathon

So that's 1-12K, 1-15K, 6-5Ks, 1-5 miler, 3-full marathons, 1 ultra marathon (50K), 3 sprint TRIs, 1-10K, and 1-65 mile bike ride for 18 total races. I'm getting tired just reading this info. :>)  Maybe that's also why my body has been so tired the last few weeks of this year. I really did do a lot of races.  Maybe not for some of you that do a 5K almost every weekend, but for me 18 races is a lot.  So as I think about those 10 questions I listed in the beginning of this post I'd like to post an answer of each one of them as I reflect.  

1. Where did you succeed? - I completed each race that I started.      

2. What did you enjoy most? - The people I did them with! This is an easy answer for me! I absolutely love the people that races has brought me in contact with over the years! 

3. Where did you fail? I know most people would say that I had no failures because I completed each race, but in my mind I did fail.  I had planned to do more "core" work to make my body stronger and I did not stick with it.  My core is weak and needs work.  

4. What regrets did you have? Absolutely NONE. 

5. What lessons did you learn? Hum...I think the biggest lesson I learned is that I need to start SWIMMING much sooner than I did this year.  (new goal for 2016).

6. What will you do differently? As for 2015, nothing. I'm a firm believe that our mistakes makes us who we are today. We must learn from them and move on. 

7. What is the status of your goals? I am a work in progress ALWAYS.

8. What do you need to do more of? Core work and Swimming!

9. What do you need to stop doing? Worrying about my swim pace!

10. What are your new goals for the new year? Coming in another post. :>) 

I also like to reflect back on other things besides races that I had goals on.  I completed another bible study book this year.  My goal was to read my bible every morning before checking emails, text messages, or Facebook and I can say very happily that I succeeded in that goal by at least 90-92%.  There were a few days that I had a race and got preoccupied with race preparation and forgot to read my bible first.  I would always think about it during the race and wish I had just taken that 5-10 minutes of quiet time.  But for the majority of the year I got up and read by bible before doing anything else.  I have felt a greater peace this year by doing so.  I encourage all my readers to take the time to spend some quiet time with the Lord.  Some days at work I have wanted to lash out but because I spent time with the Lord before work, I was able to hold on to my temper and not last out.  God has given us a guidebook for righteous living called the HOLY BIBLE.  

I'm trying each day to not ask for things that I think I need but instead to ask God to let me accept his will for my life.  It's hard.  We all think we know what is best for us sometimes and want God to give it to us. However many times God has other plans which if we accept them they end up so much better than we could have imagined ourselves.  I'm reflecting and praying for God to lead me in my Goals for 2016.  I hope to have something written down by next week.  :>) Until them I hope you'll also reflect back on your past year.  You may be surprised as to what all you accomplished.  If not, I encourage you to set some goals.  In my next post I'll talk about what we need to do after we've set some goals to make them real.  

Where is God leading you? 

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." Lamentations 3: 25-26 NKJV

May God lead you in setting your goals.

MUAH, D

Little Red Wagons

If you've got kids or been around kids, you've probably seen a red wagon at some point in time.  I know we had a wagon that all the grand kids played with at my mom's house.  They would pull each other or their toys around.  This weekend at the St. Jude Memphis marathon a red wagon took on a whole different meaning for me.  I'll share it with you as I write the details down on the weekend in Memphis.  

First let me begin by saying my weekend was changed up a little from what I had planned orginally.  See last year after I returned home from Memphis my husband pouted saying he didn't get to go to the Peabody, Beale street, etc.  So I had booked a room for just me and him this year.  Well, about 3 weeks ago he up and told me that he wasn't going to go.  I was furious at first because see several of the girls on the run team wanted to room together and I had told them all that I couldn't because I was going with my husband.  I asked him why and he said that I would be so busy with the team and stuff that we really wouldn't have time together and he hates waiting around at a race.  So I quickly asked my mom and my daughter if they would go with me.  I'm very glad it turned out that they got to go.  I think both of them were inspired and humbled at all the things they saw.  You just don't truly realize what all St. Jude does until you get to go there in person.  Plus we toured the Ronald McDonald house as well and boy that was a treat also.  More on those places shortly....

Me, mom & Erin took off Thursday after I got off work headed to Memphis.  We stopped in Grenada to spend the night since my reservation at the Peabody was only for Friday and Saturday.  I had found a cheap hotel in Grenada where we could rest and then ease on into Memphis early Friday morning.  I knew it was going to be a busy day Friday so I wanted to get to Memphis as early as possible.  Our room in Grenada was a rat hole!  I quickly told mom and Erin that we would just think happy thoughts about the Peabody we were going to be at the next night. We actually slept even though it was one of those hotels where the doors open to the outside.  I have a fear of those for some reason.  I dream of someone getting in.  

We arrived in Memphis around 10am on Friday.  I was concerned they may not let us check-in early since my confirmation said check-in was at 4pm but they did!  I was so HAPPY.  We were able to get in our room, unload our luggage and make it downstairs to the lobby to see the famous "Peabody Ducks" make their grand entrance into the fountain.  If you've never been to the Peabody, I encourage you to take a trip during December.  It's absolutely beautiful with all the Christmas decorations! 

 Erin ordered coffee while we were waiting on the ducks and when they brought her coffee it came with the cutest little cube of sugar in the form of a duck! We just had to grab a picture! 

After we saw the ducks we quickly headed to the race expo.  I had a tour of the hospital scheduled for several of us and we had to be at the bus at the expo building by 12:40pm to ride over to the hospital.  I was excited that mom and Erin were going to get to see and hear about the hospital.  Christopher was very informative on the tour and a former patient of St. Jude stopped and told us his story.  It was very touching.

A couple of us waiting to board bus for tour.

I love our team shirts

 There was one family we saw several times pulling their child around in the little red wagon.  They were making a game out of it and the child was just a smiling.  That's what amazes me about St. Jude.  The halls are so colorful.  You can feel HOPE in the building.  Everyone is so very nice.  We grabbed a couple of pictures while on tour.  The children's art work is displayed on the walls.  They are unique.  Here is one that I really like. 

I'm glad I had quickly grabbed my race bib and stuff before we left on the tour because when we got done with the tour I was starving! We had not eaten lunch since we had a late breakfast.  Celeste had told us about a place right down the street from the expo building where they had eaten before the tour.  She said it was real good so we decided to go grab a lite lunch so we could make it until the pasta diner at 6pm.  The place is called Westys.  It was a cute little place and the food was fabulous (or either we were just all starving.. hee hee).  

Yes, that's me acting crazy.  I was picking with Frank and him always taking pictures. 

Back to Expo to wait for pasta dinner.  We could have walked back to our room to rest, but decided to just stay at expo and look around a little then go sit and wait for the doors to open for dinner.  

Of course we had to grab a picture by this sign

A hero has to raise a certain amount of money to get an invitation to the Pasta Party.  I've been fortune enough to go the past 3 years.  You never know what the program will consist of.  It's never the same.  This year a young mother spoke to us about her daily life as a mother of a St. Jude patient.  It was extremely touching.  I don't believe there was a dry eye in the room.  As I sat there, I was once again reminded of why I love raising money for St. Jude.  Oh our team also had reserved tables this year.  We didn't have to rush in to try to find us a seat because they had reserved us 5 tables that seated 50 people.  It was great.  They only give out 2,500 pasta tickets and as I sat there in the room with those 2,500 people I looked around and was honored to be in the room with so many HEROES.  

They didn't have it "Run4TheKids" but still we had our own reserved tables. :>)

After the pasta dinner we were all tired and ready to get in the bed.  Friday was a long day!  I was glad the race wasn't starting till 8am the next morning.  We all said our goodnights and headed to our rooms.  I got all my stuff laid out and ready so maybe I would not wake mom & Erin while I got ready.  They had decided to stay in since I was running the marathon and not rush to get dressed.  It was going to be around 32 degrees on Saturday morning and there was no reason for them to go stand out in that when it was going to take me around 5 hours to run the marathon.   My loot I got at the expo also. 

We had no idea the music would start around 5:30am!  It sounded like it was right outside our room.  I then remembered that the finish line was right there at the Peabody and the marathon people were out there setting everything up so no sleep for mom and Erin. hee hee   Mom grabbed a picture of me before I left heading downstairs to the lobby to meet the team. 

Ready to run.

Boy was I shocked when I got off the elevator doors!  The lobby was PACKED! Runners everywhere! My first thought was how in the world was I going to find my team.  However I quickly spotted Scott Paxson and went over to talk to him.  As I was talking to him others starting arriving.  Soon most of us were gathered in one big pile.  There was no easy way to get a team picture because of the lobby being so packed.  But Dave, Sunshine's hubby, decided the best way was for him to go upstairs and shoot us from up there.  I had hoped that all 42 of us would be in the lobby, but several didn't make it.   Some had plans of meeting other friends or family before the race.  I believe there was like 23 of us in the picture that Dave captured.   

It was so nice being at the Peabody. We literally walked out the front door and onto the street where we started.  No rushing around trying to figure out where we needed to be.  I've already booked my room for next year!

My goal was to run with Sunshine.  She wanted to do the marathon under 5 hours.  She just did miss that time last year and had it in her heart to do it this year.  I wasn't sure how long I would be able to help her because my sciatic nerve pain had been acting up badly the past 2 weeks.  Once the race started I knew that I would be ok.  We talked and ran together as we've done so many times before and she kept saying the miles were clicking by fast.  We stopped two times for a bathroom break.  We just ran easy and didn't push too hard.  When we ran through the St. Jude campus there were tons of folks out cheering.  As we rounded one curve there was a family standing there with their St. Jude child sitting in a red wagon.  The child was just a waving and smiling.  It brought big tears into my eyes.  These children are so full of love and life! It amazes me!  

I kept telling Sunshine we were going to make it! I think she kind of doubted me a few times but I knew the pace we were running and exactly what you had to be under to get in at 5 hours.  I was not going to let her down if it killed me.  Isn't that what team work is all about?  You are only as strong as your weakest link is what they say.  I was the weak one on race day but I was going to hold up my end and stay with her.  Sometimes it just makes it easier to run with a friend.  Yes, many people run alone and make it just fine but I've always enjoyed my longer distances when I do them with a friend that runs the same pace.  We finished in 4:50! We had 10 minutes to spare. :>)   It wasn't my 4:30 from the previous year, but it was another finish! I never dreamed I'd run 3 marathons this year! I didn't even run one half marathon this year and they are my favorite!  I love the picture of us finishing together!

I was so ready for a bath and a nap.  Several of us had reservations to eat at Texas De Brazil around 4:30pm and then we were heading out for a Pub Crawl at 7pm.  I wanted to go rest up for the night as soon as possible so I didn't hang around the VIP lounge very long after the race.  Mom brought me ice and I took an 18 minute ice bath.  Oh it was so nice! Yes, it was cold but it sure does make your muscles feel good.  And actually when we met up to eat later the others were hobbling around and I was doing pretty good.  They even picked at me about not hobbling up the stairs like them.  I guess it pays to take a ice bath. :>)  Our food was wonderful! I was stuffed! I needed the walk on the Pub crawl to walk off some of that heavy food I had eaten. LOL

The Pub Crawl was interesting.  I enjoyed donating 2 toys to the kids and seeing all the people dressed in Santa suits! We saw so many varieties.  I had no idea they even made santa suits like some of them had on.  

We had so much fun! and I LOVE Kathy's santa hat!!

Our favorite place ended up being B.B. Kings! Just like last year!  Serina even sang to me. :>)  LOVE HER!

We didn't stay out too late cause we were all TIRED.  I guess running 26.2 miles then dancing at B.B. Kings will make ya tired. :<>) 

My daughter took this after I finished.  LOVE HER!

Ain't she Pretty? 

Sunday I had arranged a tour of the Ronald McDonald House.  One of my teammates parents live in Memphis and volunteer at the house.  They had arranged the tour for me.  It is the only RMH that is strictly for St. Jude patients.  Several on our team had collected items that we were going to take by to donate and they had told us they would give us a brief tour.  Let me just say that the house was NOT what I expected.  It was so colorful and full of LOVE! Again, you could feel hope just like at St. Jude Hospital.  My daughter captured some very nice pictures.  I don't know why I wasn't taking pictures cause we all know I'm a picture taking crazy person but I think I was just in such awe.  The guy that did our tour had a huge passion for what he does at RMH.  You should check out their website online for things you can donate.  Every donation is a blessing to these families.  They don't need to be burden with having to find a hotel, food, etc. when all they should be doing is spending time with their child. 

 I love the kids handprints in all the shapes on the walls.

 It was there again that I saw a mother pulling a child in a red wagon.  The child was laying down under her blanket but still smiling! It was at that moment when the guy was telling us how the wagons are donated (I had read that before but not thought much about it) to the families through donations collected for St. Jude.  The wagons come in extremely handy.  See these kids are put though hours and hours of treatments, x-rays, scans, etc. during a day.  These wagons give these parents an easy way to carry the child.  The children can be weak after a long day of treatments or testing, but being a child they still want to play.  It makes it fun for the child.  The vision of the family pulling the child through St. Jude's halls while we were on tour the day before entered my head again.  They were making sounds like a car / plane and wheeling the child around and around.  I bet that child had just had a treatment or something and they were trying to take the child's mind off what was going on inside his body.  I think every time I see a red wagon from now on I'm going to be reminded how much it means to these families.  The typical cost for these wagons are $70 but I bet you can't put a price on the true meaning of these wagons for these families.  They are blessings.

So the next time you are wondering where you money might could be helping those families, picture a red wagon.  Yes, donations go for so many more things and a family NEVER receives a bill from St. Jude, but I've developed a whole new meaning for red wagons after this trip.   They said at the pasta dinner that $8.1 million dollars was raised this year.  WOW! However that is still not a lot of money when you look at the cost to operate St. Jude which is $1.2 million a day!  Every dime helps! Thank you to everyone that donated to my fund this year!  I raised over $4,000 again this year through generous people like you.  I have some truly amazing friends.  I love you all!  And I'll be hitting you all up again in 2016 because I will be returning to Memphis to run for these precious children!  Have a blessed day! MUAH D

Self-made man/woman

How many times have you heard the phrase “self-made man”?  I know I’ve heard it several times over the year.  Do you believe it? Well, I don’t.  In my opinion no one is self-made.  We all owe countless debts that we can never repay.  God has given us everything that we are and will ever be and his son sacrificed his own life that we might live eternally.  So our first debt is to God.  Then of course there are also many others we are indebted to like parents, teachers, friends, spouses, family members, coworkers and fellow believers.  All these people have shaped us into who we are today in my opinion.  Yes, some still stick out their chest as to say, “Look at me and what I did”.  However in our quiet moments when we search the depths of our hearts, we know better.  

~ By humility and fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life. ~ Proverbs 22:4

I will also say that there is a difference to me in self-made and determination.  A person that succeeds also has a lot of determination!  I shared a runner’s poem with my team yesterday that tells the story of a runner.

Here it is:

~ Running isn't a sport for pretty boys... it's about the sweat in your hair and the blisters on your feet. It's the frozen spit on your chin and the nausea in your gut. It's about throbbing calves and cramps at midnight that are strong enough to wake the dead. It's about getting out the door and running when the rest of the world is only dreaming about having the passion that you need to live each and every day with. It's about being on a lonely road and running like a champion even when there's not a single soul in sight to cheer you on. Running is all about having the desire to train and persevere until every fiber in your legs, mind, and heart is turned to steel. And when you've finally forged hard enough, you will have become the best runner you can be. And that's all that you can ask for. ~ Paul Maurer

Back in January, I was looking at growing my run team and wondering how it would all work out.  I was skeptical on how to handle a large team.  So I did what I normally do when I’m nervous or anxious.  I went to a quiet place and prayed.  It was almost like the movie about baseball where the guy hears the words, “if you build it they will come”.  I sat their quietly and asked God to just lead me.  It was then that a peace came over me and I felt him telling me to just have faith.  He would send the team members and he would also take care of the donations.   Well, we went from 23 team members to 42 pretty quickly.  As we were setting our goal for 2015, we were nervous and anxious.  I wondered if we would be able to just accomplish the $28,000 we did the year before.

This year has been incredible! We’ve raised over $40,000 and an article was published in a local Memphis paper telling our story.  I was honored and thrilled when they contacted me asking about the team.  There will be 40 of us running in Memphis this Saturday! 

Here’s the list:

Marathon:  Nestor, Philip, Kim, Kathy, Bryon, Deleica, Tracey, Be, Ronnie, Jason, Stephani, Katherine, Scott, Joe, Marketta, Marlinda, Tom, Kelvin, Sunshine, & Jennifer.  That’s 20 doing the marathon.

Half Marathon: Frank, Wallace, Amie, Matthew, Daniel, Krista, Cindy, Jake, Jennifer, Bubba, Kevin, Brittney, Mary Ann, Kasey, Landon, Brooklyn, Celeste, Kristen, JoAnn, Serina & Melissa.  That’s 21 total with 20 doing the half (1 is on injured list currently. She’s going to be the best dang cheerleader ever cheering for us at the race).

Please say a special prayer for us.  Pray for endurance, strength, but most of all for us to do God’s will.  We run for the kids at St. Jude! They are our heroes.  Much Love, D