Holding on to Mom's Baton

Quote of the week: "We are different, in essence, from other men. If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon." -Emil Zatopek

My race day uniform! Russell had fun taking pictures of me and telling me how to pose. I now have some pretty hilarious photos of myself! Today was my 20 mile long run! My finishing time was 3:01:01. If I can keep this pace on race day, I should have no problem finishing in 4 hours. I am down to only 5 weeks of training left and I am more excited than ever!!! I recently finished reading Kara Goucher's book, Running for Women and I have to share an excerpt from her book:

"It's often said that life is a marathon, and that's true enough, but it's also a relay. There is no finish line. Each generation passes the baton to the next." These last few weeks as I have prepped for another new school year, I have been missing Mom more than ever. Each night I look at her picture and cry as I wish for just one more conversation with her. I miss our mother/daughter conversations about teaching, motherhood, and friendship. I like to think that Mom passed her baton on to me. Her baton holds her secrets to being a great teacher, mother, and friend. My prayer now is that I can keep holding on to her baton and allowing these secrets to be heard. To quote Kara again from her chapter on running a marathon, she states, "Marathons are pretty epic, but they're even more epic if you dedicate your race to a friend or family member. I think Mom deserves it." Yes Kara, my mother most definitely deserves it!