The Riverbank Run

At the starting line I was in the far back on the left

This was about 3 pushes before the finish line

 The picture means a lot to me because I was pouring out thanks to God just as I crossed the finish line

A couple weeks ago I did my first big race. The Riverbank Run in Grand Rapids is a 25k that draws a lot of big racers. When I made my race schedule back in March I put this one on it thinking I could just to the 10k division. My longest race previous to this was only 5 miles so I thought 25k was out of reach. So I emailed the wheelchair division coordinator inquiring about the 10k and she said "there is no wheelchair division for the 5 or 10k you have to do the 25k" Yikes. I signed up just hoping to finish. 

A week before the race was to begin I get word that they changed the course because of flooding along the riverbank.  As I was driving the course two days before the race was to begin I discover that the course change eliminated most of the flat area along the riverbank and added many more long, steep hills. As I drove them at 40 mph I was getting scared because of how long they were taking me to get up!

I had only been racing for 6 weeks but I felt like I had a pretty good base.  I thought "I can finish... I will be alive at the end and I will cross the finish line... as long as it doesn't rain."

Race morning came and it was raining. The race began and the rain fell. For a wheelchair racer, rain is the biggest obstacle because we have no grip on our push rim. The rubber on our gloves and the rubber on the push rim do great when its dry but miserable when its wet. It would be like putting distance runners on a very long uphill slip n' slide. 

Thankfully, another racer named Tricia Downing gave me some Handball Klister (its like really tacky glue that doesn't harden) and I put that on my gloves. Without that I wouldn't have finished the race. I had pretty good grip for the first 12 miles where all the big hills are.  As I was climbing the last hill and feeling like the klister was finally rubbing off I started to get a little scared. Scared and relieved at the same time. It felt like even though I three more miles weaving through town, if I could make the klister last until I got up this hill the finish was within reach. 3 miles to go - I can do that. I finally had this pit in my stomach disappear. It was a feeling of relief like "I am actually doing the thing I wasn't sure I could do."  

After I got over the last major hill and headed into town my right glove had no klister left and I just kept slipping. Each time I slipped - BAM. I hit my bicep on the fender that covers the wheel and I would lose my momentum.  All my focus was on getting good contact with the rim. I wasn't thinking about speed at all. On a minor hill about two miles to go I was slipping so bad I started to slow down to 2-3 mph. Runners were flying by me. One runner passed me and yelled "don't stop - you're so close!" I wanted to say "I am not stopping! There will be no stopping. I just have to find a new way to push on this right side." So I tried pushing with my right thumb on the spoke and I actually went a little faster. At least I wasn't slipping and losing momentum. I pushed on the spoke for the last two miles. I ended up with a time of 2:03:17 and placed 2nd out of 3 women in the wheelchair division.  

As I crossed the finish line all I could think was "Thank you Heavenly Father. Thank you for showing me that even in the worse possible conditions - you can make help me succeed if I just keep moving." I know he was with me and he made a miracle happen.  It has been 10 years since I have felt his presence so strong. The last time was when I broke my back. After I had been in the ICU for a week I was losing the will to push through the pain. I put my whole self out there and said to Him "I am pretty much done here. I have no more to give." In repsonse, he picked me up and carried me through the darkest night of my life. He was the living water of strength after I had tried to for a week to do it alone. 

New Wood Floors!

Before

After the young men in our church ripped out all the carpet

Late on the second night of work. The boys were getting a little crazy. They had put about 20 hours in at this point.

Just a little more to go.

Its DONE! 

Brandon installed base moulding as well. Its so nice.

Our family room

We love the new floors. I am thrilled every time I have to go across the house because I am suprised how fast and effortless it is. What a great feeling. 

 THANK YOU BRANDON! You sacrificed 6 days, worked far into the night, slept on a mattress in the laundry room, and played hard with my boys in your free time. You are the best. 

Our Front yard over the last 10 days.

I took a picture of the tree in our front yard every day for the last ten days. Its fun to watch the big tree grow new leaves as well as the smaller trees bloom with flowers. So fun.

Crazy Day

So most of my blog posts are about the highlights of my life. Not today. Today I will make a little travel journal of the trip the boys and I made to Grand Rapids. Not to say that today was terrible it was just a lot of work.

It began at 10 am with a trip to the library. We picked up some DVDs to watch in the car. Our portable DVD player is broken so I carefully placed my Mac on the seat between the boys and turned on Lady and the Tramp. Within 20 minutes Alex was out cold and Aaron was not interested in the DVD. Aaron played with the front wheel of my racing chair which was right in his face because it had to go over the back seat to fit in the car.

We got to the Fredrick Meijer Gardens, woke up Alex, and ate our picnic lunch. Then we went inside to go to the gardens. We were five feet in the door and I looked up at the price. It was $12 dollars for adults and $5 for each kid. It was a little out of our price range and the boys seemed happy with the picnic and the cool building so we got in the car and headed for the children's museum. 

Part of the reason we went to Grand Rapids was for me to check out the course of the Riverbank Run to take place on Saturday. I heard it was hilly - but Oh my goodness. I had no idea. It was insane. The hills were like a mile long. So now I know that I am going to die on Saturday.

We arrived at the children's museum with a parking spot near the building (yay) and five feet in the door I realize I don't have my museum membership card. It would have been another $20 price tag if the nice man at the desk hadn't called our local museum to confirm I was an ACM member. 

We spent two busy hours at the museum. The kids loved it. When I could, I was busy on the phone trying to get ahold of a wheelchair racer in Grand Rapids who could maybe help me with my busted racing chair. We had emailed back and forth and even though I asked twice - he never gave me his address. So I had Chris on the phone stalking this guy with all the internet skills of the universe. All the while Aaron is running from me because he had a poopy diaper and he didn't want me to find out. (little does he know I can smell it across the room) 

I had to rip the boys away from the museum, but once all the crying and screaming was done we drove to the wheelchair racer's house. Aaron fell asleep in the car and once we got to the guys house things went pretty well. I talked to this amazing guy who will be doing the riverbank run for the 25th time this year, Alex watched a movie on my laptop, and Aaron slept. The great thing about meeting with this guy was he had the exact part I needed to make my chair work again and he fixed it in two seconds. I owe him a big one. 

We got in the car to drive home and the boys were FALLING APART. They had had enough. So I said "Okay, lets find a McDonalds and you can get a Happy Meal." Which is like their big treat. So we drove and drove and 1/2 hour later no McDonalds. Finally I see a sign on the freeway so we get off then it tells us the McDonalds is 7 miles down the road. (I hate it when they do that) So we drive. We get the happy meals and look inside to see what the toy is... and its a CD of some kids singing pop songs. Alex cried. All he wanted was a little toy to hold on the way home. No toy. And to make matters worse, no fork or dressing for my salad. Then as I open my parfait to eat it Alex says "Is that for me?" I don't answer "Is that for meeeee?" Still I am thinking... do I really need this or can I give it to him? "Is that for me?" "No Alex its for me." I do actually need it.  More crying from Alex. 

It was sad, then I started to run out of gas. So I pulled over and got gas. The guys at the gas station near my house always pump my gas for me. There were no kind faces at this station. I got out and pumped it. Still mad about the salad I couldn't eat. 

We drove home. We did our best to sing songs because Alex wanted to fall asleep again but I knew I would be up all night if he did. Finally we got home and we were all in one piece. My racing chair was fixed - good. I got to see the course - yikes. And now I am blogging about it all while the kids play with legos. 

"I love spring!"

The boys woke up this morning excited to go outside and play. So there we were, 8 am and the boys were running down the middle of the street yelling "I LOVE SPRING!" Then we checked out our first tulip of the season. To which Alex could not stop saying "I love tulips... I'm so happy." 

I decided we are going to do a little picture-a-day of the tree in our front yard to see how fast the leaves come on.  Michigan is the greatest in spring. The thrill is like no other place I have ever lived. 

Someone Bought my Art!

I am so excited right now. I just got a check in the mail from the Mary Free Bed Hospital in Grand Rapids for $300. They bought my art! I submitted this piece called "Freedom" to be displayed in their anual art exhibit. They chose a couple to buy and mine was one of them.  

I have been making art my whole life but this is the first piece that I felt right about. It was the first time that I felt there was a piece of me up on the wall.  And now that piece of me lives a Rehabilitation Hospital where people with spinal cord injuries will spend days and days looking at the walls as they consider their new life. 

I am so blessed. My Heavenly Father has given me everything I have - most importantly the knowledge that my life is taking the shape he would have it take. 

 

Albino Squirrels and Psycho Robins

This little guy lives in our neighborhood.  Squirrels are a major feature in Michigan. It feels like they are everywhere. The albino squirrel isn't too common. There are black squirrels here too.  

The wildlife here on the river is very active. The birds are incredible. Robins, Blue Jays, Cardinals (my favorite), and tons I can't recognize or name. We even have the most obnoxious Robin in Michigan running in to all the windows in our house. Over and over and over again. At first it was funny. After 8 days of waking us up at 6:30 each morning,  its not funny anymore.  I guess robins are staking their territory this time of year and try to deter any other robins from building a home. When our bright little guy sees himself in the reflection of our windows he thinks it is another robin that he needs to beat up. So he beats and beats. You would really think after 8 days he would figure it out. So this morning chris took blue painters tape and put large x's on all our back windows. The robin has stopped for the most part. Tomorrow morning will be the test.