Green Grass of Spring

Hi Ladies-


Hope this finds you all terrific. My ancestry is Scotch/Irish, so I've always loved St. Patrick's Day.





That day became even more special with the birth of my daughter, Caroline Olivia, on March 17, 2000.





She has dark red hair, and deep brown eyes. What can I say-she's beautiful!





Her great grandfather passed away, and his funeral is on her 10th birthday. I'm trying to find a way to tell her how it's "ok" that Grandpa was ready to go.





So it reminded me, that sometimes we must go on. I heard a great quote- from a great friend actually!





Traveling is like reading a book-


If you don't travel-it's like only reading one page.





So I told Caroline this about Grandpa-he just needed to move on-so he wasn't "stuck" on one page. He had alzheimers-so this is VERY appropriate.





Ladies-don't get stuck-Travel. There is a beautiful story waiting for you to uncover!~ Turn the page!
This song is for Caroline's Irish ancestry, and her Grandpa Bob's love of Blue Grass.
Which by the way, country music is derived from Irish/Gaelic music. I learned that from being a Music Major back in the day! Also, my roomie and her Irish/Gaelic girls -this goes out to them!




Hope to see you on the road-


It's SPRING!


Teri

Springing Forward!

Hello Ladies-

Haven't posted in awhile as work has been chaotic.

My thought is brief and to the point.
"Spring Forward"

I heard a great quote the other day-from Abraham Lincoln. Paraphrased, life isn't lived in your years but in the years you put into your life.

Matt's grandfather is very near his death bed-and I do believe he is on this eve of daylight's savings time, springing forward to something better. Grandpa was a farmer-so this photo is for him of a field perfectly tended, and him at rest with the crop planted and growing!

Hope you all feel the same!

Spring is on the doorstep-So spring forward to something better!

Hope to see you on the road!

Teri

Break the Walls Down!

Whether you're the novice or experienced runner, there is no thrill like the one of attending a race.

We race to fuel our adrenaline, add an "umph" to our momentum,workouts, and recalculate personal goals.

Many of these races are to benefit a cause. They might be large races of grand-scale. They might be a small local event.

I've ran in the St. Louis Komen Race for Cure two years now, and running with 66,000 women, men, and children all fighting breast cancer is a humbling and awesome thing to witness. I was proud of myself for my performance-I noted the change in my time, I logged my mile per minute rate. I was even more struck by the number of people there-nameless strangers with smiles and support for every woman fighting this disease. 66,000 and several million dollars strong-we "raced for the cure!" And yet every once in awhile, a woman in a pink shirt would sail past me-no hair, and I knew why I was there. I'd just seen her!:)

I've also ran in small benefits. When running in the Nathan's Quest to Battle Childhood Cancer in our town, I was met in the restroom by two women who were eyeballing my friend and I . We commented on the beautiful weather for the event, and she proudly stood tall, sucked in a breath, pulled back a tear, and said "Nathan was my grandson." We were silent-this race pulled an entry of $20 a person, with maybe 50 participants. I knew Nathan, and that day, I met his Grandma.

When we run we are blessed with physical ability and choice to conquer our physical and mental obstacles. Many of the races we participate in are for those who don't have the choice. Heck yes-they would love to kick that cancer in the butt and make it go away-but it isn't as simple as setting a goal for a pr, or a distance, or to participate in an event. They are running the race of their life-and when we show up-we show them-hey, I'm running with you-to support research, care, peace of mind. We run to help ourselves-but we run to make the road better for others so they can meet the goals they have set.

The Irish Blessing states

May the road rise to meet you

May the wind be at your back

May the sun shine warm upon your face

And the rain fall soft upon your fields

And until we meet again,

May God hold you in the palm of his hand.

An hour of your time, the sweat on your brow, the struggle you face shows those fighting a much harder path that you are trying to ease their travels.

My point is, that no matter the gesture or number of participants, we all have the capacity to give. We attend with selfish intentions. It is usually about, well, ME. But when you go-no race, no matter how big or small, is a wasted moment. Whether it is thousands strong fighting for anonymous people, or a community pulling together in memory of a woman's grandson-we make the world a better place.

We all know running strengthens us physically in so many ways. But when you attend a race benefiting a charity or cause-your heart will feel an immediate improvement in its performance!

So take that first step-

There is a lovely saying- "No kind act, no matter how great or how small ever goes unnoticed."

I would agree-or whether you're tromping along with thousands or three-you will feel the

benefit of giving to others, giving to yourself, and making whatever the road may be a better place to be-for SOMEONE!

Take that step-it'll give you heart in more ways than one;) We have some great benefits posted on Facebook-I will start getting the race info transferred to our blog also! Always feel free to email us also at http://www.womenofwarrensburg@yahoo.com

Randy Pausch-

Brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls aren't there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to show us how badly we want something.

Pancreatic cancer is represented in purple, breast cancer in pink-uterine cancer in blue-what color is close to you?

Hope to see you on the road!

Teri

Many Hands!

I have really enjoyed having the chance during the "snow week" to work on some projects I had been putting on the side. Also, it gave me the chance to catch up with some friends.

Even with the piles of snow, there is a lot of buzz and excitement going on in WOW right now. Several people are training for 1/2 marathons. Others are thinking of some running roadtrips, or even attempting the first 5K. We have a few new members, and preparing to celebrate our 1st Birthday for the Women of Warrensburg! There is a lot to be excited about!

As with anything, we want to not just stay where we are, but grow and get better, so some terrific ideas are in the fire right now. It made me think of the story "Stone Soup".

For those not familiar with the story, the wanderer visits a small village. He goes to the center of the village with a large pot, builds a fire, and fills the pot with water, stirring.

He has a smile on his face and says "This is the BEST soup-if I only had some carrots". One of the townspeople watching, then says , "Well, I have carrots" offers them and they are added.

And so on and so forth this process continues until every member of the village has contributed a potato, a parsnip, an onion, and so on until they have a truly wonderful feast to share.

When I look at our club-I think of Stone Soup. We have a few seasoned runners. We have people connected to many Kansas City running groups, UCM, our local Churches,a graphics artist, local business women, doctors, the Main Street Group, Park and Rec, a personal trainer, the Base, and some gals who are just great cheerleaders and motivators.

My point is, everyone in WOW has something to contribute-and with our combined talents, vision, and effort to offer we have been able to truly build a club for All Women, All Abilities, All Ambitions, and our fun is just getting started!

One year might not seem like an expansive period of time-but I think just like the pot of soup, because of each member of WOW, our club has a little more zest, flavor, and because of each member, become something we can ALL share and enjoy!

Please remember to share your experiences/etc because I would love to post some of your blogs with the group!

Hope to see you on the road or at WCC-

WOW

Teri

You Had it All Along!

Chalk it up to too many snow days, but I've been watching more tv/movies than I usually do. It's really tough when you're sitting on the couch in a snuggie to think about getting up and moving. Then there is that daunting event several months and one whole season away-the 1/2 Marathon in the back, very back of your mind.

A lot of what we do as people and athletes involves creating a plan. Through each of these movies I have been watching, the characters always make a plan of some sort. My daughter, Caroline, recognized this yesterday while we watched a movie. They always know where they are going. And at some point, they recognize that they had what they needed all along, much like Glenda the Good Witch points out to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

Many runners give accolades and credit not only to the accomplishment of the final event, but each run that lead up to reaching that goal. They visualized success not in the final event, but the steps they took, sometimes seemingly small, to getting there. I've posted races on Facebook up through August. Whatever your plan for the year is, enjoy each step to getting there, and remember YOU HAVE IT-just visualize and believe in yourself!

A reminder in this slippery and cold weather, run safely!

Hope to see you on the road or at the Community Center soon!

WOW
Teri

New Year . . . New View!

Happy New Year! There is always the buzz of January 1st being the day of change. Oddly throughout the other 364 days of the year, we tend to not scrutinize ourselves so harshly. But once the cheers of Happy New Year are sounded it's on, and people are in "fix it" mode. Even the tv echoes that thought as though to say, you really need to get it together!

Generally we see the bare trees of winter as an eyesore in comparison to the flowers of spring and the beautiful fall foliage. I really looked and noticed for the first time how intricate the branches are, and with the twists and turns of each one they are all just reaching for sunlight. I had never noticed before how beautiful they really are. It sort of struck me-they're really like us in a way. We are generally covered (metaphorically speaking!) and trying to make an impression or stand out. But once it gets down to the real you under all the garb, there is probably a pretty unique and lovely person just reaching the same way the branches do on that tree. Reaching for what? I don't know-we're all different.

It's a New Year-Look at things with a new view-you might be surprised at what you see!

Hope to see you on the road!

Teri

A Noteable Life

I was checking the weather for KC-watching for impending snow. One of the headlines struck me and sort of made me mad. It was "Noteable Deaths 2009".
Hmmm-
We can look back on celebrities, friends, family who have all passed this year. I know, for one, my Grandpa wouldn't want to be remembered by his death, but how he lived his LIFE!

That is what we, Women of Warrensburg, are all about-it's how you live. The choice is there to enjoy, embrace, and appreciate life by becoming an active person.

I ran today-am now trying to commit myself to this half-marathon training thing. I know there will be days I don't want to-but I want to have that accolade on my belt that "I ran a half marathon while I could during my life."

This is how I want to live my life-and let me say-there have been a few moments that took my breath away! I know there will be many more!

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away” ...

Hoping this year is breathtaking for you!
Looking forward to seeing you on the road-there are many great races coming up!
Teri
"It's How You Live"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7HFk6flUOQ