BASS PRO MIDWEEK MOTIVATION - Celebrate the finish line

Hello runner friends!

Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series

MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog!

Now let's get started by talking about the finish line... 

But first let's talk about what a finish line is. By definition, a finish line is a line that marks the end of a race. Okay so we all knew that right? But get this... a finish line is also, figuratively speaking, the end of a process or a series of actions or steps taken in order to achieve a particular end. 

So while as a race director, fellow runner, pacer, and running coach, I find great joy in watching people cross the finish line (and will do everything within my power to help them get there), I find greater joy in hearing about the process that got a runner to that particular end. These stories are always motivating and almost always inspire others to take their own steps or actions to make it to the finish line as well. Which is the very reason I asked Darla Lucas, who was the final finisher at last Saturday's Frog Hill Half Marathon (her first 13.1 mile race where I was the race director) if I could share her story with you. And, to my great pleasure, she said yes. 

Before we go any further though, let me tell you that I consider myself very blessed to be able to give the last person to cross the finish line of the Frog Hill Half Marathon a lantern for being the light at the end of the tunnel every year. There's always lots of tears, hugging and cheering as this goes on... and this year was no exception. Darla crossed the finish line in four hours and one minute to claim the coveted lantern and later posted this: 

I am sharing this because I was on a pace to complete the Frog Hill Half in under 3 hours and 25 min. However I did not. My time was 4 hours 11 min. I beat myself up the whole race because I was last and because I did not finish before 4. I have heard all day that I am proud of you for finishing it, for competing, for just trying and no quitting. I am so grateful for Kathy Curtis who stepped in when I wasn't sure I could go on. For Paul who came back to get me and reminded me that I can do anything. I am thankful that my girls and my Grandkids were their to cheer me on. So tonight I am so grateful I finished. No matter what I finished what I set out to do.

Did you get that thankfulness part? Darla said, "I am so grateful I finished. No matter what.... I finished what I set out to do." And this is, as Paul Harvey says, "the rest of the story." After reading her post, I had to know more! And after sending Darla a message asking about the story behind the "I finished what I set out to do" statement, this is what she said:

Melissa I have spent all my life doing for everyone. My kids have needed me a lot so things I wanted to do always went last or undone. As time went on I always thought it would be fun to do a half marathon. I loved watching people do races and knew I would never run one but always knew I wanted to at least finish one. So the last 4 years, I trained for 4 or 5 months and always let something else come before it. In January of this year I made a commitment to me, something I have never done. So together with God I started with small goals. When someone asked me to help them I never said no but this time my walking came first. This year was the year I was going to finish. Up until Saturday time mattered, placement mattered to me. But when I pulled a muscle in my right thigh going up the hill I just asked God that no matter what I needed to finish. Whether God used me to be last to tell me it really is okay, that no one cares, and you need to be proud of you, or for some other reason that I am not aware of, He used me. He used me to see that it doesn't matter how long it takes you... its the journey, what you see in the journey and how you use the journey. So I can make a million excuses as to why I didn't do it before but all that really matters is this year I let God guide me and with His and my husband's help I crossed the finish line, no matter the place or the time... the only thing that matters is I did it.

So here's the point... people many times become unmotivated to continue taking the steps and actions necessary to reach the finish line because they take their eyes off of it. They let their minds focus on all the reasons why it's not possible or why it's not a worthwhile pursuit. I mean if a person can't finish at a time they deem to be "good" then why even bother right? Wrong! It's always worth the time and effort to do whatever it takes to reach the finish line. And I've said this before and I'll say it again. Comparison is the thief of joy! Don't compare your journey to anyone else's! Throw away all your excuses, go at your own pace, and enjoy the journey. Darla did something few people will ever do. She finished a half marathon!! And you can be sure that her children, grandchildren and her husband don't care how long it took. They were just impressed that she could cover 13.1 miles!! And speaking of Darla's husband, Darla added this: I have been married 37 years and Saturday when my husband was walking the last 2 miles with me, he said something to me he has never said before. He said, "You have always been the one to push yourself, you never give up. You are not a quitter I am so proud of you. With all the pain you are in, you still pushed yourself and even though you could do it by yourself, I'm gonna walk the last two miles to support you.

Do you just love that or what? Do you see the power our actions have to motivate and inspire others? So no matter how long you've been training to make it to the finish line, don't give up! Make 2021 the year that you say, "I don't care how long it takes to see this process come to completion or how hard it's going to be, I WILL make it to the finish line." And remember, just like I told Darla after the race when she and I had the chance to sit and talk, "The person that crosses the finish line is not the same person who stepped up to the start line." It's all about the journey as Darla said. Enjoy it, embrace it, treasure it, and let it form you into the person that you want to be. Now get to running friends. You have Bass Pro training to do. Hope to see you next month at the start line!!

Happy Running!!!