Skip to main content

Music Monday: Fully Alive

This week's Music Monday is "Fully Alive" by Flyleaf.

I chose this song because it is a song that is about knowing someone that is in pain and has not much of a reason to feel alive.  And yet they do.

I signed up for the St. Jude Marathon because I wanted to erase the bad taste of my first marathon. I really didn't enjoy my first one because I took it too seriously and really didn't think about what I should have been running it for. The children of St. Jude. This song really became my rally song for the last few weeks leading up to St. Jude.

Every email I received for the race had smiling children. Every piece of mail I received had smiling children. Every time I looked at anything that has to do with St. Jude there was always a smiling child.

And here I am upset because I can't train for the race the way I want.

This song really hit me when I was on a run one day and these words really resonated within me:

All my complaints shrink to nothing
I'm ashamed of all my somethings
She's glad for one day of comfort
Only because she has suffered

Fully alive
More than most
Ready to smile and love life
Fully alive and she knows
How to believe in futures

It was at that point that I decided to run it for the right reason. I was still really nervous because I didn't feel like I was ready to run that distance. But I decided that I was running for something bigger than me and I only needed to remember that reason.

During the race I met an extraordinary young lady. She was wearing a Heroes shirt just like me. The only difference was that she actually is a hero.

Her name is Kristin. Her birthday was Saturday, the day of the race. She is from Virginia so I asked how she ended up running this race. Her nephew has cancer and she wanted to do something to raise money and awareness for children that have been affected by cancer. She found the St. Jude Marathon and decided to run for him. She had run a marathon before so it was something that she really wanted to do.

We ran together for about a little less than a mile. We got separated for a few miles but she passed me just after the 25 mile mark. She said "come on you can do it!" So I ran with her for a little while but I was just cramping too much. She met me at the finish line and we congratulated each other.

So this song is for those heroes like Kristin and the children of St. Jude who keep smiling through everything that they are faced with with.


Enjoy!


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My first blog post!

Well, here it is. The moment that only a couple people have been waiting for. My first blog post. A few months back I noticed a friend of mine on facebook had a post that was a link to a blog. The title seemed interesting so I figured I would check it out. I was blown away by how honest and brave it was of her to write about something that was a very personal subject. I really didn't know that much about her but I knew what she was refering to and I thought it was amazing that she could be so bold. After I read some of her blogs I started reading others. I found some from runners and other athletes and musicians. I became inspired by alot of the things I was reading. Something that I never shared with anyone, until I told my wife Staci, was that I always wanted to be able to write out my feelings. When I told her I am not sure she thought I was serious. I rarely even say what is on my mind, how could I ever put it into words on a computer. Well, here goes nothing. I originally plan...
1 comment
Read more

Music Monday: 100 Million Miles

This week's Music Monday is 100 Million Miles by Monster Magnet. This is one of my favorite running songs. It's really been my mantra for the last few races I have run. I just finished up the MRTC Road Race Series. This year has been a lot harder because I have been dealing with more pain and injuries. This song reminds me that I just have to keep pushing and that when I am done running I can rest and recuperate. I also love the steady beat of the drums. On a easier run I sync each step with each beat. On my harder days I sync my right foot to each beat. That means a lot of turnover! The song is not about running but the chorus and drum beat make it a perfect running song. "Hey, there ain't no pain! 100 million miles away!" Enjoy!
Post a Comment
Read more

My new tattoos

I just recently got my tattoo finished and added a few. I already had the letter N with my wife and kid's names in it. I just added the latest (and last!) addition to our family and added a crest. The N was pretty plain for a reason. I really wanted to get a tattoo with the names in an N but I really wasn't sure how I wanted it to look. I went to a shop and the guy that helped me didn't really help me much at all. But I knew I at least wanted the names and the N because the names line up perfectly. The two Ss line up and the two Es line up. I decided that I could get that and finish it later somewhere else. Probably a good idea. I kinda toyed with ideas for what I wanted to do and got close to getting it done. And then the surprise. We had Olivia. So now I have to find a way to get her name on it. The idea for her name came from a hat my Grandfather had given me a few years ago from our family reunion. The second N in my last name has a tilde above it. The hat had one o...
Post a Comment
Read more