St. Jude Country Music Marathon Hosts Holiday Show

St. Jude Country Music Marathon Hosts Holiday Show

 

 

Grammy's Butterflies

So much has happened since my last post this summer. We're closing in on the end of the year, and I have so much to say! After my 1/2 marathon race in Nashville, I was blessed to travel up north to Indiana to see my Grammy St. John. I remember calling my mom as I was traveling to Nashville for the race, and she didn't have the heart to tell me that Grammy had just suffered a stroke and now Hospice was coming in to help. I drove the short 4 hour trip from Nashville, Tennesee to Columbus, Indiana and was so happy to see my Grammy. It had been over a year and a 1/2 since I last saw my family; and I had been praying all that time for God to please let me see my Grammy before she passed away. Minnie and I pulled in my Grammy's driveway, and I was still wearing my MAGIC race shirt and finisher's medal from the race.

My mom was there at her house, and explained that Grammy was in poor health. Still hopeful, I had Minnie on my hip, and a camera in one hand as I walked down the hall to greet my Grammy..hoping I'd get a photo of Minnie with Grammy. As soon as I walked in Grammy's room, I knew this was it. Minnie was immediately upset and I took her out of the room and had my brother watch her as I visited with Grammy. I returned to Grammy's room,.. heartbroken to see her on oxygen, laying in her bed. She couldn't speak full sentences, but she knew what was going on around her.

I remember just kneeling at her bedside, holding her sweet hand in mine, and prayed the Lord's prayer. I kissed her hands, and forehead, smelled her hair again, saw her beautiful blue eyes, it was home. I kept telling her that I loved her and that God was here. I asked her if she wanted me to sing a song, and she nodded her head "yes". So I sang "Alright for Now", a song by Tom Petty. (I always used to sing it to my girls when they were really young at bedtime). She smiled as I sang the song to her, I remember that. I remember her telling me clearly "I love you" and "Thank you". I cried so much, like the night I was losing my dad back in 2004. This all happened the night of April 30th, 2011. I left Indiana on the following Monday, May 2nd, got back to Texas on the 3rd. And on May 4th, my Grammy had passed away. She lead an amazing life, had 3 wonderful children, 5 grand children, and 4 great-grandchildren, and a great husband. I hope and pray I can live as long as she did and have a full life like she did. I'll miss Grammy's sweet tea she made, and stories from the past she told me as we drank our tea. I'll miss her beautiful smile and laugh. That woman was happy every single day of her life, always positive and loving. Grammy also always loved butterflies. I remember when I was training for the 1/2 marathon in Texas, as I ran on my road...in the spring I always noticed these pretty butterflies on purple flowers in my neighbor's yards. So, I had a big smile on my face when I ran last week for the first time in months....I ran 3 1/2 miles on November 28th  (was quite sore afterwards, but well worth it!)..and when I came home...as I was walking up to my front door, I glanced to the side of me...and I saw one beautiful butterfly. I stopped, smiled, and said "Thanks Grammy". In spirit, she is still with me, helping me run my race. I'm so grateful to look back, and realize that God sure did answer my prayer to see my Grammy, I got a chance to say goodbye and tell her I love her. April 30th, 2011 will always hold a special meaning to me, Nashville will always hold a special memory for me. Which is why I'm doing it all over again in 2012! As long as my body allows me to run, I'll be in Nashville every spring, running with family and friends...for God, MAGIC, for Minnie, and Jocelyn. Thank you Almighty God for answering my prayers and letting this beautiful journey unfold and continue with "wings for the journey".

GO TEAM MAGIC! We Did It!!

On Saturday, April 30th, 2011. I ran a half-marathon in Nasvhille, Tennessee with Minnie's Aunt Minerva! It was a perfect morning, lots of sunshine and beautiful city to run through. It was so fun to run with a friend and be surrounded by so many other runner's as well. Being around so many other people helped a lot. I ended up shaving about 2 minutes off my usual time (per mile). I was thrilled! I think because I trained on a hilly terrain at home in Texas, it helped that Nashville's course was so flat in comparison. While running in Nashville, you just felt a sense of community and love for the runners. There were a lot of great local bands playing throughout the course, and many families and/or volunteers handing out all the water, energy drinks, gels, and fruit. I had to laugh when I noticed one volunteer handing out glazed yeast donuts to the runners passing by! I felt the love and support of The MAGIC Foundation when I saw other MAGIC supporters cheering us on, holding up signs. You did feel like a rock star when people kept cheering you on throughout the course. Also, there was a lot of genuine concern for others. Minerva and I both kept encouraging other runner's telling them "You can do it!". That sense of sportsmanship was great. It was a great feeling to cross the finish line, and to enjoy all the months of hard work leading up to this day was incredible.

After the race, we met up with family and friends in downtown Nashville at Paradise Park! We celebrated with The MAGIC Foundation there. It felt wonderful to relax, talk to all the other MAGIC runner's and family members. We were blessed to have George Chmiel with us in Nashville. He has been such an incredible inspiration to many, many people. His story is incredible and so inspiring. George has tremendously helped The MAGIC Foundation and raise awareness and donations. You can read about his incredibly journey on www.LuciAndGeorge.com. I had the honor of meeting George and the Horvath family. I felt honored and blessed to meet many other people from The MAGIC Foundation and to just be apart of this wonderful event. At the celebration dinner, MAGIC announced that over $41, 000 had been raised! Which later, MAGIC discovered that more donations had come in while we were in Nashville, and the total was pushed up to over $45, 000! It was a great success on so many levels, and I am excited to continue running for MAGIC next year! I hope to train to run a full marathon for next year, and raise a lot more awareness and donations for MAGIC.

Mom Runs for MAGIC, Minnie, April 27th, 2011

Here is the article my local newspaper wrote about Minnie and running in the Nashville marathon! Enjoy! I think they did a really good job with the story.


http://bastropadvertiser.com/2011/04/27/mom-runs-for-magic-minnie/

Before and After...March 2010 to April 2011

This photo was taken in March 2010. I was on my way to Austin to try out for a weight loss program. ("Subway Get Fit Challenge"). So I had to submit a full length body shot. After Juan took the photo of me, I couldn't believe what I saw. How did I...when did I...why did I let myself go so far? I was pushing 245 pounds and in complete denial about my weight problem. I was hiding behind large 32 oz Cokes from McDonald's and frequent fast food eating habits. I had no daily activity as far as working out. Even though I wasn't chosen for that weight loss program....God gave me another, even better weight loss program....Running!!

This photo was just taken today, April 26th, 2011. I am currently at 182 pounds...and counting! My goal is to lose another 30-40 pounds by the end of the summer. In July 2010 I was just cheking The Magic Foundation's website (www.magicfoundation.org), and stumbled accross "Run For MAGIC". It was a marathon for parents, caregivers, or anyone who wanted to run a marathon for MAGIC to help raise awareness and funds. I didn't hesitate for one second and I said outloud "I'm going to do this!". So I started working out a lot at first and lost my first 30 pounds, and in January 2011 I started officially running and training for the marathon. I decided to do the 1/2 marathon. It has been a great process for me. I don't listen to music when I run, instead it's my "quite time" and time to pray. I always point to the big, blue Texas sky and say "This if for you God, all for you.". It has become very rewarding and theraputic for me. I won't lie, as running was pretty darn hard at first. It took a long time to build up my endurance. So my big race day is this Saturday, April 30th, 2011. It's in Nashville, TN and I'm really looking forward to it! I never thought in a million years I'd be running, but I love it! It's very challenging and I only want to get better at it. I am running for countless reasons. I have been obese my entire life. I mean, I weighed 150 pounds in the 3rd grade. I know what it's like to be overweight. So here's my chance to "show up in my life" and change my body so that I can change everything else I need to. I have my 3 big reasons or motivators of why I'm running: 1.) God 2.) Minnie (my daughter) and 3.) MAGIC!! I will post my story about my 4 year old daughter Minnie and her journey so far with "ONH"-Optic Nerve Hypoplasia...the #1 leading cause of blindness in children. Can't wait for this Saturday! Please say a small prayer for me, so I can cross that finish line and celebrate! My daughter's Aunt Mini is also racing with me! Talk about support!! And I have other close family and long time friends coming to Nashville to help show their support!  I'm so lucky and blessed. Thank you God for giving me the chance to run and do this. I hope to keep running for MAGIC!! God Bless :)

My thoughts on running-in 2nd month of training-Feb 22nd, 2011

I can touch my toes again!...with BOTH hands.

Takes no prisoners

Is not easy, no short cuts, you are it.

Your body is a temple, take care of it and it will take care of you.

You are shedding off the layers of doubt, disbelief & uncertainty.

You are building your armor of courage, strength, and endurance.

The Magic Foundation-Nashville Marathon Info

Be sure to check out The Magic Foundation's website! I am running for The Magic Foundation on April 30th, 2011. I am running the 1/2 marathon and you can make a donation through their website. It's very quick, easy and secure. Just be sure to make the donation for me, "Nancy Allen".

Their website is: www.magicfoundation.org

Click on "Run For Magic". Then click on "list if competitors" and simply click on my photo. From there, you can see my link and be able to make a donation. I'm encouraged to raise a minimum of $500.00; but any amount is wonderful! I have been working extremely hard training for the marathon. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Week One of official 1/2 Marathon Training

I started officially training for my 1/2 marathon I'll be running in Nashville, TN on April 30th, 2011. I have ran a few times before this week, but I wanted to get serious about my training. On Monday, 2/7/11 I ran 4.0 miles! (Per my training schedule I was only required to run 3.0 miles, but I felt so good, I kept going!). I felt pretty good and started understanding how challenging running is. The next day on Tuesday, 2/8/11, I ran 2.0 miles. The first mile, I walked a lot of it and it took me 15:00 minutes and I thought that was way too slow. So I turned around at my half way point, looked up to the sky and said "This is for you God." and I ended up running the last mile without stopping at all! I couldn't believe it! I kept telling myself all the reasons to NOT stop on this mile. I kept telling myself I HAVE to do this, TRY Nancy...you never know what you can do until you really try! So as I reached the end of my driveway, I immediately stopped and just regrouped for a moment. I was so thankful and felt like I could do anything if I kept this up.

I ran again on Thursday, 2/10/11, and ran for 3.0 miles. I ended up running the last mile again non-stop! Along the way, I kept praying for strength from God to finish this last mile. And out of no where, I just felt myself push my body forward more and started running faster. It was amazing. I felt very good about my run and know I can do this! My body, my mind, everything felt 100% better once I finished my run! It was exhilerating to get out there in the beautiful surroundings and run. I live in the country, and am surrounded by tall pine trees...and lots of neighborhood dogs! Ha. I really think all of my neighbors have at least one dog.

There is one hill in particular that is very challenging to me. Currently, I can only run about 1/2 way up the hill. My goal is to be able to run completley up this hill within 2 weeks! We shall see.

This is by far the hardest thing I've tried. It pushes you in so many ways. I'm going to do my "long run" today of 4.0 miles. Looking forward to it!