Living Life With Arms Wide Open

Here's an email to my pace group folks. It was a great day.

Lena-

Thanks for your email. And curse you for mentioning cheeseburgers and fries which made me walk an extra 25 yards today. How could you?

I love our pace group(s). It's funny, I think it's something about the 11:30ers. My last training group of Switzers 5 years ago were also uniquely connected and enthusiastic. Can I say that was a pretty phenomenal smorgasbord we put together? Well done, people.

So--today was hard for me. I wanted to stop at mile 12 but forced myself into being present, thinking of each interval as a mini-accomplishment. It was no longer, "What the f--- four more miles?" but, "Thank God we'll be walking in 1:29...". The energy of being a training group carried me farther than I ever would have gone alone.

Thankful for the downhills, the conversations, the pretzels and pickles. For Lena's effortless looking gate and perky ponytail which made me smile and keep running. For Tino's good sense to listen to his body. For Amy's kind ear, Allison & Veronica's leadership and organizational skills. For Santosh's donation of a PowerBar. For Jonathan's water stop. For all the money we've raised. And awareness. And hope we've created.

And thanks, Switzer As, for slowing down a bit for me at the end. And thank you, Craig's unreasonable ego, for letting me take the extra walk intervals I needed. I've come to the very real conclusion that the ego is an asshole. Sorry about the language. I was starting to beat myself up. Why? Because I walked a few more minutes than planned? But this event is not about me. I will strive to adhere to one of my favorites of the Four Agreements of Don Miguel Ruiz, Always Do Your Best. How can you be disappointed if you've done your best?

I will leave you with two things. First, a movie we should see. We'll relate.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MufrX254PQc

And second, I listened, truly listened to a song I had been aware of your a couple of years but never really paid attention to. With my day being a mixture of accomplishment, fatigue, frustration and expectation, the lyrics really resonated. I will be present, releasing the expectation of outcome and watch the story unfold, grateful, fascinated.

Listening to this again, I admit I cried.

"I am unwritten, can't read my mind, I'm undefined
I'm just beginning, the pen's in my hand, ending unplanned

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, oh, oh

I break tradition, sometimes my tries, are outside the lines
We've been conditioned to not make mistakes, but I can't live that way

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten

Staring at the blank page before you
Open up the dirty window
Let the sun illuminate the words that you could not find

Reaching for something in the distance
So close you can almost taste it
Release your inhibitions
Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins

Feel the rain on your skin
No one else can feel it for you
Only you can let it in
No one else, no one else
Can speak the words on your lips
Drench yourself in words unspoken
Live your life with arms wide open
Today is where your book begins
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten
The rest is still unwritten

Oh, yeah, yeah"

Here is a version of Natasha Bedingfield's song being done as a duet with Esmee Denters, an 18 girl from Holland--she's amazing.



Thank you for being part of my story.

The rest is still unwritten...


Gotta run-
Craig