Friday, October 30, 2009

Why give up?

After completing my very first tri a couple of weeks ago it reminds me how fortunate I am to be healthy and active. Last night I had the opportunity to attend a seminar at Luke's Locker with Team Strive. Chris and Denise Arthey spoke to us and told us their story from last year when they were hit by a drunk driver while on their motorcycles on their way to Corpus Christi Texas. Both very active and athletic, Chris a sub 3-3:15 marathoner both now have prosthetic left legs. It was very touching to hear how they first of all survived this horrific crash (a head on collision with a combined speed of 135 miles an hour)and how they deal with everyday life. It has been a year of pain and multiple surgeries for the both of them, but they live each day in the moment. It made me realize that some days all I want to do is sit on the couch.. and that's ok, but why give up? Training is not always easy, there are aches and pains, there will be cold, rain and heat, you will get sick and run down. There are days that you will have to rest and you need to listen to your body. So I will ask myself is it really painful, am I sick or do I want to just skip my workout? Listen to your body, but don't ever give up. Chris will be receiving his running leg in a few weeks. We see Chris and Denise at Starbucks every few weeks on our Saturday morning runs, I hope one day he will be running with us.

Hope to see you on the roads soon!

5 comments:

Diana said...

YUP! Like I always like to say...
if we all threw our problems into a pile, we'd definitely would reach in and grab our own back!
What a great story!

Richard said...

Wow, an amazing story.

K said...

It always helps to gain a different perspective. Glad you aren't giving up!

Christina said...

Great story. We do need to be thankful for what we have at all times. Thanks for sharing.

Mel-2nd Chances said...

great post and thanks for sharing! I was totally inspired at my first tri (i'm inspired by so many people... this one stuck out). He came out of the swim, in a wet suit, one leg had been amputated, using crutches. My jaw nearly dropped.