Blooming with Inspiration

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I get so many e-mails from women around the world stating that I provide inspiration for them. While that makes me so very happy, I am also very happy to report how YOU provide inspiration to me! I haven't been able to write a new post to my blog because I have been so busy being inspired by so many women these last four weeks and I would love to tell you about my adventures these last several weeks.

My adventure actually begins with a wonderful phone call from Sanya Pallos, owner of In the Pink, who happened to be in St. Louis and wanted to meet me and just say "hi." We "knew" each other via blogs and cyber space and how wonderful to meet Sanya in person! We agreed to meet at a local antique store, here in St. Louis. We found each other in the store, Sanya's hands filled with found goodies and we hugged and chatted non-stop. Just like a true antiquer, chatting and spying a great find just go hand in hand. Sanya inspired me in so many ways. She also reassured me that my taking my time with my online store was "very smart" as she is very experienced with that venue and she validated my concerns and challenges with designing my online store. So while my online store is taking much longer than anticipated, Sanya inspired me to continue with my path and she offered to help me over some of the online challenges. How wonderful is that?


I so enjoyed my visit with Sanya, but it was a quick visit as I was leaving for Houston, Texas the very next day to meet with Debi Mattingly of Yaya Chique. Debi is not a Texan; she is quick to inform you that she is from Louisiana and very much a Yaya. To find out what a Yaya is, visit her site. Debi found me via the blog world but mainly through Sharon Derry of Secret Leaves Paperworks. I will get to Sharon in a minute. Back to Debi. Debi is an artist. She designs purses and jewlery and is now entering the retail world. She hired me and flew me down to Houston for a week to consult with her on opening a retail store. Debi is a talented artist of 30 years but new to owning and running a retail store.

When she called me she said she needed a little help in getting her store designed and started. "It is such a huge canvas and I don't know where to start!" said Debi. My mind just whirled through years of experience as I provided her with all that I knew, tips to save time and money, and what to expect and when. It was like going down memory lane - I had forgotten how overwhelmed I was when I first started my store.


I assured Debi that she really had taken all the right steps and she was doing fine.
Debi calls me regularly and tells me in her Louisiana accent, "Elizabeth! Everything you said that would happen is happening! Everything you said that I would hear or experience is coming true!" But honestly, what an honor to be chosen to be there with Debi during her very first beginnings, to witness her store sign going up, and help build her very display in the store. I also got to meet her lovely family and very supportive husband Greg. Debi has a lot of experience in manufacturing, which inspired me to keep working on some of my own personal goals and dreams - no matter how overwhelming they may seem.




My week in Houston was very busy and I was hoarse from all the talking I did (I know, hard to believe, isn't it?) But not only was I talking to people in person, I was also talking via Internet through an interview that Secret Leaves published on their blog. They ask me some very good business questions and generously included some of my detailed photography. Sharon and Anne, owners of this wonderfully designed blog that details their adventures as business owners in the creative paper world. If you ever want a special journal, note card, or custom designed album, you will surely miss out on the best if don't visit their site.






As most of you know, Sharon was my employee for over three years and she helped me and my business grow. She, now being a business owner herself, tells me quite often, "Elizabeth, now that I own my own business, all the things you did as a business owner that I thought were crazy are all making sense now!" And in return, I regularly thank Sharon for all the marketing and press kit knowledge she passed on to me. I find myself calling her or emailing her and telling her, "I am doing a very Sharon thing right now...." And she knows exactly what I mean. I am being super picky about every single letter, font size, spacing, and any little tiny spec that may print on my sheet of paper for a press kit. She drove me crazy when she worked for me and did all that nit-picky stuff and here I am doing exactly the same thing! She inspires me beyond words and I am happy to know that she no longer thinks I am quite as nutty as she once thought.

And the reason I was doing "the Sharon thing" and being so nit-picky about printing information is because I recently returned from Chicago as an attendee and to pitch my product to Country Living Magazine Women's Entrepreneurs Conference. My future mother-in-law, Diane Benitz, signed us up to attend as a Christmas present to me and then she informed me that she signed me up to pitch my product to the editors! I had to complete an entire package and send in lots of information (thank you Sharon for teaching me to be picky) and then wait to see if I would be chosen to present. Diane kept calling me and asking me if I got picked or informed yet, and to be honest, I never gave it any thought at all until she called and asked about it. I was just certain that my package wouldn't be chosen, and I had so much work to do, I just didn't think about it much. The day that I received my acceptance, I called Diane and was in shock. She, states, she never doubted that I would be picked. It is nice to have a cheerleader. Very nice.


Oh, I just noticed that I didn't mention the product I pitched. I pitched my custom baby bedding line, little Bit. Elizabeth House baby. The baby crib sets are now available nation-wide. Each set is made-to-order and custom designed just for your little one. If interested in the details, email me at http://www.elizabethhouse.us/ and please send me your mailing address and I will mail out a brochure to you. The website for this service is being created as I type.


But back to the conference:

I had only three minutes to present and I believe 75 women were chosen nation-wide to present. My presentation was nice and Cathy Penton, an accomplished artist from Australia, designed a special baby charm that I tied on my bedding as a good luck charm. Only 10 women presenters will be chosen and we are to find out sometime in June if selected. Whether or not I am selected doesn't matter. I met so many wonderfully, creative women and I have my friend and future-mother-in-law, Diane, who continues to inspire me and encourage me and that is an honor in itself. There were over 600 attendees and I highly recommend attending this very inspiring and informative conference next year. It will be held in Chicago next year as well. In fact, how fun would it be for a Elizabeth House get together in Chicago during this conference? If interested, please let me know and perhaps we could all meet at the hotel that the conference is being held and have a long dinner together and get to meet each other! How fun would that be? It would be a thrill and honor to meet you in person!






The conference included speakers such as the editor of the magazine, Nancy Soriano, Anna Griffin (stationary extraordinaire), Susan Mernit, Blogger and Yahoo Product Developer, designer, Heather Baily, Beth Ferreira from Etsy, Inc, Ann Fox and Donna King, owners of Room Service Home, a boutique catalog and the top 10 women entrepreneurs of Country Living Magazine, 2008. The talks were inspiring and the women I met were all so very creative as well.

During a break, I had three young women come up to me and asked me, "Are you Elizabeth?" I squinted at them, wondering if they were store customers of mine (I have a terrible, terrible memory for names and faces) and when I told them "yes, I am Elizabeth." They squealed with delight and asked to if they could hug me and told me that they knew me from my blog and from Debbie Dusenberry's blog, Curious Sofa. They were so excited and giddy about meeting me, that I found myself a little taken back at first, but it wasn't long before I got excited and giddy about them being excited and giddy!






These three women, Christine Laird, Estella Smith, and Teresa Wright, were so very inspirational to me and I am so very grateful that they took a moment of their time to visit with me. What is so truly amazing is that while they gave me compliment after compliment, it was me who was admiring them. They weren't sure what type of business they wanted to open yet, and they were attending this conference for inspiration and information....how very smart of them. I told them that they are way ahead of the game and are way smarter than I was when I first began. I hope they keep me informed on their adventures. They have such wonderful things waiting for them and I am so very proud of their courage.






I realize that is this is a long post and I have so much more to share with you! My next posting will be the notes I took during the conference and information and inspiration to take away with you. In the meantime, I just wanted to leave you with my final thoughts about what I just wrote.





Do you realize I mentioned over 15 creative, smart, inspirational women in this single post? And those who had a blog or website, I listed them for you. These women are hard working and like you, have dreams and goals. They are all at different stages in their businesses and no matter how little or how much experience one may have, there is one thing that we women business owners constantly need from each other: encouragement. We can go to the bank for money, read magazine and blogs for inspiration, and visit the gym for a much needed stress reliever (or maybe the day spa is better). But encouragement is something that we can only get from those who sincerely want to give it and we can only receive this gift from those we truly respect and admire. That is a tall order when you think about it.

At the conference, a panel member said, "Don't ever have coffee twice with a man or a woman who drains your spirit." That is so true! I was speaking with one of the three women who recognized me in the lobby and I was telling her about how we business owners and dreamers are like gardeners and she made me promise her to share what I told her on my blog, so I will and then I will close.

As creative business owners or business owners-wanna-be's, we must be careful to surround ourselves with supportive and encouraging people and that isn't as easy as it sounds. I bet you know someone (or several people) who are "supportive" but never really give you the feeling that you can really do it - that you are only dreaming. Oh, these supportive people love to hear about your dream, and they think it is great that you are dreaming, but they just don't really get it, get you, get you going, or get your vision. But they love to hear about it. And you sort of feel a little frustrated or drained after spending time with them because in your heart, you know they really do mean well, but they just don't get it!

These people are what I call "flower pickers." And we business owners and dreamers are what I call "gardeners." A good Gardener knows that it takes many seasons to have a lush garden. It doesn't happen over night, or even in one season. It takes weeding, tending, feeding and it must weather all sorts of storms. But, in the end, after getting our hands dirty, and with bruised knees after many seasons of kneeling in our garden and pulling weeds and planting new plantings, and if the weather cooperates, we have a garden full of beautiful flowers. The "flower pickers" walk by our garden, season after season as we tend to it. They offer advice and compliments and even admire our hard work - all the while standing on the side with their hands in their pockets as we work tirelessly with our patch of dirt. They even tell us how they wish they had a green thumb, but never could grow a thing in that "bad soil" that we are digging in.

But then one day, many seasons later, when all the flowers are in full bloom, these "flower pickers" walk by, and seeing the beauty of the garden in full bloom, reach down and pick a flower out of our garden. They don't even ask, they just pick it, enjoy the scent and beauty of it and continue to walk on. And if we allow enough people to just walk into our garden, pick a flower and walk out again, soon, our garden will become barren. As the gardener of our own garden, it is up to us to decide which of our flowers will be picked, and when we pick them, and with whom we wish to share them.

And that is something I have had a hard time learning over the years, and I am still learning. I sometimes, too willingly, allow flower pickers to just pick my flowers. They mean well, they enjoy my garden (once grown), but not once did they ever really encourage me, or help me to water my patch of dirt, or even bother to warn me about bad weather that is coming along. Yes, they were happy for me and my dreams, but they never truly believed that my garden would ever bloom. But other gardeners out there, toiling away, helped me, encouraged me, inspired me, offered some new fertilizer when my plants wilted, and they even called me or emailed me about some new website that may help me and my garden. These people, these gardeners, believed in me and never doubted that someday I would bloom.

And when the season finally comes and I finally bloom, it is these fellow gardeners that will stand proudly next to me and my garden and admire the beauty of it all and then turn to me and say to me, "It's perfect. Only you could have grown such a wonderful garden." And it is then that I will reach down, pick a beautiful flower and hand it to my fellow gardener who knows how much work, patience, tears, worries, tending, weeding, feeding, and dreaming went into this one beautiful bloom.




We women need each other in order to bloom. The more we help each other out, support each other, market each other, encourage each other, the more blooms we will have next season and the next and the next... And there are no two blooms exactly alike...we can't be afraid that our garden isn't as wonderful as the next. I have never seen a flower garden, in full bloom, that didn't take my breath away. Have you?

Until you are in full bloom, know that I will always be here to sprinkle a little water of encouragement. And when you are in full bloom, I will be next to you, extremely proud of your beautiful blooms...and catching my breath from its beauty.


(Future Blossom - my niece, Mackenzi)


May you bloom with possibilities season after season.

From my house to your house,
Elizabeth

Running is Good for the Heart!

Hello! Have you ever really thought about the way we use the word "running" or "run" in our everyday language? We run to the store to get some milk. We run into a friend we haven't seen in a while. We run out of time. We run ourselves ragged. We run up our electric bill while we run out of patience. We run out of excuses, we will run for our lives, and we never stop running our mouths. An idea can run amuck as we run around with our heads cut off. Sometimes we seem to just run in circles when all we really want to do is run away from it all. We will run an ad in the paper to get rid of all the stuff that seems to be running our lives. And while a politician will run in a campaign, we will run in the opposite direction to avoid talking about it socially. Before a big purchase, we will run the numbers to see if we can afford it. And if we can't, then we will usually just run our credit card and get it anyway. We run here and run there and eventually, we run out of gas. We run our kids around to soccer practice or ballet and while they play we run and do our errands. And when we rest, we watch "reruns" on TV to relax. While at work we run the rat race and tend to run away with an interesting project if we are given the proverbial ball and are told to "run with it." So with all this running around we do, it is not surprising that it was on one of my Sunday morning runs in the park that I run into a man who will become my husband someday. Little did I realize how running is truly good for the heart! :-)

Yes, I am going to tell you a little tale...the tale of the

Barber of St. Louis and the Designer.

Many months ago, on a beautiful Sunday morning, I decided to take a run in the park, as I usually do every Sunday. As I headed for Forest Park, a beautiful park located in St. Louis, I realized that I forgot my baseball cap (to cover my unwashed, messy hair) and my sunglasses (to hide my mascara-free, liner-free blurry eyes). I have never, ever ran in the park without my cap and sunglasses, but on this particular day, I forgot them both. I ran a short trail and I thought about all that took place in my life the prior two years. You see, exactly two years earlier, on this very day, my ex walked out of our home and left me and our marriage of almost 22 years. And two years ago on the day he left me, I went to Forest Park and found "my tree" and I called my sister and cried and cried and was so fearful for the future. I stayed at "my tree" for over nine hours, fell asleep under it out of sheer exhaustion and was convinced in many ways, that my life would never be the same, ever again.

And it wasn't - Thank God.

Fast forward two years and there I was, running, thinking, and thinking and running. So much had happened in such a short time. I ran two marathons, performed in a play, became contributing editor to Romantic Homes magazine, getting ready to close my store and move on to explore other opportunities, traveled to NYC, Texas, Ohio, Florida, and other places. I began my professional photography, had a new nephew, got a small tattoo (yes, really!)and did a mini triathlon. I thought of all these things as I ran through the park and how far I had come and how much my life had changed in a short amount of time.

I came upon a bench and stopped to stretch my hip, as it was a little sore. I had the volume of my ipod up loudly and I bent over to stretch out my hamstrings...then when I popped up again, I was startled because out of no where, and I mean no where, a man was at the end of my bench, stretching as well. I turned down my volume in case he asked me a question (it is common for someone to ask the location of the zoo, the art museum and so on). And it wasn't long before this man simply smiled and said,

"It feels good to stretch, doesn't it?"

I replied, "Yes, it sure does."

It was my friend, Evelyn, who, upon hearing this story, told me how profound that statement was: "It feels good to stretch, doesn't it?" Because my life has stretched so much; I stretched myself in many ways, experienced many things, and not by the stretch of my imagination did I ever think I would meet such a wonderful man at a city park bench.

His name is Randy and he was training for the Chicago marathon. I told him that I ran that race the prior year. He asked if he could jog with me and off we went on what was the first of many runs together. He told me he liked my hair (to my horror, it was not washed) and that he always liked short, choppy styles. As we jogged, I asked him what he did for a living, and he said he was a barber. I jogged, and looked up at his shaved head and pointed at it and said, "now that's not good advertising, now is it??" We laughed and little did we know that we would be teasing each other many, many more times.

Randy gave me his email and asked me to email him should I want a running partner. It was several days later I emailed him asking if we could meet for coffee. A week later we met for coffee, which turned into a pizza dinner, which turned into a movie. And we haven't stopped talking since. The second time we met was for ice-cream, a drive about town, a quick game of pool, and more coffee. The third time we met was to have a picnic in Forest Park and watch the annual Shakespeare Festival performance at the outdoor venue. However, a very heavy and sudden rainstorm had us scrambling for cover, soaking wet, laughing, and gathering our picnic basket, running to his car and headed to his home. There, he was a perfect gentleman, got me a pair of warm pajamas and we salvaged our picnic food and ate in his little University City home and watched movies. That was three weeks after knowing each other. Yes, it was like a hokey Lifetime movie, but it was real fun, real simple, and real friendship.

Much later, Randy told me he fell in love with me that evening at Shakespeare in the Park. He said that the rain was pouring down, and as we held the blanket over our heads, and as I stood there laughing and blinking water out of my eyes, he fell in love with me at that moment because I laughed at the situation instead of griping about it. I fell in love with him when he gave me dry pajamas and left the room to give me privacy and he had our picnic dinner all served on a plate when I went into his kitchen.

Okay, so you have the story of our meeting and falling in love. Let me tell you a little about this man, if you don't mind. He is a licensed cosmetologists who just happens to now cut and color my hair. He is also the new owner of the Big Bend Barber Shop and now owns his own business. He is a brown belt in karate, plays guitar, has a bass boat and loves to fish, and makes the best bar-b-Que ribs you have ever tasted! He is a romantic at heart but loves to tease. He loves to make fun of "my quirks" as he likes to say. But he takes me to the opera, even though he is not a fan. His love for God is comforting and his sincerity in doing the right thing is humbling. Basically, he is a good man. A very good man.

And the most romantic thing he has done? Six months after I met him, he asked me one day to go for a run with him, which I did and we stopped at "our bench" to stretch. It was at "our bench" he asked me to marry him and he gave me the most beautiful sapphire and diamond platinum ring in an Art Deco design. I was floored. I was even more floored when he told me that he bought the ring only after knowing me four weeks. He said he knew in his heart that we would be together forever, but he wanted to wait at least six months before he asked me. Randy has never married (and no children) and as he likes to tell me: "I waited a long, long time for you." A couple of days after he asked me to marry him, he whisked me off to Marco Island, FL to celebrate. There we walked on the beach, rested, talked, ate out, and spoke of our future together.

Over the holidays I got to meet some of his family members, and I flew him to Texas to meet mine. His family is very loving and his mother is the most generous woman I have ever met. The love she showers me with is overwhelming at times and I appreciate all that she does for me. I am very blessed to be a part of such a loving family who cares so deeply for me and I for them. My family took to Randy right away and one would think we all have been together for years. What a joy!

As most of you know, it was only last month that I endured a horrible car accident with a drunk driver and unfortunately, Randy heard the whole ordeal over his cell phone. You can read about this ordeal in my posting, "Hugged by an Angel." That wreck took a lot out of me and so many emotions went through me over time. To give you an idea of what kind of man I am in love with please let me share one more thing with you and I will then close.

It was a while before I went back to work after the car accident and I was working in my workshop, about to start a paint project. I started to look for my paint apron and realized that I had lost it in the wreck. It was in the car at the time and I forgot about it until that moment. Right then Randy called me and I started to cry and told him that amongst a lot of other items lost in the wreck was also my beloved apron (shown at left). I had that apron, covered in paint, for over 6 years. It was like a photo or an imprint of my work over the years. It saw me through some hard times and I never painted without it. I cried and cried. I was so angry and got mad about everything. He just listened patiently and told me that I am allowed to have anger over the wreck and while I am so grateful to be alive, and I know it is just a dumb apron, it is just one more reminder of what happened to me and another yet another loss.

Of course, I realize the outburst over the apron wasn't about the apron at all, but an emotional release of the fear, trauma, the near death I had only weeks prior and not finding my paint apron was just the trigger I needed to vent it all out. After I cried some more and Randy just listened, I told him I needed to get to work and assured him that I was fine and then I hung up the phone. About an hour later, Randy shows up and hands me a bag. In it...was a new paint apron. He said, "I know it isn't like your old one, but you will have paint on it before you know it." Well, you can imagine the tears that welled up again as he tied it on me and adjusted the straps for me in the back. He said he hoped I liked it and I told him that it was the best apron in the world. I know he thinks he "just gave me an apron" but he gave me so much more. What came with the gift of an apron, also came security, came love, came compassion, came no judging, came a sense of truly being accepted for who I am. I am happy to say that my new apron is now covered in paint and yes, I wear every time I paint and every time I put it on, I think of the wonderful man who gave it to me.

Thank you for allowing me to share my life with you. It is an honor to have so many who take an interest. My next post will be some "after photos" of a design project that I showed you "before" photos many months ago...so stay tuned. In the mean time, if you are lucky enough to have someone special in your life, maybe take a moment tonight and just simply tell them how much they mean to you. Not only will you fill his or her heart, but your heart will beat a little stronger too just for telling them how you feel.

From my house to your house,

Elizabeth

Elizabeth House Still in Business!

I don't know how to speak in sign language, but I do know how to do a "thumbs up" and that is what I am doing now. I went to court in regards to my signage issue with the city.

Briefly I will remind you of the events that led to a court hearing. My portable sign was in the middle of the sidewalk, I was cited, and I moved my sign back to my front door area where it has been for over three years. The city inspector, who has plenty of free time to watch my store and write me up, decided to write me up again for my sign being next to my door! Thus a court date.

I simply went in, waited for my turn to go in front of the bench and when my turn came, I asked the judge if I could explain this set of circumstances. He allowed me and I simply explained what I just told you and I added, "You know, if the city would have just called me and told that even though they have let me have a sign next to my front door for three years now, and now I would have to stop, I would have complied. A simple phone call would have saved us a lot of time."

The judge agreed that a phone call would have been a good route for the city to take, and he asked to see the sign, and I brought in a photo of my store front with the sign by the front door area and at the same time, the city employee who was there for the inspector who wasn't there, pulled out a large photo of my store that the city inspector had taken. Our photos were almost exact, which proved that I was telling the truth.

The judge was reasonable enough to see that this was a waste of time and he understood that I thought I was complying. The fine? $24.50. The best part of the night?? When I went to pay the fine, I was informed that our city inspector will no longer be working for Maplewood! I actually wrote my check with a smile. He is off to torture another city in the area and give another load of business owners headaches. I didn't even care why he was leaving. Just as long he is leaving.

Bottom line, I stated my case, the fine was small, the judge was reasonable, and I hope I can work with the city about allowing me to have a sign so that customers can find my store. We will see. I much, much prefer to handle matters with reasonable people. Hopefully I can find one in city hall now that the city inspector is gone. I topped off the evening with my very good friend, Sherrie, and a bottle of wine and a half of a bottle of champaign, some cheese, peanut brittle, and cake. We stayed up snacking and talking until 12 AM.

And I had a brand new nephew, Broderick born today at 8:07 AM (Austin, Texas). Mom and baby are fine. My brother is beaming. And I am a very happy Aunt.

Not a bad day: small fine in court, eating cake at midnight with my good friend, and a new baby to welcome into the family.

Thank you for all your emails, support, and encouragement.

From my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us

"At the 18th mile you wonder why in the hell you are doing this and at 26.2 miles it all becomes clear." That was a quote I read on the back of a woman's T-shirt that was running in front of me at the Chicago marathon this past weekend.


Yup, I did it! Well, sort of. If you have been reading my blog, you will know that I went into the race with some injuries. The four weeks prior to the race, I couldn't train due to fierce pain in my arm and my pulled hamstring in my left thigh. So I rested for four weeks in hopes that all would be well on race day.
I flew up my older sister, Louisa (yes, I had to put that she is older - that is what sisters do) from Texas to see me race. She has never attended a marathon before and boy was she in for a surprise. This marathon is great! Almost 40,000 runners, over 1.5 million spectators, and lots of entertainment along the route.
Weeks prior to the race I have been eating lots of fish and chicken and really loading up on carbs. I am not used to all those carbs, all the more reason to start weeks in advance. I was beginning to feel like this race was not meant to be. First, my pain and injuries, then a WEEK early, my "ladies day" started the day prior to the race, cramps and all. Yes, I know this falls under the TMI catagory (too much information), but when I tell a story, I don't leave out the details. Then, the weather turns awful! It started out cold, and only got colder and the wind really picked up about mid race. And the two nights prior, I slept awful with the pain in my arm. You'd think I would have sense enough to say to myself: okay, there is pain, rain, PMS, and not enough training....maybe I should pass on this race.
But, who said I had any sense?
We get up at 4:30 AM and head for the 6AM shuttle that was 20 minutes late. We got to the starting area (Grant Park) and the wind started to really kick in. I had my sister carry my bag of "goodies" for me. It was filled with clothing, knee brace, gloves, hats, sun glasses, you name it. So as race time neared, and still trying to figure out the weather, I kept digging in the bag (and driving my sister nuts) and tried to decide: hat or no hat? gloves or no gloves? jacket or no jacket (I HATE running with a jacket), got my power shots? got my sunglasses? Ipod? earphones? oops, don't forget that extra tampon, now where in the hell do I store that on myself??? Water bottle? where is my other glove? ...it went on and on because when I run 26.2 miles, I want to be as comfortable as possible and have all that I need and not a single ounce more.
I stretch and warm up and pray that I get through this. My sis is snapping photos as if I was trying out for the Olympics. She is so proud, so happy, and so friggin sleepy and cold too.
I say my good-byes and go get into the crowd. I picked a pace of 5 hours. That means that I find the area in which other people think they can finish in about 5 hours as well so that way we all are running about the same pace. I looked behind me and was happy to see that there were two more pace times slower than the one I picked. I met a wonderful British woman who flew here to race her very first race. I welcomed her to America. The National Anthem played and I saw lots of gloved hands go over jacket covered hearts - mine included. It was a really touching moment. There were people from all around the world racing - when we all gather for a common goal - it really does make this world a whole lot smaller - which is comforting.
The horn blasts and we all cheer and ......wait....we didn't all start running just yet. You see, I am so far back in the pack, that it takes almost 20 minutes for my section to even get to the starting line. We all wear electronic chips on our shoes which record our time as we cross the starting and finishing lines and some area in between as well.
Well, I had on my Ipod, and as I crossed the the starting line, I cranked it up and the very first song I put on it, just for this race, was "American Woman." It has a great beat and I love that song. I was in a sea of bobbing heads and thousands, no, millions of spectators crammed on bridges, yelling, waving, cheering as we all passed under the bridge. Spectators were everywhere, making all the runners feel like Olympians.
I was really feeling good. No pain, nothing. I kept my pace a little bit slower than I wanted to, but that was a good thing. In fact, I ran the first 13 miles really, really well. In fact, I didn't even stop to walk or rest until after the 10th mile! I usually stop and walk a minute or two every 5 miles, but I was feeling so good. I remember thinking to myself: "Oh! This is what it feels like to be a real runner!...."
While running those first 13 miles, I put myself right, smack in the middle of the crowd. I wanted to be really "in the moment." You can't even begin to imagine what it felt like to be running side by side with thousands of runners and to look ahead and at the slight incline, get a wonderful view of thousands of runners, in all colors, sizes, shapes....and all of us headed for the same goal: the finish line. I had to look behind me, and when I did, I saw thousands of runners - some with smiles, some already huffing, some looking up at the buildings, some waving to their friends...it was just amazing to be a part of that crowd. For years, I've seen the famous photos of the Chicago marathon and its runners and always wanted to do this, and now, here I am - doing it. I even found myself choking up a bit with the thought.
I can think of no better way to enjoy a city, such as Chicago, then with the views that I and 39,999 other runners had that day. The streets were closed, and we got to see all kinds of neighborhoods, houses, buildings and have the city's finest (the police) wave and cheer us on as they blocked the roads and protected us as we ran.
I am asked often what do I think about or "do" as I run for so long. Well, in this race, I enjoyed reading the backs of the T-shirts of the runners. I liked the one that was in front of me for a few miles. It said in small letters: "If you can read this, then that means I am not last." Then there was shirt that said "If you are running this race, you are not a runner - you are an athlete." Me? An athlete? Never thought of it that way, and it may be stretching the meaning of that word a bit, but I will take it anyway! Then there were the spiritual shirts, religious shirts, the shirts that listed all the marathons its owner participated in. But then there were a couple of shirts that made it hard for me to breath because I got choked up. One shirt, worn by a woman said, "This jersey was worn by my sister. I run in her honor." Then it had her sister's birth/death date on it. Another shirt, worn by a woman, said "I am the first twin. My twin can't run, so I run for us both."
Then there were the spectators with their cheers and posters. A young man held up a poster that said: "Free massages for hot chicks. Everyone else, $5." I couldn't help but wonder if I would have had to pay or not. Then there was a poster from another man that said, "Are you tired? You should be. You have been running through my mind." Yup, the cheesy line is now in print. Another poster held by a woman said, "You can do it!" But what made it funny was that as she held it high, she chanted over and over "You can do it! But I can't do it. You can do it, but I can't do it!" And she chanted this as she jumped up in down in glee over and over.
Of course what is a marathon without a runner who juggles, a man in a cow outfit with utters, a man with a lizard hat, devils, fairies, clowns, "outlaws" in cowboy hats and a group of about 30 who blew whistles (loudly) with every step. Thank God they ran faster than me and I didn't have to listen to those whistles for very long.
About mile 12, I started to feel the all-too familiar pain starting to creep from my left butt cheek, down my thigh. Damn! I slowed down a bit and then stretched. I jogged some more, stretched some more, made sure I fueled up well, and kept going. I wanted to keep running, but my leg, at mile 16, said "ain't gonna happen." So, I had to stop. I stretched and stretched and stretched. I started to jog again, for only about 10 seconds and had to stop. That was it. I was now forced to walk the last 10 miles. I was so mad at myself and really, just pissed to put it bluntly. Well, I stayed mad for about a mile. I was just yelling at myself inside my head. Angry that all my training wasted because of this darn injury - and now I can't even run.
After beating myself up for over a mile, I finally told myself that I can stay mad for the last 10 miles, or I can just accept it and enjoy the fun all around me. I decided to enjoy the fun - and I also decided to power walk those 10 miles. So, what did I think about during those last 10 miles? The last marathon I did, last March (which was the very first marathon I ever did), I did a lot of thinking about my life, its turns, and what I went through in the previous months. This marathon, I thought of others. Not myself. I thought about my sister who was cold and waiting and waiting for me. I thought about my boyfriend, who is starting a new job and wondered how he was doing and really wishing he could be here to cheer me on. I thought about my new nephew, due in December and what he was going to be like. I thought about how today is Freddy's 50th birthday and I need to call him. I thought about my friend Debbie, and her 50th birthday coming up. I thought about my boyfriend's brother-inlaw who just found out the day before the race that he has cancer. In fact, I thought about him the most and how I wanted to finish the race just for him. I thought about all of my friends back in St. Louis, and how much they mean to me. I thought about all of you and how would I describe my day to you in this blog and if you would even care to read all the mundane details. I also just simply took in the beauty of the city, its people, and just being a part of such a great race. Oh, yeah, and I did do a lot of thinking about how friggin cold I was!!
Well, I had 800 meters left, and I wasn't about to walk across the finish line...so I began to jog again - with great pain, but I didn't care. I turned down my Ipod so I could hear the crowd and the announcers. I rounded the corner and I could see the finish line banner - never in my life did I ever love a banner so much. As I made my way down those last meters, I glanced around for my sister. I didn't see her, but then I heard "Go Bitsey! Go Bitsey!!" (That was my childhood nickname) and I looked up and she was cheering as if I was from Kenya and about to break a world record. I wouldn't say I set I record.
I finished at 6:31. A little more than an hour longer than my first marathon. I wasn't too thrilled with that. But, then again, I had to remind myself that I just completed 26.2 friggin miles in cold, the wind, and with a very painful leg. Not too shabby. Besides....there's always next year!
Louisa snapped photos and I waved and grinned so happily. I got my medal, my "warming blanket" and my chip off my shoe. I met Louisa at the tall chain-link fence and the first thing out of my mouth: "Is there any food in that bag?" She handed me a giant, and I mean giant cookie that I ate in about 3 minutes and asked for more food. We got a cab and went straight for the hotel. I jumped into a hot shower, gave my sister some BenGay and asked her to rub it in my left butt (what are sisters for if you can't ask them to rub BenGay into your sore butt???), I got under the covers, to try to get the chill out of me and then grabbed the "warming blanket" and used that to help me warm up. The photo below sort of says it all. I was out.
I woke up about 7PM, we ordered Chicago style pizza, watched the Cardinals, talked to my boyfriend on the phone, and I was out again.....I was out....I was happy....I was warm....I was full of pizza.....and I was an "athlete."
Thank you for your well wishes. They mean so much to me.
from my house to your house,
Elizabeth
www.elizabethhouse.us