Lacy's: Give it a TRI

Nearly a year ago my Dad got me a subscription to Runner's World Magazine. He gave it to me knowing I would eventually love it, even if the feeble one mile runner me didn't see the great value at the time. Over 1,000 ( yes,1000) miles later the loud monthly "thump" of the subscription landing on our living room floor sends excitement down my spine and I eagerly steal the first moments I can, to crack it open and see what new pearls lie inside.

From yummy new recipes, best shoes for my feet, training guides for a new challenge, in depth stories about crazy races in Africa, personal triumphs, all the way to etiquette questions answered by "pros." The magazine was more than a welcomed treat it was a manual of sorts for this new lifestyle.

Last month the mailman was faithful to squeeze it through the slot and send me running, just like many months before. And just like before I snagged it up and read away. However, this month a very short story, one page in fact, caught me off guard and I haven't been able to shake it since.

Kristin Armstrong often writes a nice personal story about every other month. They include things about her friends and their running adventures or even her first Boston Marathon experience. Perhaps her most popular read was when she interviewed her ex husband and friend, Lance Armstrong, after he finished last years New York Marathon.

Always enjoying her small tales I read away only to be rocked by her words and stirred by her perspective.

She's the mother of two little twin girls and a a son. While getting her daughter ready one morning , the five year old remarked how her sweater made her look fat. Armstrong delved into the tragedy that a five year old knew the "F" word. She wrestled through her struggles with raising her girls to be strong and her son to recognize true beauty. She refers to her running as a way for one to get more comfortable in their own skin, to grow strong and courageous, to overcome the ridiculous pressures of growing up in this "perfect" world, and how she hopes her children can learn those traits from watching her run.

It's a great article and feel free to read the entire thing at this link.

http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-369-374--11979-0,00.html

There was one line that I couldn't get out of my head. It was as if the Lord was parenting me when I read it and it could have been my name.

"Grace and Bella, will you have any idea how lovely you are when you try?"

Oh, Lord, thank you for loving us. Thank you for loving that sometimes we "just try." Yeah, maybe we can't walk on water, but what a joy we are when we go ahead and get out of the boat.

Personally, I feel a daily defeat from the overpowering weight to be "perfect." Perfect teeth, perfect hair, perfect weight, perfect response, perfect friend, perfect daughter, perfect mother, perfect wife, sister, neighbor, runner, biker, church member, house cleaner, driver, bill payer, house owner, shopper, chef, leader, follower,.......... perfect Lacy.

I read these words and knew the Lord never called me to be perfect, he just wanted me to know how lovely I am when I just get up in the morning and try. Not try to be perfect, but just try.

I have tried to implement this sweet sentiment into my daily life and use it as motivation to keep pushing when it gets so hard at times.

This phrase played through my mind more times than I can count, today especially.

Today was a day of trying, or TRI-ing, if you will.

After much fret and over analyzing, I got the nerve to sign up for a triathlon. Yes I can run, but swimming and biking are a whole other story. And then there's the added bonus of attempting these feats in front of people. And not just people, but people who are good at the previous stated events.

But I tried and how lovely it was.

Kenton tried, Michael tried, and my Dad tried as well.

2007 Mud Water Triathlon and Duathlon