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Let your children see you accomplish hard things in life
By Brandon Cole
A friend of mine suggested I should run a half-marathon trail race. Garrett Craig is an impressive runner. He was going to do the 50K Tecumseh Trail Challenge. I hadn’t run a race in probably seven years.
I have run a 50K ultra trail run once, a couple marathons, more than a few half marathons, and even some 5K races. That sounds good, but to be honest, at 43, three months ago, I could not run a mile without walking.
I mulled it over in my head. I wanted to get back in shape. The Tecumseh Trail Challenge was October 17, in Yellowood State Forest, in Nashville, Ind., at the 24th Annual Trail Running Festival, which was full of incredible runners. “It’s a pretty hard one to run,” said Craig.
I pushed myself through a 4-mile run/walk a few months ago. I told Craig, I was in, that I would run the half marathon.
I had never been to Brown County and always wanted to make it one day. I had tried to rent a cabin out there years ago on mine and Tammy Cole’s anniversary. I found out then, just how sought out this location actually was for many people that just wanted to get away and look at some beautiful scenery.
Ohio State and IU were playing football in Bloomington just a few miles down the road. Lodging was booked up all over the place. I wanted to take the kids and make a weekend of it, so the wife would enjoy it, the children would have fun, and I would get the opportunity to run in the famous Brown County.
I continued my training amongst the life of being a daddy, husband, and full time registered nurse. This just meant that I had to train at odd hours. I did run a relatively flat 13.1 miles (with no walking) a week before the race. I ended up straining/spraining my right ankle, but was able to get it right before the race. I spent time training on Hedges Hill and all around Mount Vernon. My dog went on several run/walks with me at night.
We did get a hotel booked a little ways from the from race, but not too bad. Tammy found out about the Covered Bridge Festival and that became our day one of the trip. We went to two different locations and made a day of walking around Parke County. It was really nice, as the leaves were starting to turn. The people were friendly and it was neat walking through the old bridges.
We finished up at the last bridge festival and put in the maps location to our hotel. It was two hours away. We had no idea how far away the hotel and race packet pickup was from our day one festivities. Oh well, you live and you learn.
The temperature dropped to the 30s for the race. I dressed a little warm for the race. The race started and most people take off a bit too fast to maintain their intended pace. I was no different, but the adrenaline gets to flowing, before you realize, “Oh yeah, I have to slow down and hit a manageable pace.”
The hills, narrow trails, tree roots, water to jump over, and did I mention the hills in Brown County were plentiful. The hills were intense. This was the hardest Half Marathon I had ever run. Towards the last three miles, my calves had begun to get tight when I tried to run up hill. I noticed people were stepping away from the race trails to stretch, others were trying to decide if they were going to be able to finish. Still others were ripping through the trails.
I decided to turn off the music in my head phones and listen to the Good Word on my phone speaker. I thought about my leg muscles burning, but I needed hope and motivation. Hill after hill, I made it closer to the finish line. GOD got me through that race.
The look on my childrens’ faces was worth it. My wife was excited, and so was our group of friends. There is much encouraging and celebrating in the running community.
I got to celebrate my friend finishing his 50K. My kiddos and Craig’s children are all friends. They played in a field most of the day with the other racing families as they waited for their runner to cross the finish line.
For me, it was about doing something difficult, finishing, and proving to myself I still have a little something left in the tank. I lost some weight through my training, and gained some confidence. My children got to see their “daddy man” push through something really hard. I hope one day they look back it and think, if daddy can do that at 43, I can do hard things. With faith in Jesus, hard work, and a strong mind I believe all my children will do great things.
We got to celebrate with the Craig’s after the race, with a camp fire, good food, and great conversation. The kids ran and played.
Every race has its own story to tell. I use to run to get in shape for sports, usually wrestling. Somewhere along the line it became a difficult but enjoyable challenge. Thanks for asking me to run, Garrett.
As always, I couldn’t have done it without GOD. I strongly believe when my physical body is near exhaustion, He carries me.
To all the dad’s out there. Keep doing difficult things. Let your children watch you and take part. Let them dream big and know they are capable of doing great things. Give GOD, the glory, and don’t forget to smile.
