One foot in front of the other

 Great job, Tiff at www.tae.ca.
Tae Photography

Last week was busy, tough, tiring, sad.
Each and every day I awoke, thinking about the tragic loss of our pastor and friend, Andy Flatt. Our boys have had nightmares and I've been in tears every day. My husband has continued to lead our Team DuChene from answering difficult questions to working crazy hours to taking Seth to the park for the under-doggy swing he'd been asking for, for days. Jonathan went from reading scripture at Andy's emotional funeral, Friday to being MC at my cousin's beautiful wedding, Saturday to flying to Orlando for work, Sunday. And I managed to complete what seemed to be an impossible day, Friday - a 38.6 km run, Andy's funeral, treatment, driving to Chatham with the boys, then going to my cousin's wedding rehearsal. I am so thankful for the prayers, support and love from so many people. It really is amazing and I really feel it working. God is good, all the time. And I have no doubt that He'll continue to comfort Tina and the kids.
During times of mourning, I've often felt that getting through it is like picking up shattered pieces off the ground, one by one, slowly putting them back in place. And when talking with a friend from church, I said we must put one foot in front of the other. My husband, who served with Andy and 4 others on our leadership team, then added, "We may limp, but we'll get there". So very true.
Again, it's difficult to move onto other things but I will continue to do what I think I am here for. My purpose. Running has been such a relief during these tough times. I logged 150 km  with two solid workouts last week but backed off a bit on the cross-training. I am so grateful for Jonathan's amazing parents with whom I stayed while he was away for the weekend. Simply being able to eat breakfast while sitting and getting some help with my laundry from them made for a restful weekend. You can see why Jonathan is the amazing man that he is.
This week will be even less as I complete a much-needed, proper taper for Ottawa. Although the physical outlet has been great, I've been drained emotionally.
Like my cousin's beautiful wedding, I am looking forward to another uplifting weekend. Saturday evening will include a 10 km race at the Ottawa Race Weekend. The field is so speedy that I was left off the elite list. It's so great to have such high-calibre competition. After the race I hope to get in a few more km's to make it my long run for the week because there won't be time Sunday morning since I'm commentating the marathon with Mark Sutcliffe (Rogers)! Last Wednesday I did a sport nutrition/marathon mom presentation for the Port Dover Northshore group and really enjoyed it. The article will soon be found here. So again, I look forward to speaking about my experience as a marathoner. I just got the media sheets for the elite start lists and really need to start practising correct pronunciation of the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners. Yikes!
Although this year will be more of a business trip with me racing and commentating, and the rest of the family at home due to their activities, the Ottawa Race Weekend remains one of my favourites.
Hope you enjoyed the pictures above. Tiff, Tae Photography at www.tae.ca has done some amazing work. My 7 yr old and I were able see her "Now and Then" series a few months ago. Amazing work.