Living Outside The Lines: Then You Stand

Perhaps I was jealous because he sipped on Starbucks that week, ate at one of my favorite spots, and spent time with our oldest son.

By, Becky J Miller

Passion. Determination. Courage. Grace. Desire. Expression. What do these words have in common? They are all impactful words, the kind that evoke pictures of being or doing, without needing visual illustration. They are also woven into the music video for Rascal Flatts’ #1 hit, “Stand,” which of course is the inspiration for this column.

Saturday was a tough day, you know, one of those days when nothing particularly bad has happened, there’s been no specific trigger, but you’re just sad. My husband was out of town all week, scheduled to return late that afternoon.

We’d exchanged texts early in the morning and my final one to him had been a nuclear explosion of all the things I miss about our former hometown. Perhaps I was jealous because he sipped on Starbucks that week, ate at one of my favorite spots, and spent time with our oldest son.

For the past three weeks running has taken a back seat to life; hampered by trips out of town, high temperatures, and sleeping through morning alarms. I’d managed to complete several 3-mile runs on sporadic days, but nothing close to what I should run.

Unsurprisingly my training plan does not allow for running slumps. Saturday’s schedule indicated I was to run 15 miles. Knowing there was little chance of successfully completing that mission, I set out anyway, determined to try.

Long runs on Saturdays normally take place on back roads, giving me a break from the daily grind of the track. Unfortunately, in our new town, a distance run of 15 miles has yet to be mapped out. The loop from our hotel, past the college, Chili’s, Wal-Mart and back to the hotel is only 4 miles, leaving me 11 miles short. In order to get anywhere close to 15 miles, I was forced to run 6 laps around the mile and a half track at the college. #gross

It did not take long for me to realize my mission was doomed; I just did not have the wherewithal to run 15 miles that day. As I silently lamented my failure, Rascal Flatts’ “Stand” made its perfectly timed appearance in the musical line up on my iPod.

The first verse begins, “You feel like a candle in a hurricane, just like a picture with a broken frame, alone and helpless like you’ve lost your fight, but you’ll be alright, you’ll be alright.” The next part is my favorite, ”Cause when push comes to shove, you taste what you’re made of, you might bend ‘til you break ‘cause it’s all you can take, on your knees you look up, decide you’ve had enough, you get mad, you get strong, wipe your hands, shake it off, then you stand.”

So how do all those pretty words, passion, determination, courage, grace, desire and expression relate to my experience? Well, I have a passion for running. I am determined to run another full marathon; I’m registered for the South Padre Island Marathon in November. I had the courage to hit the track despite knowing I might fail. Grace allows me to try again another day. My desire to succeed ensures that I will get mad at myself for failing.  However, I will be strong and overcome my failure. I will shake off the bad experience and yet again, I will stand.

As for the expression part, that’s what writing is all about. I get to share my experience and hope my failure coupled with my determination to not quit will inspire you to stand too, because, “every time you get up and get back in the race, one more small piece of you starts to fall into place.”

Thanks Rascal Flatts for reminding us to stand!

Until Next Time,

Becky J Miller ~ Warrior Princess

Becky J Miller is a contributor and is exclusive to SM Corridor News. You can read more of Becky’s columns in Lifestyle.