Randy Smith
From time to time, I have used portions of Facebook posts from my children as part of my blog. Both my son Davey and my daughter Christi are talented writers, probably much more so than their dad. Christi posted a blog on Facebook last week about her running in a huge marathon this Sunday in Knoxville. It's a marathon that if she finishes, the last leg will take her through the tunnel at Neyland Stadium, where her name will be announced and video of her shown on the huge video screen. Sort of like, running through the "T" if you will.
I decided to use that Facebook post today. I hope you get as much out of it as I did!
Three years ago, I watched Chris complete his first half-marathon. I was pregnant with DellaMae and munched on a chicken biscuit and donuts while I thought how unbelievably proud I was of him, but knew that was something I had ZERO interest in ever doing. By the time he did his second one, I had a beautiful eight month old baby girls and was inspired to start running again. I trained for a 5K and felt like I had conquered the world.
Fast forward another year and I found myself in another pregnancy with severe nausea, extreme swelling, early contractions and preeclampsia. I got very out of shape, gained over 65 pounds, and saw numbers I never thought I would ever see. I did my first postpartum workout one week after CoraLee was born and felt great. Then, reality set in. Chris' work schedule became unbelievable......70 hours per week. I was exhausted from having two small children to tend to all day long and I found myself skipping workouts, having to do housework during naps instead of workouts and before I knew it was in terrible shape again. Chris asked me one day if I would be interested in running the Knoxville half-marathon with him. I laughed. Might have even said some impolite phrases and explained to him I could barely run a mile and I had less than two months to prepare. He kept asking.....never pressuring.......showing me some plans and a time frame and kept telling me I absolutely could. I had a million excuses not to do this. I had just had a baby....I was worn out from having a new baby and a husband that was gone 70 hours a week..... I hate running. I've had surgery for my crappy knee and surgery for a torn achilles from the last time I did a race that was out of my league. I am WAY too fat to run. I don't have time to do long runs with two small children. I'm nursing and can't be away from her for very long. I'm going to have to do the bulk of my training in the coldest part of winter. I've been sick with some form of crud or congestion since November. I'll have to run by myself because no one is as slow as me. The list could go on and on, but I realized that I had two reasons to do this and they were much more powerful than a million excuses; DellaMae Louis and CoraLee Jewel.
I want my girls to strive to be healthy, not skinny. DellaMae is my biggest fan and loves to do everything I do, from flipping her hair and sighing dramatically when something doesn't go her way, to dressing in my clothes. If she sees me sacrificing my health to enjoy a little couch time, she will do the same and so will CoraLee. I owe it to them to be a better example. I owe it to them to be healthy and energetic enough to be the best mama they can possibly have. I also need them to understand that when there is something that you're scared to do because you lack confidence in yourself, then that's exactly the thing you need to get up and do. And I want them to know a beautiful body has nothing to do with perfect abs or an unattainable thigh gap, etc. I never had and likely will never have those things. But this body has pitched six games in a day and used to hurl a softball almost seventy miles per hour, nurtured and gave birth to the two most beautiful creatures I've ever seen in my life, nursed one from a scrawny 5 lbs 5oz to the 90th percentile by the time she was three months old, and now this body has blown through every limitation I had and gone distances that I never thought possible.
So, this Sunday I'm doing this thing and I need your prayers; Lots. Of. Prayers. Pray that I will be confident. Pray that I will have sense enough to not be intimidated by skinnier, faster runners. Pray for no injuries, and pray for mental toughness when hours of running start to feel like the worst idea I ever had.
My goal list is pretty short and probably not very remarkable to some: 1. I want to finish. I don't care about time and I know I'm going to be slow. I don't care, I just want to finish the race. 2. I don't want to be last. I will tackle/step over bodies not to be last. 3. I want to make my pups proud when they're old enough to understand all of this and inspire them to be healthy, brave and confident. Holy moly, let's do this!
"But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not be faint."
-Isaiah 40:31
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.