To my coaches,
I genuinely cannot express how much I love you both. You guys have always been there for me, always supported me and cheered me on. You both have seen me at my highest highs and lowest lows - and helped me through it all. Y'all are some of my favorite people in the entire world, and I could not be more blessed with better coaches.
Coach Adams, beneath that hard exterior, we all know you're a soft teddy bear inside. Thank you for not being afraid to tell us the truth, even if it hurts a little bit. Thank you for pushing me past my limit but never breaking me, even though I'm sure I've annoyed you to the point where you're tempted to. Thank you for the many Jeep rides (especially for the ones with the top down) and for not giving up on our team, even when you had every right to.
Thank you for doing your best to help me with my relentless injuries. Thank you for the wisdom you've shared with us, and for the slightly mean jokes you've used to break our egos. Thank you for the hours you've put in investing in us, when you could have been watching Star Wars or chilling with your dogs. Thank you for being so good at communicating with our team, and for making sure we all have what we need, whether it be making a special training plan for the broken ones, or having talks with the sensitive ones about how we need to stop crying.
I appreciate you so much, Adams. I know I don't thank you enough for all you've done for us, but you really are an incredible coach and I'm so thankful for you.
Coach Chapman, thank you so much for all you've done for me. Thank you for cheering me on at every race and occasionally partially carrying me at the end. Thank you for saying just the right thing when I'm bawling my eyes out, and thank you for giving the perfect pre-race pep talks our team needs to hear. Thank you for the hours and hours you've spent scouting and planning workouts, and sometimes even making alternative workouts for my hurting legs.
Thank you for not just being a coach, but being apart of our team. I love the van rides where we talk about all the cute boys, whether it's from our high school years or yours. Thank you for all you've sacrificed to be here with our team, cheering us on and giving us racing advice. Thank you for always being proud of me, even when I'm not the fastest runner. Thank you for helping us learn more about our sport and our legs, and giving us so much valuable wisdom to help us stay healthy and run fast. Thank you for supporting me, but not just as a runner. Thank you for supporting me as a person, growing and learning and healing. Thank you for being my bestie. :)
Chapman, I admire you wholeheartedly, and I hope that one day, maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to be such an incredible coach just like you have been for me.
Maybe I'm getting old and sentimental, or maybe the injuries are softening me, but lately God has really been opening my eyes to how blessed I am. He's given me some amazing, amazing people in my life and at the top of that list are my coaches. As I've written this post and tried to think of all the things I want to tell them, I'm reminded of how good God is. I'm reminded of how many blessings He's poured into my life, even when I don't deserve it. And my heart is filled with overwhelming gratitude for all of it - my coaches, my family, my best friends, my boyfriend, the sunrises, hot baths, protein balls, that one perfect curl with the extra blonde streak. My heart is filled with overwhelming gratitude for all the big things but especially the little things, because sometimes, those little things are the ones that really are the big things if you'd just pause to notice it.
So, in honor of my coaches and this upcoming thanksgiving season, I challenge you to be intentional this week about recognizing those blessings God has given you. Not only that, friends, but share that joy and gratitude. Tell your mom you love the food she made you. Thank your coaches for putting up with you. Remind your teachers that you notice all that they do for you. Slip your best friend a note telling her that you love her. Whatever that looks like for you, just do something about it. These people need to hear that they are loved, noticed, and appreciated. And by taking a little bit of time out of your day to recognize them, you're adding a little bit of extra sunshine into the world.
My coaches have genuinely helped make me become a better runner person, and I'm so thankful for them (and so many other people, too). Who (or what) are you most thankful for today? Let me know in the comments down below so that we can praise God together!
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