Dare to Dream

I’ve been debating on things to write about, sometimes I think of 10 different things at once and then struggle at picking out which story to tie into the specific day activities and trainings.  I think to touch on these stories with dad we can categorize depending on which sports season it is as I think we will be able to cover most of them until the time of the race J  Since today is my LAST ‘official’ Blue Thunder basketball practice we can still touch on basketball as well as the Girls NCAA tournament going on which reminds me of basketball camps with dad.

(I’ve got a few training days to play catch up on as well)

            Wild Wednesday update with the kids, I did play full court a little bit with the kids so we could play 5 or 5, don’t worry I don’t try to score too much on them and only enjoy rebounding over top of them every ONCE in awhile.  I can’t help it; I’ve never been able to be the “Tall” one on a team!  I also ran about 2 miles that day to get at least a little run in.

            Last night (Thursday) I ran for 54 minutes while chatting most of the way with Holli on the phone.  Thank goodness we understand each other while breathing hard!  I ran along the road while making sure I get to the “next mailbox” up goal.         

            I realize sometimes I believe I take for granted the ability to dream and assume that anything is possible.  When growing up the Tennessee Lady Vols was and still are a powerhouse in women’s basketball, Pat Summitt was a household name.  I had more orange clothing then any person needs in their wardrobe.  I wanted so badly one day to play for the Lady Vols, as any young athlete aspires to do in their favorite sport and school.  I can never name a single moment that either my mom or my dad ever told me “That isn’t going to happen”; they rather said “What are you going to do to get there”.  I never questioned the opportunity I just knew I had to work and sacrifice certain things to reach this goal that I had set for myself.  Yes, I’m well aware I’m short, I’m from the “middle of nowhere”, nobody has ever heard of “Ritchie County”, you’re from a small school, etc.  I heard all of those comments from others, but not once did I ever hear “You can’t” from my parents.  I never realized how valuable that was until later in life.  I’ve seen many approach situations with sentences start with “BUT…..” and I feel like I was taught to approach situations with “HOW WILL….”

            Through high school we still had these aspirations; maybe I started to realize the difficulty in the dream still.  However, for a few summers my dad and I packed our bags and headed to Knoxville, Tennessee and I attended the Tennessee Lady Vols Elite Summer Camp for Players.  I had Kelly Jolly and Chamique Holdsclaw as my counselors and coaches which at that time was one of hopeful player’s dreams.  It was just one of the many miles of road trips  traveled with dad to reach the next basketball destination.

            Now for those who know me, know I didn’t end up attending the University of Tennessee J  However, even if Tennessee wasn’t on my top 5 options (or top 100 at that), it still opened the doors for numerous other opportunities through the dedication of reaching for that dream.  I still attended a Division 1 school on a full ride basketball scholarship all because I never knew that the odds were really against a small town short basketball player because my parents never let me believe otherwise. (I also look back now that I’m older and realize the sacrifices they made for me to be able to pursue those dreams)  We were raised that you are in charge of your own life, your own decisions, your own opportunities, and that’s why I’ve never truly doubted the odds of this challenge with the NYC marathon….I can make anything happen (and I will).

One of my best AAU Friends Kelly and I with Pat Summitt

Center Court