from the April, 2014 issue of Kiai!

From the Viewing Area to Disney World:
A Karate Mom's Non-quitting Spirit

 

By Trish Muro
Mom to Takato & Kumiko, Wife to Kenji

I'll start out by saying flat-out that I'm not an athlete, nor have I ever been. I've always been overweight, uncoordinated, and very much a nerd. Even as an adult I tend to be the quiet type, content to listen and ponder. From my perch in the folding chairs at the dojo, however, a bit of osmosis has been taking place over the past few years. My children have been learning karate here at Thousand Waves for not quite three years, my husband for a bit more than two, and I've delighted in spending those classes right there with them: watching, listening, slowly opening up. Growing.


Trish Muro in her usual spot watching the Youth class.
About a year ago, my best friend from college invited (challenged?) me to join her in the Disney races. Lynlee had run several of them; I'd never run anything, really. Hmm. Well, OK, surely we can do the 5k and 10k, right? But no, somehow we found ourselves registering for the Dopey Challenge instead: a 5k on Thursday, a 10k on Friday, a half marathon on Saturday, and a full marathon on Sunday, all in Florida in January, 2014. Ummmm, WHAT?

We tried to approach this truly dopey goal with as much rationality as we could muster: training logs, a nutrition plan, and lots and lots of texts back and forth (She’s in Cleveland with her husband & 3 kids).  I began working with a running coach, challenging myself both in body and spirit to push past what I thought were my limits.  And in the blink of an eye, Lynlee & I were at the start line…  I’d completed races up to a half marathon during training so I felt pretty confident about those, but the full marathon?   And, a full marathon the day after running a half, a 10k, and a 5k?  Yikes.

Now, apparently it’s a tradition among runners to dedicate miles in the latter stages of the race to loved ones, especially mile 20 (often, the hardest mile of the entire race).  I’d chosen a few: Kenji & the kids at mile 24, my late youth director at 20, a cherished grandfather at 22, but I also wanted to leave my heart and mind open to whatever/whomever popped into mind. 

We were still feeling pretty solid when the mile 15 marker came into view, but we were definitely starting to feel the weight of this challenge (more than mathematically halfway, but still double-digit miles to go??  Are you kidding me!?!?).  We'd already run through two of the Disney parks, and we had 6 straight miles of highway running ahead of us.  The Josh Groban song “Brave” came onto our iPods:

"You will find the warmth when you surrender; smile into the fear and let it play. 
You want to run away, run away, and you say that it can’t be so. 
You want to look away, look away, but you stay 'cause it’s oh so close. 
When you stand up and hold out your hand in the face of what I don't understand:
My reason to be BRAVE."

I’d swear that I could hear the Shihans, the Senseis, and all of the Senpais at Thousand Waves in my heart at that moment.  Surely, that's Sei Shihan Nancy's voice reminding me to trust my training, and Jun Shihan Sarah smiling to usher in calmness and confidence.  Senpai Jordan would be telling me to keep my focus on THIS mile, not all the miles ahead, just as each step of a kata very methodically focuses on each separate adversary.  Senpai Carmiña would encourage me to keep my kiai strong and sincere, Sensei Tom would be keeping an eye on my form: quick, light feet, tall through my core, even breath.  Sensei Katherine would bring levity, noticing all of the people around me in their various states of strength and challenge, humility and confidence.  Senpai Yesica would remind me that fierceness can abide within gentleness.  Osu: "striving with patience".  Kiai, the yell of my spirit.  Non-quitting spirit.  A single wave sets thousands in motion…  Mile 15 became Thousand Waves Mile for me.


Trish (left) with her friend Lynlee, at mile 22.
And so we kept going, one foot in front of the other.  I wish I could say the rest was easy (or even easiER!), but the truth is that the race grew exponentially harder!  By mile 20, we began to grow fearful that we wouldn't finish within the time limits.  Inner energy took over.  When our bodies said, "Enough!" our hearts said, "No.  A bit more."  Lynlee and I each quieted, abandoning our giggles and fun chitchat for serious inward focus.  Striving with patience. 

And I don't remember any of it!  Seriously.  There's a great picture of us (dressed as Dopey, of course!) passing under Mickey's sorcerer hat around mile 22, and I have no memory of it whatsoever.  Somewhere just past mile 21 my memory completely cuts out, all the way through 23!!  I was there – I clearly did it, but just like in giving birth, there are parts I have no memory of! 

Then, my Garmin watch cut out somewhere around mile 23, making it considerably more challenging to track our pace.  I was frustrated and discouraged, feeling like I couldn’t even “succeed” by its terms!  Lynlee reached for my hand and said, “No.  We OUTLASTED your Garmin.”  By mile 24, we felt like we had spiritual cheerleaders as well as the huge crowds which had gathered along the route.  All of those beloved people we brought with us in spirit at each mile, they all gathered around us and within us.  A cool wind had begun to blow from behind us (Oh, thank you for that, Earth!!), and we knew.  For the first time, we KNEW that we would finish.  KIAI!!!

Tears began to well up, and we laughed together at having to push them down for the moment.  "We can't start crying now," I blurted out to Lynlee.  "If we cry, we can't breathe and then we'll hyperventilate and we WON'T finish!!" 

We rounded the mile 25 curve into the back of Epcot, knowing that the finish was just on the other side of the park.  People were cheering and clapping for us, even though we were at the very back of the pack, holding up signs to keep us going.  The best sign we saw was held by a woman who’d been out there cheering all day—not for anyone in particular, just for everyone: "Because of you, I'm going to do this marathon next year!" 

A single wave sets thousands in motion.  Osu!