Beautiful Day
Take me to that other place
“There was a time in my life when I was profoundly depressed. I randomly heard this song on the radio when I was at work one day and tears streamed down my face. I am not an emotional person, nor even a big fan of U2, but this song spoke to me that day in ways that are hard to describe.”
— From a comment left for the video of U2’s ‘Beautiful Day’
So, it’s been a minute! How have you been? Have you been able to keep up with your running during the holidays, or have you — like me! — slacked a little? Don’t worry, that’s what today is for: a chance to wipe the books from yesterday clean and start anew.
Speaking of starting anew, I have a story I want to tell you. It’s been on my mind as I’ve been thinking about the energy I want to bring into the new year, things I’d like to let go of and things I want to embrace.
It starts back in 1952, decades before I was born. My father, who then was just 11 years old, moved with his family — including his 10-year-old brother, mother and father — from his home in Hancock County, Ga., which back then was the poorest in the state. It still is.
They moved to nearby Augusta, Ga., so my grandfather could take a job helping to move a town. Yes, they moved an entire town — Ellenton, S.C., later renamed New Ellenton at its new location. (Why was it necessary to move a town? So the Savannah River Plant, the first nuclear production facility in the U.S., could be built.)
Now, there are all sorts of fascinating rabbit holes to go down there, but I really want you to know is what happened to them as people.
After several months of living in Augusta, my grandfather — who’d always had trouble holding a steady job, and that’s putting it mildly — decided he’d had enough. He didn’t like it there, and wanted to move back home. Which he did.
He didn’t care that he left behind a wife with two small boys to raise on her own. He did what he wanted to do, what made him happy and comfortable, without concern for anyone else.
That left my grandmother with a heartbreaking — and demanding, and challenging — situation. She’d left school after the fourth grade, to help out at home. (This wasn’t uncommon in rural Georgia back then.) How was she supposed to find a job that could support them all? Especially now that she had to do it without a partner? And who would take care of her two boys while she did it?
But it also left her with a choice. I don’t know what went through her mind when she was a woman in her mid-30s, trying to figure out what to do. I only know what she ended up deciding to do, and it was this: “I’m not going to give up and I’m not going to give in. Right now may not be what I’d like it to be. But I’m going to bloom where I’m planted, and I’m going to find a way to survive.”
The older I get, the more I think about her story. What it must have been like for her, what she must have felt like — losing her marriage, raising two rambunctious boys, dealing with 1950s-era prejudices against women working, all at the same time.
Somehow, she found within herself a courage, a strength and a resilience I bet she didn’t know she had. (And if she hadn’t found it, I probably wouldn’t be writing this to you today.) Amazing the impact a single decision, made decades ago, can have, isn’t it?
And that brings me back to U2’s “Beautiful Day,” a song I’ve loved ever since the first time I heard it more than 20 years ago. The title might make it seem like it’s a simple song with a simple idea, but it’s much more than that.
Listen to the lyrics just underneath Edge’s chiming, crashing guitar and you’ll hear it too: a story about heartbreak, about losing everything. But just when you think the voice singing has lost all hope, there’s a stirring of possibility:
Touch me
Take me to that other place
Teach me love
I know I'm not a hopeless case
I love this because the song isn’t simply an exhortation to climb a mountaintop, to do more or be more. I love it because it recognizes what it’s like to walk through the valley below that mountain, to feel defeated and feel discouraged — and find a way through it somehow.
We all feel that way sometimes; maybe a lot of the time. Knowing my grandmother’s story tells me she found a way out, as hard as it was. And that when I find myself feeling the same way, I can too. (And maybe we all can, right?)
I hope you had a wonderful holiday season, wherever you are in the world — I’m so glad to be back with you, and to get started on running this year together. We’ve got so much to talk about and catch up on, as there’s so much interesting stuff I’m looking forward to exploring with you this year.
As always, let me know how your running/life is going — and keep in touch!
Your friend,
— Terrell
Training plans: marathon, half marathon + more
One of the things I’ve heard from you all these past couple of years is how useful you find the training plans I’ve put together — ones we’ve run together, like we did during Covid in the fall of 2020, and others I share with you so you can run them on your own.
I’ve sent them out here and there over the past year, but I thought I’d put them all in one place for you — so, here they are!
First, my 12-week training plan, which is perfect if you have a race you’re looking at in late March or early April:
That page shows you the full schedule with a little commentary on how to train with it; if you want just the plan in PDF format, here it is:
Next is my 16-week training plan, which will be perfect if you plan on joining us at the Eugene Half Marathon at the end of April, or if you have a race in early May:
And here’s the PDF:
If you’re looking for something shorter, I have a 10-miler training plan too, as this distance has become increasingly popular:
And here’s the PDF:
And if you’re looking for something longer, my 20-week full marathon training plan is one I’ve used that has worked very well for me in the past:
And here’s the PDF:
In addition, I also have an 18-week half marathon training plan you can find here, if you’re looking at a race in late May or early June:
Such a story, but not uncommon. I could go on and on about my Great grandmother who left Utah and her husband who was a drunk and ran a distillery in his back yard--this was in the 20s during Prohibition--with 6 kids. . . She was a grade 1 teacher. . . landed in Bakersfield, Ca. . . Choctaw Indian. . .
Isn't it amazing how we all go on?
I've been reading Running with Raven. . .Can't put it down and savor every minute. He and I are so much alike. . .and I don't think we need to pay to run!
Starting to tune up for the Half Marathon, literally down the road at Amazon Park here in Eugene. The entire Marathon runs by the Willamette River down to Springfield, Or. Can I do it at 76--who knows? I'm sure going to try!
It is a beautiful day here after a week of fog. It has been so warm, the primroses are blooming.
Good to have you back! Best wishes for you and your running in the upcoming year! :)
Wow! Your grandmother was a saint! What happened to her? What job/jobs did she take? How did she make it? How did her life turn out? I’m sure I’m not the only one that wants to hear more. This sounds like it could be a fabulous novel . . . 👍🏼