A Day in Deidre's Domain
By Micah Ortega

She rises at 5:45 a.m., splashes her face, talks to God and then at 6 a.m., Deidre Emerson starts her five mile run with her fellow teammates. At 7 a.m., she heads up to the AC to begin her personal training. There she does some strength and rehabilitation exercises.

In her room from 8 to 9:30 a.m., Emerson eats Raisin Bran or Grape Nuts with skim milk. She also takes this time to get spiritually and mentally prepared for the day that is already rolling.

At 9:50 she sits poised and alert, ready for her first class. Humanities! From 10:50 a.m. until 4 in the afternoon, Emerson is busy working for Housing, researching for her senior paper (topic: intrinsic motivation) or attending class. At 4 p.m., Emerson begins a grueling workout with the track team, which consists of one of two exercises: running four to five miles (strengthening her endurance) or the ruthless interval training (strengthening her heart and helping her push through the pain threshold). At 6:30 p.m., Emerson dines at the luxurious ORU dining facilities, where she partakes of a fresh salad and a morsel of meat.

After dining, she begins her schoolwork. On Monday, she goes to an early bird hall meeting. At about 10:30, she hits her bed, gives thanks to God for all the wonderful things that happened that day, closes her eyes and enters immediately into REM sleep patterns. Wow, Deidre! What a day!!

Maintaining a perfect 4.0 throughout her entire college career, Emerson was one of 351 student-athletes from eight Mid-Con institutions to be selected to the 2001-02 Mid-Con Academic All-Conference Team.

In a recent interview Emerson revealed her secret. What motivates her to push herself the way she does? "I love the sport. I'm serving something bigger than myself. He has put these things inside me, and I want to glorify Him with it. God's put different things inside everyone. I do it to obtain the prize like it says in I Corinthians 9. I set my face like a flint. I sacrifice this for this. It's more than just a gold medal; it's a lifestyle."

Emerson doesn't run this race alone. She says it's the grace of God that gets her through. Often, she calls home and finds encouraging words on the other end of the line. She prays with her chaplain. Her coaches support her with scriptures and motivational talks. She also attends an all-athletes Bible study every other Monday. Emerson attributes her success to God, her coach and her wonderful friends and teammates.

Although Emerson is a winning competitor, she doesn't base her identity on her accomplishments. "I know God loves me unconditionally, whether I get a 4.0 or not. It doesn't change. Who you are is not determined by what you do. Who you are can only be found in Christ, and that's where true fulfillment is," she said. Emerson doesn't pretend to have all the answers. Like all Christians, she is still striving for excellence, but one thing she does have is the awareness of God's unconditional love, which provides a brilliant sense of resilience to any obstacle that comes barreling across her path.

Emerson's motivating scripture is I Corinthians 9:24-27, which states, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And every one who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown, Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty, Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air."

"When I'm out there and I'm racing hard, I'm not thinking about winning a trophy or making money or getting glory for myself," Emerson said. "The only thing in my mind is doing my best and winning the race if I can-and always, in success or failure, glorifying God."

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