my last long run before the big race. One week from right now I will about halfway finished with the marathon. Today was six miles. Today was a good run. Today I experienced freedom and it surprised me. I have written about that hill at the end of almost every run. I talked about how I said God is my conqueror and how he said that back to me that I am His conqueror. That hill always gets me and I'm usually talking to it telling it how I'm going to conquer it. OR I'm telling myself..."I can do this" or at least recognizing the hill or paying attention it coming up...usually SOMETHING. But today I became free from that hill. I was almost to the top of it when I realized I was not even conscious that I was running up a hill. My muscles didn't hurt, I wasn't out of breath, but I was at the top of the hill. FREEDOM!!!!!
Freedom from that hill has taken many, many runs up it and other hills bigger than it. It has taken sweat and probably some tears. It has taken time and time again running up it and telling it that I am a conqueror. It has taken time. Freedom is available. Freedom is ours. Freedom takes time, sweat and tears. But it's coming. Don't give up run your race with purpose and know that freedom will come and sometimes you won't even know it's coming.
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Tapering...doesn't make sense
Tapering. For those who don't know if the concept of cutting back your mileage about a month before your race. I know it works. I know that rest is good for me, but logically and other ways this concept seems counter intuitive and almost crazy.
First the rest thing. Sleep is a funny thing. It renews us in ways that we can't understand. Scientifically we can discuss what happens in the body when we sleep, but the whole concept of sleep to me is just a mystery. Just as in my training, rest works in ways that I can't see or understand. And my spiritual walk, rest gives me strength and perspective that I couldn't get otherwise. I don't understand....I just know it works.
3 miles today was HARD. I mean not like marathon hard, but I definitely didn't feel like I'm going to be ready to run a marathon in less than 2 weeks. I have to rely on the truth that I know my muscles will be ready for the marathon.
Isn't that how trials are in our lives? So many times we loose at the sight of the problem or an upcoming huge project that we have been preparing for. My body is ready for this marathon, whether I feel like it or not. In many ways we're ready for the things that God places in front of us whether we are ready or not. The key comes in what we are believing. It would be easy for me to believe my "feelings" as truth and I might not make it to the marathon. Instead I have to hold on to the truth that I have been preparing my body for this and with God's help I will finish.
As in life trials come and we have the choice to make. Will we believe that the problem or opportunity will crush us? or will we grab onto the truth of God's word that says we have EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness?
First the rest thing. Sleep is a funny thing. It renews us in ways that we can't understand. Scientifically we can discuss what happens in the body when we sleep, but the whole concept of sleep to me is just a mystery. Just as in my training, rest works in ways that I can't see or understand. And my spiritual walk, rest gives me strength and perspective that I couldn't get otherwise. I don't understand....I just know it works.
3 miles today was HARD. I mean not like marathon hard, but I definitely didn't feel like I'm going to be ready to run a marathon in less than 2 weeks. I have to rely on the truth that I know my muscles will be ready for the marathon.
Isn't that how trials are in our lives? So many times we loose at the sight of the problem or an upcoming huge project that we have been preparing for. My body is ready for this marathon, whether I feel like it or not. In many ways we're ready for the things that God places in front of us whether we are ready or not. The key comes in what we are believing. It would be easy for me to believe my "feelings" as truth and I might not make it to the marathon. Instead I have to hold on to the truth that I have been preparing my body for this and with God's help I will finish.
As in life trials come and we have the choice to make. Will we believe that the problem or opportunity will crush us? or will we grab onto the truth of God's word that says we have EVERYTHING we need for life and godliness?
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Running for a Cause
A week from Saturday. It's SO close. I haven't blogged as much as I have wanted to. I've had more analogies than I have posted here...but I have enjoyed training. I'm really glad that I only have to run 6 miles on Saturday and I'm SUPER excited about seeing Amber and running our race. I have run 341 miles since June 1st and I'll add a few more before the 26.2. I really excited because I've always wanted to run for a cause, but never really taken the opportunity to. I hope that this the begginning of many races run to raise money for others.
I'll be running in honor of Jenn Goodwin and in memory of Chelsie Rippe.
Jenn's Story: God put Jenn into remission while pregnant her second child John David. After talking with two OB/GYN's she finally found a doctor who would care for her during pregnancy. The first OB declared she was a liability and abortion was her only option. Her and her husband quickly agreed abortion was NOT a possible solution to her illness! She prayed for a doctor who would treat her while having Leukemia , and she found Dr. Chris Duggar (a devout Christian). He prayed with her after every appointment and as quickly as she became ill, she started becoming well. Within a month she was in the early stages of remission! Both of Jenn and David’s children were conceived during Leukemia, and both are beautiful, healthy, and walking miracles! Jenn and I share the message that hope is never lost and, with the good Lord's help all is possible!
The donation page is:
https://secure2.merchantcart.net/KCSportsPublic/main.cfm/KC%20Marathon/884CE4BB65D328ECB03C598409E2B168/?do=mywebpage&pID=127189
I'll be running in honor of Jenn Goodwin and in memory of Chelsie Rippe.
Jenn's Story: God put Jenn into remission while pregnant her second child John David. After talking with two OB/GYN's she finally found a doctor who would care for her during pregnancy. The first OB declared she was a liability and abortion was her only option. Her and her husband quickly agreed abortion was NOT a possible solution to her illness! She prayed for a doctor who would treat her while having Leukemia , and she found Dr. Chris Duggar (a devout Christian). He prayed with her after every appointment and as quickly as she became ill, she started becoming well. Within a month she was in the early stages of remission! Both of Jenn and David’s children were conceived during Leukemia, and both are beautiful, healthy, and walking miracles! Jenn and I share the message that hope is never lost and, with the good Lord's help all is possible!
The donation page is:
https://secure2.merchantcart.net/KCSportsPublic/main.cfm/KC%20Marathon/884CE4BB65D328ECB03C598409E2B168/?do=mywebpage&pID=127189
The Montgomery Half
I ran in a 1/2 marathon here in town on Saturday. I love races. It's that time where I get to be surrounded with crazy people like me. It's an opportunity to run side by side with people who "get" my passion. Don't get me wrong, I am blessed with many people in life who support me in my passion for running. But there's NOTHING like being surrounded by people who all have their own stories, but you are here for one common goal....FINISH. I'm sure some racers would argue with me, saying that they want to win. And as much as it would be nice to place in a race like this (maybe one day) it's enough for me to finish.
Thankfully God had more in mind for me on Saturday than just finishing. I was in the starting line talking with this guy. We discussed where we were from, whether this was our first race and what time we wanted to run the race in...all the things you(or at least I do) talk about with runners while in the starting line. We both wanted to run the race in about 2 hours, but made no plans to run together.
We started out running together and ended up meeting up with this guy's friends. It seems like on the hills we would get ahead of them, but then they would catch up. Around mile 5 I found out that the guy's name is Will. Funny thing is, my running partner and cousin's name is Will...so that was cool. I remembered that new Will told me he had a broken toe, which was even cooler because I talked with cousin Will a couple of days before who also had a broken toe....coincidence? I think not.
So back to mile 5. At this point I think the four of us were all staying together. I had nicknamed the other two guys ketchup and mustard because they were wearing a yellow and red shirt, but found out their names were Cody and Tom. We all stayed together up until about mile 9 where Tom and I slowed down a bit. The last 3 or 4 miles was pretty difficult, but hearing Tom's footsteps next to me helped me keep my pace. I told him to not let me hold him back, but he said that hearing my breathing helped him. I was really out of breath after a huge hill at the end.
I remember at mile 13 Tom said we have 30 seconds to get in under 2 hours and encouraged me to run faster. I told him I couldn't make it that fast and he said yes you can and we were off. I really felt like I might loose a lung there in that 2 tenths of a miles, but we finished together and it was AMAZING. It was worth every step.
This post is dedicated to Will, Tom and Cody (my gaurdian angels)
Thankfully God had more in mind for me on Saturday than just finishing. I was in the starting line talking with this guy. We discussed where we were from, whether this was our first race and what time we wanted to run the race in...all the things you(or at least I do) talk about with runners while in the starting line. We both wanted to run the race in about 2 hours, but made no plans to run together.
We started out running together and ended up meeting up with this guy's friends. It seems like on the hills we would get ahead of them, but then they would catch up. Around mile 5 I found out that the guy's name is Will. Funny thing is, my running partner and cousin's name is Will...so that was cool. I remembered that new Will told me he had a broken toe, which was even cooler because I talked with cousin Will a couple of days before who also had a broken toe....coincidence? I think not.
So back to mile 5. At this point I think the four of us were all staying together. I had nicknamed the other two guys ketchup and mustard because they were wearing a yellow and red shirt, but found out their names were Cody and Tom. We all stayed together up until about mile 9 where Tom and I slowed down a bit. The last 3 or 4 miles was pretty difficult, but hearing Tom's footsteps next to me helped me keep my pace. I told him to not let me hold him back, but he said that hearing my breathing helped him. I was really out of breath after a huge hill at the end.
I remember at mile 13 Tom said we have 30 seconds to get in under 2 hours and encouraged me to run faster. I told him I couldn't make it that fast and he said yes you can and we were off. I really felt like I might loose a lung there in that 2 tenths of a miles, but we finished together and it was AMAZING. It was worth every step.
This post is dedicated to Will, Tom and Cody (my gaurdian angels)
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
running thoughts...
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise as some understand slowness, He is patient with you not wanting anyone to perish” (2 Peter 3:9)
This morning as I ran, I pondered the Lord’s faithfulness to us. This was my first run after my 18 miles and my muscles were not completely healed, which slowed me down. I recently started reading a book called the “The runners body.” I’m so excited to learn about how the muscles work and what is going on in my body as I’m training.
In comparison, we don’t know what goes on in the spiritual world. We don’t realize sometimes that a really stressful time (running 18 miles) can slow us down. So many times we look at this a negative thing, when really we’re just in recovery. We forget we have a limited perspective. We CAN’T see. God tells us that His ways are not our ways. So many times, we beg to SEE what God is doing instead of TRUSTING Him. He is a faithful God. He will never leave us or forsake us. We will always have FAITH, HOPE and LOVE (1 Cor 13:13). They will never be taken from us.
This morning as I ran, I pondered the Lord’s faithfulness to us. This was my first run after my 18 miles and my muscles were not completely healed, which slowed me down. I recently started reading a book called the “The runners body.” I’m so excited to learn about how the muscles work and what is going on in my body as I’m training.
In comparison, we don’t know what goes on in the spiritual world. We don’t realize sometimes that a really stressful time (running 18 miles) can slow us down. So many times we look at this a negative thing, when really we’re just in recovery. We forget we have a limited perspective. We CAN’T see. God tells us that His ways are not our ways. So many times, we beg to SEE what God is doing instead of TRUSTING Him. He is a faithful God. He will never leave us or forsake us. We will always have FAITH, HOPE and LOVE (1 Cor 13:13). They will never be taken from us.
Saturday, September 12, 2009
Running from Dogs
I’m scared of dogs and so far in my running career I haven’t had to face many of them. Well about 6 weeks ago I was running and approaching a dog that was lying in the road. He got up and started barking at me. Well my normal approach is to yell at the dog “GO HOME!” “GO HOME!” After yelling a couple of times at this dog to go home, I realized he obviously was not going to listen to me as he was continuing to run at me. It was almost time to turn around and head back towards my house and I was listening for the voice on my IPOD that told me “halfway point” Well I never heard the voice, but decided I needed to turn and run from this dog. Fear took over as I turned and ran from him. I was helpless and sure that this dog was going to eat me. I was running away praying “god please protect me from this dog, please protect me from this dog.” Well it was all fine and good. After that run I developed a fear of every dog. I had lost my authority that had worked so well in the past. “GO HOME!” Most of the dogs had listened to me but now that my technique stopped working I was afraid of dogs.
The next long run I went on I was going to be running in un-charted territory. This meaning that I don’t know the dogs on the roads. Most of the roads I run on, I know what dogs are there and I know how to handle them. I can manage my fear because I know what to expect. Well I had a little whistle that I could blow at them, but not knowing if it would work or not I was pretty scared. The run was 16 miles and it actually went well EXCEPT for the dogs. I ran most of the time being scared of the unknown. My legs were great and my body didn’t really hurt, but I had to expend SO much energy on the stupid dogs.
SO the uncharted territory was at the beginning of my run. I past that and I was relieved thinking that I knew all the dogs from now on and that one that had chased me a couple of weeks ago, well I was gonna find a stick to take care of him. So I’m running and all of the sudden these 2 black cocker spaniels came running towards me. Well fear took over and I begin yelling at the top of my lungs “GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME!” The dog make it to my feet and it’s just a yapping and I’m just a yelling…GO HOME. If you had a video camera I would be rich because I’m sure it was hilarious to see a grown woman yelling a little dog. But I was just sure that dog was gonna eat me. Finally a car came and deterred the dog long enough for me to make it past the house. So the next step was getting ready for that dumb dog that tried to eat me. As I was approaching the house I was looking for sticks along the way. I was gonna be prepared this time. I finally found a stick and was running with it was a couple of steps and decided that it was too much trouble to carry. So I just threw it down. Well turns out that dog wasn’t even there that time. So I was able to run home in peace.
After all these experiences with dogs I have realized how quickly fear can overcome us where we can’t think rationally. That little black dog wasn’t going to hurt me and if I had just kept running it may have even left me alone. But I fought him and expended SO much energy on it and he didn’t hurt me.
This is SO true with other fears. Whatever it may be…fear of being alone, fear of heights, fear that what has happened in the past will happen again. How many times do we fear something that NEVER comes true?!?
The next long run I went on I was going to be running in un-charted territory. This meaning that I don’t know the dogs on the roads. Most of the roads I run on, I know what dogs are there and I know how to handle them. I can manage my fear because I know what to expect. Well I had a little whistle that I could blow at them, but not knowing if it would work or not I was pretty scared. The run was 16 miles and it actually went well EXCEPT for the dogs. I ran most of the time being scared of the unknown. My legs were great and my body didn’t really hurt, but I had to expend SO much energy on the stupid dogs.
SO the uncharted territory was at the beginning of my run. I past that and I was relieved thinking that I knew all the dogs from now on and that one that had chased me a couple of weeks ago, well I was gonna find a stick to take care of him. So I’m running and all of the sudden these 2 black cocker spaniels came running towards me. Well fear took over and I begin yelling at the top of my lungs “GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME! GO HOME!” The dog make it to my feet and it’s just a yapping and I’m just a yelling…GO HOME. If you had a video camera I would be rich because I’m sure it was hilarious to see a grown woman yelling a little dog. But I was just sure that dog was gonna eat me. Finally a car came and deterred the dog long enough for me to make it past the house. So the next step was getting ready for that dumb dog that tried to eat me. As I was approaching the house I was looking for sticks along the way. I was gonna be prepared this time. I finally found a stick and was running with it was a couple of steps and decided that it was too much trouble to carry. So I just threw it down. Well turns out that dog wasn’t even there that time. So I was able to run home in peace.
After all these experiences with dogs I have realized how quickly fear can overcome us where we can’t think rationally. That little black dog wasn’t going to hurt me and if I had just kept running it may have even left me alone. But I fought him and expended SO much energy on it and he didn’t hurt me.
This is SO true with other fears. Whatever it may be…fear of being alone, fear of heights, fear that what has happened in the past will happen again. How many times do we fear something that NEVER comes true?!?
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