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?!?
18 miles and counting
my route for today....http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3182408
So I haven't blogged about training like I have wanted to. Today was my 18 mile run. Amber runs hers tomorrow. I will say that this training is better than my first marathon training mostly because I know that I "can" do it.
I wish that I had the time and energy to share all of my analogies from my run today. (I had 3 hours to think). But I want to update on how the training is going as a whole since I haven't been keeping track.
This time around training is better. I love running (this hasn't changed), but my new thing is being into nutrition. I want to eat right so that my body has the right fuel to run better. I'm waiting for a new book to come in that is about the runners's body. I can't wait! So I have learned to eat whole wheat stuff and try to cut out sugar. I love and am addicted to sugar so I have just cut back.
I have been able to keep better on the schedule this time than my first time. I remember I usually had to take 2 days off after every long run. Well After I ran 14 miles (on a Sat.) I was able to run for 60 minutes a day later on Monday. AND I almost ran 7 miles in that 60 minutes. That's a HUGE improvement for me. I've never been one for speed, but I've been working on it and I'm getting better.
That's the other thing that is different about this training. I have been able to work on speed some. Before I just would get out and run, but this time I have pushed myself more and done what are called "tempo runs." You run at a fast pace for 5 minutes then walk for 2 minutes. Then a couple weeks later you run at a fast pace for 10 minutes and walk for 1 minute. Then a couple of weeks later you run at a fast pace for 20 minutes. This really helped me to get faster. Another thing that has helped my speed is the heat. Let me clarify that during the heat I am SLOW. However running in the heat helps my pace to be faster when it's not so hot. That morning that a ran almost 7 miles in the 60 minutes...well it was really cool out (well for Alabama anyway) and I was able to run that fast cause there was NO heat.
I hate that I haven't kept this up to date during the training. I always have SO many analogies that come from my runs. For some though they will be glad that I don't post as many.
SO as far as today goes. I ran about 18.5 miles in about 3 hours and burned over 1700 calories. I have had some encounters with some dogs along the way in my training. (you can read the former post about my dog experience...it's pretty hilarious) But anyway I took pepper spray with me today to ward off the scary dogs.
At about mile 6 or 7 my calf muscles started to lock up on me and act like they didn't want to work, but I told them (yes I talk to my muscles) that they were gonna have to cut that out cause we had a long way to go. So I kept running through the pain. At about mile 8 I ran past my Grandmother's house and then I saw Ms. Jeanette and Ann. They encouraged me just seeing them.
Thus far I had not had any encounters with dogs. You must know that I’m terrified of dogs. Fear overcomes me and I can’t function. From reading the next post you can see that the fear just gets me. Well today before my run I was reading scriptures about fear and this one really stuck with me “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” As I mentioned in my post about the fear of dogs, fear is something that takes over us where we can’t think rationally or function normally. This scripture that says we have a sound mind took on a new meaning today. I was quoting scripture today to help me not be afraid of the dogs. (I also had pepper spray). I thought of how we have a sound mind because we are able to function normally.
I also thought about how with the dogs I’m not afraid of the one that I know or have run by their house enough to know how to handle them. The ones I’m afraid of are the unknown dogs. But I’m also afraid of the ones that have run after me and scared me, that they might come again. As I was running I was thinking ok…how will I handle that little black dog if he comes running at me again. I was thinking about how we sometimes focus SO much on the problem or the fear and how we’re going to handle when instead we should be focused on God and asking him to give us what we need to face the fears. I was doing that with the dogs on my route. The ones that scared me before haven’t scared me again. We never know what’s going to come our way we have to be focused on the source of strength rather than the problems.
The last 2 miles was the hardest, but I just thought of the marathon and how the last 6 miles is painful every step of the way. My muscles were hurting most of the run today and it made me start thinking about strength and our perspective on strength. Many times we ask God to be our strength and to give us strength. Many times when I ask for strength, I’m envisioning a supernatural immediate power surge of strength. However when I was running today I thought of how the pain that I was experiencing was strength. I was getting strength through this pain. The pain that I was going through will help me on race day to endure. I’ve thought of this before how building strength takes time and we have to just work at it, but it came to me in a new light today.
Enough rambling about running for today. Time to go eat!
So I haven't blogged about training like I have wanted to. Today was my 18 mile run. Amber runs hers tomorrow. I will say that this training is better than my first marathon training mostly because I know that I "can" do it.
I wish that I had the time and energy to share all of my analogies from my run today. (I had 3 hours to think). But I want to update on how the training is going as a whole since I haven't been keeping track.
This time around training is better. I love running (this hasn't changed), but my new thing is being into nutrition. I want to eat right so that my body has the right fuel to run better. I'm waiting for a new book to come in that is about the runners's body. I can't wait! So I have learned to eat whole wheat stuff and try to cut out sugar. I love and am addicted to sugar so I have just cut back.
I have been able to keep better on the schedule this time than my first time. I remember I usually had to take 2 days off after every long run. Well After I ran 14 miles (on a Sat.) I was able to run for 60 minutes a day later on Monday. AND I almost ran 7 miles in that 60 minutes. That's a HUGE improvement for me. I've never been one for speed, but I've been working on it and I'm getting better.
That's the other thing that is different about this training. I have been able to work on speed some. Before I just would get out and run, but this time I have pushed myself more and done what are called "tempo runs." You run at a fast pace for 5 minutes then walk for 2 minutes. Then a couple weeks later you run at a fast pace for 10 minutes and walk for 1 minute. Then a couple of weeks later you run at a fast pace for 20 minutes. This really helped me to get faster. Another thing that has helped my speed is the heat. Let me clarify that during the heat I am SLOW. However running in the heat helps my pace to be faster when it's not so hot. That morning that a ran almost 7 miles in the 60 minutes...well it was really cool out (well for Alabama anyway) and I was able to run that fast cause there was NO heat.
I hate that I haven't kept this up to date during the training. I always have SO many analogies that come from my runs. For some though they will be glad that I don't post as many.
SO as far as today goes. I ran about 18.5 miles in about 3 hours and burned over 1700 calories. I have had some encounters with some dogs along the way in my training. (you can read the former post about my dog experience...it's pretty hilarious) But anyway I took pepper spray with me today to ward off the scary dogs.
At about mile 6 or 7 my calf muscles started to lock up on me and act like they didn't want to work, but I told them (yes I talk to my muscles) that they were gonna have to cut that out cause we had a long way to go. So I kept running through the pain. At about mile 8 I ran past my Grandmother's house and then I saw Ms. Jeanette and Ann. They encouraged me just seeing them.
Thus far I had not had any encounters with dogs. You must know that I’m terrified of dogs. Fear overcomes me and I can’t function. From reading the next post you can see that the fear just gets me. Well today before my run I was reading scriptures about fear and this one really stuck with me “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” As I mentioned in my post about the fear of dogs, fear is something that takes over us where we can’t think rationally or function normally. This scripture that says we have a sound mind took on a new meaning today. I was quoting scripture today to help me not be afraid of the dogs. (I also had pepper spray). I thought of how we have a sound mind because we are able to function normally.
I also thought about how with the dogs I’m not afraid of the one that I know or have run by their house enough to know how to handle them. The ones I’m afraid of are the unknown dogs. But I’m also afraid of the ones that have run after me and scared me, that they might come again. As I was running I was thinking ok…how will I handle that little black dog if he comes running at me again. I was thinking about how we sometimes focus SO much on the problem or the fear and how we’re going to handle when instead we should be focused on God and asking him to give us what we need to face the fears. I was doing that with the dogs on my route. The ones that scared me before haven’t scared me again. We never know what’s going to come our way we have to be focused on the source of strength rather than the problems.
The last 2 miles was the hardest, but I just thought of the marathon and how the last 6 miles is painful every step of the way. My muscles were hurting most of the run today and it made me start thinking about strength and our perspective on strength. Many times we ask God to be our strength and to give us strength. Many times when I ask for strength, I’m envisioning a supernatural immediate power surge of strength. However when I was running today I thought of how the pain that I was experiencing was strength. I was getting strength through this pain. The pain that I was going through will help me on race day to endure. I’ve thought of this before how building strength takes time and we have to just work at it, but it came to me in a new light today.
Enough rambling about running for today. Time to go eat!
Thursday, June 25, 2009
Running through the Pain (written June 8th, 2009)
As I was running today I had bad stomach cramps. Usually stomach cramps are the thing that will stop me from running to walk, but today I just kept thinking of the marathon and the last 6 miles. The last six miles was the hardest on my first marathon and I thought “I need to practice running through the pain.” During this pain, I thought of the phrase “focus on beauty, not pain” which God gave me while training for my first marathon. I began to look at the blue sky and think of what a beautiful day it was. Pain sometimes cripples us to the point where all we can do is take one step at a time. Sometimes we have to just stop in the pain and curl up and just let it hurt. Every step hurts and we wonder if the pain will ever end. If we will keep running and not give up, the pain will eventually subside and it’s then that God speaks. He doesn’t always work that way, but pain usually is so consuming that we have a hard time hearing His voice. It’s not always our inability to hear, but his wisdom to be silent.I don’t even remember when the pain subsided, I just remember getting to the last hill before I got home and realizing the pain was gone. This hill, until recently, has been the dreaded part of my run. I would look at the hill and think I can’t make it, and would overcome by saying “you’ve come too far to quit now.” Now when I get to the hill, I tell the hill “I’m conquering you today!!!” Don’t let the pain stop you, run through it. The strength built through running through the pain will give you the courage to conquer the hills, even the mountains in your life.
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Pink Shoes
Amber here. Yesteray, June 1st was the official start date of the marathon training program Mel and I are using. Mel actually got a head start on it and did her running this weekend so she was able to rest, but that wasn't the case for me. I purchased a new pair of running shoes while I was down in Kansas and a new $9 pair of socks! New shoes is always a motivator to get out and run. :) So I laced up the shoes and hit the trails. The first part of my run, I calibrated my Nike Plus since I hadn't done that yet after buying a new sensor. It was a 40 minute run and it was brutal. I think I was dehydrated and my lips were so dry that they stuck together! There were times along the trail that I just wanted to stop and rest, but I knew that I couldn't. I pushed through and told myself that this is just the beginning and I refuse to take short cuts. Like Mel tells me, every step you take is preparing you for race day. With that in mind, I finished! Day one is complete!
Now to the pink shoes...Mel got a new pair of running shoes for her birthday, and they are pink! When I went to buy my new shoes, the pair I liked were pink as well! I was pretty happy with this, because as a runner, you can not be picky about what color the shoe is, you have to buy them depending on comfort. No more lime green or bright orange for awhile!
Now to the pink shoes...Mel got a new pair of running shoes for her birthday, and they are pink! When I went to buy my new shoes, the pair I liked were pink as well! I was pretty happy with this, because as a runner, you can not be picky about what color the shoe is, you have to buy them depending on comfort. No more lime green or bright orange for awhile!
Saturday, March 28, 2009
I just love to run
I love running. I don't really like stretching or eating right or speed training. I just LOVE to run! Today was just one of those runs for me. One of those runs where everything in my life is just perfect. I'm out running and it's me and God and Nature. Even though I don't really like to stretch and I don't like to pay such close attention to what I'm eating. I know that it's important and I'm trying to get better at those things. I want to be perfect at training this time. I want to do all the right things...eat right, speed train, cross-train etc. But I'm reminded of when I set out to run my first marathon....
When I started training for my first marathon, I asked around to see if anyone knew anything about training for a marathon. I asked my "Frisbee" friends and others to see and I couldn't find anyone. So being the determined person that I am, I found a training schedule on-line and began training. I knew nothing really about long distance running, but I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know what type of shoes I should have, what I should be eating, when and how hard to run. Soon into my training I realized that I definitely could not learn everything and I actually ended up just doing a half-marathon cause the full was just too much at that time. I guess I'm a more "hands on" learner cause I have learned alot about running just from doing it. I now actually have "runner's shoes" rather than Nike.
As I set out to pre-train for the upcoming Marathon I have such high hopes of doing thing right, knowing that I will be better than last time, but probably not necessarily where I'd like to be. Aren't we like this in our Christian walk. We want to do ALL The right things. We want to be the best marathon runners EVER. but we have to take it one training run at a time. Some days we have the best 3 mile runs where it's just us and God and the troubles of life just melt away and others are like the hard 2 mile speed training runs or that horrid stretching that I just don't do. Each plays it's part though in the scheme of life. None is more valuable, they just have different roles.
Running is where I meet God...I wish everyone had this gift
When I started training for my first marathon, I asked around to see if anyone knew anything about training for a marathon. I asked my "Frisbee" friends and others to see and I couldn't find anyone. So being the determined person that I am, I found a training schedule on-line and began training. I knew nothing really about long distance running, but I wanted to know everything. I wanted to know what type of shoes I should have, what I should be eating, when and how hard to run. Soon into my training I realized that I definitely could not learn everything and I actually ended up just doing a half-marathon cause the full was just too much at that time. I guess I'm a more "hands on" learner cause I have learned alot about running just from doing it. I now actually have "runner's shoes" rather than Nike.
As I set out to pre-train for the upcoming Marathon I have such high hopes of doing thing right, knowing that I will be better than last time, but probably not necessarily where I'd like to be. Aren't we like this in our Christian walk. We want to do ALL The right things. We want to be the best marathon runners EVER. but we have to take it one training run at a time. Some days we have the best 3 mile runs where it's just us and God and the troubles of life just melt away and others are like the hard 2 mile speed training runs or that horrid stretching that I just don't do. Each plays it's part though in the scheme of life. None is more valuable, they just have different roles.
Running is where I meet God...I wish everyone had this gift
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Random pre-training thoughts
Mel here.
It amazes me how difficult 2 miles is. I amazes me how my body "feels" like I haven't ever run before. I ran two miles today and decided to push myself. Mostly from the encouragement of Amber. I know Amb, you said nothing, but just your eagerness to make a good time on our marathon makes me want to already start working on speed. So I decided I would run faster than normal and try to keep a steady pace. I intended on running the first miles really fast (for me anyway) and then I would slow down, but I ended up running my first miles really fast and then walking for a minute or two and then running the last mile pushing myself, but not as fast as the first.
So anyway towards the end I wanted to slow down. I was tired and wanted to stop and I thought of how I also slow down at the end and I wanted to get better at that, so I tried to maintain my faster pace and I DID! Then I started thinking about how so many times I have such a hard time pushing myself. It's difficult for me to go out and run and push myself, but if I have someone running with me, or I set a goal before going out then I'm more likely to be able to push myself. Then I thought about how I am usually pushed by my circumstances. In life I have a difficult time pushing myself, but the right circumstances and pressure reveal that I could do much more than I thought.
It amazes me how difficult 2 miles is. I amazes me how my body "feels" like I haven't ever run before. I ran two miles today and decided to push myself. Mostly from the encouragement of Amber. I know Amb, you said nothing, but just your eagerness to make a good time on our marathon makes me want to already start working on speed. So I decided I would run faster than normal and try to keep a steady pace. I intended on running the first miles really fast (for me anyway) and then I would slow down, but I ended up running my first miles really fast and then walking for a minute or two and then running the last mile pushing myself, but not as fast as the first.
So anyway towards the end I wanted to slow down. I was tired and wanted to stop and I thought of how I also slow down at the end and I wanted to get better at that, so I tried to maintain my faster pace and I DID! Then I started thinking about how so many times I have such a hard time pushing myself. It's difficult for me to go out and run and push myself, but if I have someone running with me, or I set a goal before going out then I'm more likely to be able to push myself. Then I thought about how I am usually pushed by my circumstances. In life I have a difficult time pushing myself, but the right circumstances and pressure reveal that I could do much more than I thought.
Friday, March 13, 2009
Let's do it!!
I will absolutely blog with you. haha, that sounds kind of funny... Anyway, I have a new burst of energy just thinking about signing up for the race! What a blessing it is to be able to run- everytime I'm running, I am so thankful for the opportunity! And it is even more amazing to run with my bestest friend, Mel! Mel and I ran a half marathon last year together (my first and she had already done a full before that) it was a great race. We were able to encourage eachother throughout the entire race- Mel was stronger in the beginning and I was stronger at the end. It was perfect! We even sang songs and learned a new phrase from some fellow runners along the way "big hills, small butts!" :) Not that we care- we're BB's Quarters! (it's a Russia thing....) But every race I did after that on my own, I had Mel's encouraging words going through my head and kept on going because of her! I am so excited to start training for a full marathon! There's nobody else in the world I would rather do it with than Mel! Even though we are millions of miles away, it works for us to train "together." Can't wait to get started!
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