Mentality, 8 sleeps out

Well, 3 Bridges Marathon is only 8 sleeps away.  I still feel nothing really.  Starting to get a little excited about it.  My mentality right now is this is my race.  It is my first marathon.  I run it for sweet Sophia and for my loving, grandmother that I miss greatly.  I have to have fun.  And I have to focus on doing what I can do.  Listening to my body.  Running my pace.  Enjoying the journey.  This race though is to remind me and others that we must not take time for granted.  We need to love on others  We need to find the joy in life.  The joy though can only come from one place. 

Joy is defined by the Webster Dictionary as "a feeling of great happiness
: a source or cause of great happiness : something or someone that gives joy to someone".  I have found over my short time here that true joy can only come from the Lord.  This Christmas, I pray that my loved ones will all find true joy.  That they will grow closer to the Lord or find Him for the first time if they don't know Him yet.  Having a relationship with the Savior is the greatest gift one could get.  And it is a free gift.  You just have to accept it.  It doesn't mean that life will always be fun and easy.  But it does mean that you will always have someone walking beside you and giving you joy in all things.  The valleys and the mountain tops.  You will never have to walk through a trial or a triumph alone.  What joy!

Not really feeling anything

I had someone ask me the other day if I was getting nervous yet.  I am not.  I have 12 sleeps left before I run my first ever marathon.  I should be nervous.  I have pain in my hip and knee and foot.  I should be nervous. But I am not.  These last two weeks I am focusing on strength training and running a little, but not a lot.  Thinking the more rest I give my hip and foot the better.  The knee has always been an issue so that's no big surprise. 

I still think about what an honor this is going to be to get to run this race.  It is only my grandmother's birthday.  I wish she were here with me to watch me.  To cheer me on.  I know she would be proud of me.  She played a crucial role in who I am today.  And God tells me that through Him I am a woman.  A woman with a heart like my grandmothers.  It is also the birthday of one of my best friends.  And I have sweet Sophia to run for too.  That alone is a blessing.  She reminds me to be strong.

19 Sleeps and Counting...

The Duggar family may have 19 kids and counting (up), but I have 19 sleeps and counting (down).  If you have been following me, you know I have been battling a hip issue.  God is good and faithful.  He is healing me.  I have put my hope and trust in Him.  My faith is in Him.  Faith is believing without seeing.  It is easy to believe in what you see, but things are taken to a whole other level when you have believe without seeing.  Without anything tangible to wrap your hands on.  But I also see the rewards of faith in Jesus Christ as so much better than anything I can hold in my hands.  He is never failing.  He is never changing.  He will run and walk every step with me on December 27th as I honor the memory of my grandmother and run the miles for my sweet buddy Sophia Rose. 

I ran my 20 mile training run this past weekend.  I got tired.  My legs felt heavy.  But I kept pushing, and God kept my hip and legs going. I woke the following morning with no pain.  How amazing!  I haven't been pain free since before my half marathon at the end of October. 

God is good.  Have faith in Him and Him alone.  Man and this world will disappoint.  Will break our hearts.  But if we trust in the Lord, He will never fail us.  He may not give us what we want, but when He doesn't, we have to know that He always knows best.  There is no telling what is lying ahead that He is protecting us from. 

Train hard. Training pays off.  But rest too.  Rest days are as crucial as our training days.  Consistency.  Balance.  Variety.  Listen to your body.  Not your mind.  Your mind will give up on you.  Your body may give out, but make sure it is your body and not your mind.  Train well and your body will get your through.  My Savior gets me through.