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!
Friday, December 19, 2014
Monday, December 15, 2014
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.
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.
Monday, December 8, 2014
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.
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.
Sunday, November 30, 2014
27 Sleeps...well, maybe only 26
Today I woke up thinking...only 27 more sleeps until my first marathon. Wow. (Unless I don't sleep tonight at all, as it seems to be, then it is only 26 sleeps). And I haven't totally lived up to all I hoped this marathon training would do. I calculated my miles this morning and was quite surprised though. Although I didn't run 17 days of the month due to an injury, and several days I didn't run because I only run three to four times a week, I still go 90 miles in this month! 90!!! That's crazy for me! I feel good about the race. It is coming quickly, but I am focused with the Optimized Fat Metabolism way of eating and focused in my training. I am not getting to run quite as much as I would like as I am still battling this hip issue. However, I am focused. I am continuing to run what I can, strength train, and practice yoga. Most importantly, I am praying. I know God has a plan for me and this is part of that plan. He will get me there. My OFM way of eating and Vespa is going to also play a huge role in getting me to race day, through the 26.2 miles to crossing the finish line. And it will get me there without soreness and pain the day after. That's one of my favorite things about it.
There has been a lot of loss and disappointment around lately. I am thankful that God has it all in his control. I am blessed my family is safe and healthy. I am blessed in many ways. My heart breaks for my friends who are going through loss and disappointments right now. But I am blessed by being in their lives. Being there to pray for them and with them. Being there to help them laugh. To help them in whatever way God decides to use me to do so. My heart still hurts for them, but I feel so blessed today to be used by God. That's one of the many amazing things about my Savior. He uses us and blesses us in His plan. I in no way get pleasure and feel good that my loved ones hurt. But I feel blessed and thankful that God has chosen me to be in their lives, to be there to help comfort them.
God does the comforting. God is the one that gets us through our struggles and eases our pains. But He uses people, humans. And it is a blessing to know God is using you. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior today if you haven't already. Surrender yourself to His plan and see how He can use you. I know He still has work for me to do. How? Because I am still alive. I am still here. He isn't done with me yet. He has decided that some have served Him faithfully for many years. They have fulfilled His plan for their lives and He has taken them home. It leaves us on this earth with a pain in our hearts. We are only human and we feel grief, sorrow, and heartache. But He will comfort us. He will love on us. He will bring us through. He helps us to move forward as we recognize He has a plan for us too. There are things for us to do here. May I live every day for His honor and glory. I know I won't do all He wants me to, as I am not perfect and am only human. But I know that I desire to do my best for Him. I have caused many stripes on His back, and I strive today to make Him smile.
There has been a lot of loss and disappointment around lately. I am thankful that God has it all in his control. I am blessed my family is safe and healthy. I am blessed in many ways. My heart breaks for my friends who are going through loss and disappointments right now. But I am blessed by being in their lives. Being there to pray for them and with them. Being there to help them laugh. To help them in whatever way God decides to use me to do so. My heart still hurts for them, but I feel so blessed today to be used by God. That's one of the many amazing things about my Savior. He uses us and blesses us in His plan. I in no way get pleasure and feel good that my loved ones hurt. But I feel blessed and thankful that God has chosen me to be in their lives, to be there to help comfort them.
God does the comforting. God is the one that gets us through our struggles and eases our pains. But He uses people, humans. And it is a blessing to know God is using you. Accept Him as your Lord and Savior today if you haven't already. Surrender yourself to His plan and see how He can use you. I know He still has work for me to do. How? Because I am still alive. I am still here. He isn't done with me yet. He has decided that some have served Him faithfully for many years. They have fulfilled His plan for their lives and He has taken them home. It leaves us on this earth with a pain in our hearts. We are only human and we feel grief, sorrow, and heartache. But He will comfort us. He will love on us. He will bring us through. He helps us to move forward as we recognize He has a plan for us too. There are things for us to do here. May I live every day for His honor and glory. I know I won't do all He wants me to, as I am not perfect and am only human. But I know that I desire to do my best for Him. I have caused many stripes on His back, and I strive today to make Him smile.
Monday, November 24, 2014
Never forget, we are a blessed people
This is a season of Thanksgiving. I am not sure why we choose only
one short amount of time each year to focus on all we have to be
thankful for. This is something that we should do daily. We should
never take for granted all we have and all the people we are surrounded
with.
This time of year is a difficult time for me. I lost my grandmother on the 12th of this month, and had to say goodbye to her on the 15th. A blessing took place three years ago though on the 18th of this month as my sweet niece Kynsie was brought into this world. It reminds me that my grandmother, who raised me as her own, would never want me to focus on what I lost the day she left this world, but would want me to focus on what blessings I have right now. Today. At this moment.
When I decided to run a marathon, this was my focus. To remind others that we must not take for granted our time. Our time is so short and could end at any time. I lost a lot of time with this amazing woman who was willing to give everything up to raise her grand-kids. She did just that too. I can't take back the time I lost. But I can take advantage of the time I am given each day. My grandmother used to tell me that she didn't want flowers and stuff at her funeral because we should give her flowers and stuff while she was alive so she could enjoy them. She was big on us enjoying life and each other, not spending money on something after we lose someone. What enjoyment does that person really get in flowers and stuff after they have left this world? None. Does it really give us comfort? It doesn't me. It gives me comfort to think about the good times we had, and to bask in the comfort that she brings me.
As I read through this, I read the above statement about "...we must not take for granted our time." Wow...time. It seems so long ago that I decided and registered for my first marathon. It was in May. Today I sit here and have 32 days left before I run that marathon. I didn't blog about my training as I planned. I have trained. Sometimes not as planned. I have been battling a hip issue for a while now, and have lost some training time. But I am keeping on moving forward. What else can I do?
This past weekend I ran two half marathons back to back. One Saturday morning and one Sunday morning. I have had to change how I do things with my training and just day to day, but I feel confident I can do this marathon. I have to do so as it is to honor the memory of my grandmother. This marathon will be so emotional for me. To top it off, the focus is that we don't take our time with our loved ones for granted. With the passing of Jacob Wells, the race director for my first marathon, it brings this on even stronger. I am proud to be one of the 400 or so runners that will get to run this race. I am nervous as I know I will personally face many challenges in the 26.2 miles to include lots of bridges. I am nervous because I know that this is going to be emotional for everyone there. There will be people there in the memory of Jacob just to honor him. So many layers to what I am headed to. I don't think there is any way to possibly train for this marathon. I can train for the distance and I can attempt to train for the mental aspect of pushing through the pain (which I definitely did this weekend running the 26.2+ miles over the two days). But what I can't train for is all the emotions I am going to experience.
It is hard to wrap my head around what is headed my way less than five weeks from now. I think I am as ready as I can be honestly. All I can do is love on those in my life right now. I have so many friends and family who support and encourage me. This weekend I was reminded of all my blessings. God gives me grace and mercy. He gave the ultimate sacrifice. Something I can never repay. I can live daily for Him and try to show His love to others by loving them and showing compassion. High fives as Jacob did. Jacob gave high fives literally and figuratively. I am amazed at the life this man lived in his short time, and the way he touched so many. Even those of us who never really knew him personally.
This time of year is a difficult time for me. I lost my grandmother on the 12th of this month, and had to say goodbye to her on the 15th. A blessing took place three years ago though on the 18th of this month as my sweet niece Kynsie was brought into this world. It reminds me that my grandmother, who raised me as her own, would never want me to focus on what I lost the day she left this world, but would want me to focus on what blessings I have right now. Today. At this moment.
When I decided to run a marathon, this was my focus. To remind others that we must not take for granted our time. Our time is so short and could end at any time. I lost a lot of time with this amazing woman who was willing to give everything up to raise her grand-kids. She did just that too. I can't take back the time I lost. But I can take advantage of the time I am given each day. My grandmother used to tell me that she didn't want flowers and stuff at her funeral because we should give her flowers and stuff while she was alive so she could enjoy them. She was big on us enjoying life and each other, not spending money on something after we lose someone. What enjoyment does that person really get in flowers and stuff after they have left this world? None. Does it really give us comfort? It doesn't me. It gives me comfort to think about the good times we had, and to bask in the comfort that she brings me.
As I read through this, I read the above statement about "...we must not take for granted our time." Wow...time. It seems so long ago that I decided and registered for my first marathon. It was in May. Today I sit here and have 32 days left before I run that marathon. I didn't blog about my training as I planned. I have trained. Sometimes not as planned. I have been battling a hip issue for a while now, and have lost some training time. But I am keeping on moving forward. What else can I do?
This past weekend I ran two half marathons back to back. One Saturday morning and one Sunday morning. I have had to change how I do things with my training and just day to day, but I feel confident I can do this marathon. I have to do so as it is to honor the memory of my grandmother. This marathon will be so emotional for me. To top it off, the focus is that we don't take our time with our loved ones for granted. With the passing of Jacob Wells, the race director for my first marathon, it brings this on even stronger. I am proud to be one of the 400 or so runners that will get to run this race. I am nervous as I know I will personally face many challenges in the 26.2 miles to include lots of bridges. I am nervous because I know that this is going to be emotional for everyone there. There will be people there in the memory of Jacob just to honor him. So many layers to what I am headed to. I don't think there is any way to possibly train for this marathon. I can train for the distance and I can attempt to train for the mental aspect of pushing through the pain (which I definitely did this weekend running the 26.2+ miles over the two days). But what I can't train for is all the emotions I am going to experience.
It is hard to wrap my head around what is headed my way less than five weeks from now. I think I am as ready as I can be honestly. All I can do is love on those in my life right now. I have so many friends and family who support and encourage me. This weekend I was reminded of all my blessings. God gives me grace and mercy. He gave the ultimate sacrifice. Something I can never repay. I can live daily for Him and try to show His love to others by loving them and showing compassion. High fives as Jacob did. Jacob gave high fives literally and figuratively. I am amazed at the life this man lived in his short time, and the way he touched so many. Even those of us who never really knew him personally.
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