Don't Sell Yourself Short

Ah. . . .the wind in your face.  The brisk chill of the fall in the early morning.

What on earth am I saying?  It was cold.

Cold I tell you.

Standing in the line for the Porta-potty at 6 in the morning, all I wanted to do is go back to the bed.

"Did you flush?"

Yes, Jessica asked me that.  And yes, I checked.  (DOH!)

We got up early that morning, got dressed, and while I ate my oatmeal, Jessica made me an iced coffee.  Have I ever told any of you that I have some awesome friends?  We took our places in the back of the lies with the walkers.  Intermittently through the morning, there were power issues with the DJ and everything.  From time to time, the power went out, and our little arch at the starting line would lose it's balloony-ness.  (Yes, that's totally a word!)

There I am!  Before long, I had my goo (yuck, but pictured at the bottom right with my prerace fuel collection.)

 And, we were off!

Before we had even hit the first quarter mile walking, I was automatically in the grips of race adrenaline I typically get.  And you know what?  Jess?  Her shin splints were devouring her legs.  She hung back.  I started running.  And how could I not?  "Come Together" by Third Day was playing.  All of the sudden, I was in the midst of Facing the Giants and I could. . .

well, not win the thing, but do really, really well.

I went ahead.  Jess hung behind.

"I'll catch up to you later,"  she says.

Yeah, we saw each other again.  I was leaving the subdivision she was going into.

So I run through Coastal Grand Mall, down the Robert Grissom Parkway, and I'm running!  Well, running 1/4 mile, then walking 1/4 mile, but I'm doing it!

As I round to get to Broadway at the Beach, Jessica's husband was there.  Well, with Dory, and sorry, Brian, but I noticed Dory first.

 There I am, jacket off and tied around my waist!  Didn't last 4 miles.  I saw curbs littered with jackets.  Should've done it, but I just couldn't.

So, I continued through the race, and I was making great time.  And then it happened.

Remember that subdivision I said I met Jess coming out of?  My IT band started killing me there.

I was in tears.  I was thinking, "I'm going to have to give up.  Please, Jesus, take this pain from me."

And then, the song, "Should've Been Me" by Citizen Way began playing:

It should've been me, should've been us; Should've been there hangin' on a cross.  All of this shame all of these scars, should've been stains that were never washed. 

Oh, my goodness.  Here I was, wincing over a little bit of pain, thinking of giving up, while my Savior took my place and dealt with unimaginable pain.  How silly of me to think of giving up a race, when He didn't give up and He had the power to end all of that pain.

No, my pain was not removed from me.

Yes, it got worse.  As I hit the Boardwalk pat at Myrtle Beach it really got terrible.  For those of you who are not familiar with it, it twists and turns.  Every turn made my knee feel as if it were coming off of my leg.  I walked most of that way.  I was cheered on by people on the Boardwalk.  I wanted to cry.  I kept going.  Sometimes, I'm sure, instead of taking pain from us, the Lord gives us the strength to persevere.

Actually, I think it's most of the time He does that.

I did start running as I saw the finish line ahead.

And through the pain, I finished.  My goal, which I told no one, was 3:20:00.  And the official time?

3:03:08.  Nailed it.  And passed it.  By almost 17 minutes.

When all was said and done, Nike+ tells me I ran 13.9 miles.  Wow.  That's a lot of weaving there, lol.  Also, according to Nike, I did 13.1 in 2:51:51.  I'll take that.

The ending view was amazing:

I picked up my water, banana, and bagel and waited to cheer for Jessica as she came through.

Hard to believe we were smiling!

And I finished off the morning back at Coastal Grand with this:

After all, I did have to pass two of them while running.

I was given the strength to persevere through a lot that morning for that race.  I was thankful for a friend to share my day with.  I thought I'd walk it.  Due to conditioning I had been doing since October 2010, I was able to run and finish.

And never again will I sell myself short.  If I'm led to do something, then I know, through God's help, I will get through it.

Less than 24 Hours. . .

Last weekend, my friend Jessica and I did the path for the Myrtle Beach Mini.  For those of you who aren't aware, it's a pretty scenic view of. . .

The streets of Myrtle Beach, minus the last 2-3 miles:

And last week's time (walking and crossing the street with heavy traffic many times)?

Okay, so it's not great.  I don't know what happened to my training, but it fell apart, so I am walking this one just for experience.  At this point, I'm thinking the worst thing I can do is give up.

So, I'm leaving tonight after a meal of great spaghetti!

Tomorrow, I'll be crossing the finish line for:

And you know what, at least the name tag is cool:

I've also tweaked my running playlist.  It takes up 7.3 hours (112 songs) and I won't give the entire list, but I want to share some highlights:
1.  What Could be Better (33Miles)
2.  Changed Forever (TobyMac/Nirva Ready)
3.  Lose My Soul (TobyMac/Kirk Franklin/Mandisa)
4.  Forgiveness (TobyMac/LeCrae)
5.  Speak Life (TobyMac)
6.  Come Together (Third Day)
7.  Forgiven (Skillet)
8.  It's Not Me It's You (Skillet)
9.  Awake and Alive (Skillet)
10.  Death of Me (Royal Tailor)
11.  God Shaped Hole (Plumb)
12.  Let me Feel you Shine (Passion/David Crowder Band)
13.  One Thing Remains (Passion/Kristian Stanfill)
14.  God's Not Dead (Newsboys)
15.  Washed by the Water (NEEDTOBREATHE)
16.  Shackles (Mary Mary)
17.  Every Time you Run (Manafest)
18.  No Plan B (Manafest)
19.  Anger Management (LeCrae/Thi'sl)
20.  I'm a Saint (LeCrae)
21.  Go Hard (LeCrae/Tedashii)
22.  Shine (David Crowder Band)
23.  After All (David Crowder Band)
24.  Already There (Casting Crowns)
25.  You Found Me (Big Daddy Weave)

So, even though I won't be with my church family tomorrow, I will be praising the Lord through song and walking/running as hard as I can!

T-Minus 14 days. . .

Yup, 14 days until the first half marathon.  And where am I?  I can run 7 miles.  That's it.  7.  So, I'm doing something a little different.  For the experience and since I know I have the big Disney one coming up, I'm walking the first half marathon.  It's almost a let down for me, but the most important thing is that I finishe this race.  If I'm going to "press on towards the goal" (Phil 3:14), then I'm going to have to learn a little humility along the way.

I'm not Iron Man.  I'm God's creation.  And I've got to learn that I'm not going to have it my way.  It's going to be His so that He gets the glory.

91 days. . .

I think I might be hyperventilating.  91 days.  That's how long I have until the Myrtle Beach Mini Marathon.  A little longer than a half marathon, at about 13.5 miles, I'm thinking, "What have I been thinking?"  Seriously.

What am I thinking?

Here's another number for ya:  217.  217 days until the Disney Princess Half Marathon.  I think I'll be fine with that one.  I just have to get through the Myrtle Beach one first.

Lately, running has made me weary.

Back pain.

Lost toenails.

I think I need a little incentive.  Any readers have suggestions that don't involve food?

I can do all things. . .

"I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  --Philippians 4:13


Watching Soul Surfer this weekend with the kids, I was amazed at how strong Bethany Hamilton was after her accident.  So many people could have one small setback in life and choose to make it be the end of everything.  She was about to be at the pinnacle of her career and it all came crashing down.

Thank God not everyone has the same type of setback that Bethany had.  I don't know why bad things happen to people and I don't know why some people who seem so kind and good have terrible things happen to them when it seems like awful people skate by.  I do know one thing, though:  God takes our failures, setbacks, and disasters and uses them for His purposes.  He doesn't take you around the "valley of the shadow of death" (Psalm 23).  He takes you through it.

There are many times I allow little things to disturb me to the point where I am not looking to God for help.  I look to my own knowledge.  I look towards my intellect.  I try to fix it myself.  Why can't I just trust God's plans?  " 'For I know the plans I have for you.' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.' " (Jeremiah 29:11)

Sometimes when I am running, I want to just stop.  I just want to drop everything and walk away from all of this.  I'd be less sweaty.  Less sore.  I wouldn't have days where I feel like I could puke.  Then I am reminded of the apostle Paul.  In 2 Timothy, Paul is under arrest again.  He and so many Christians during the reign of Nero are severely persecuted.  Yet in this, he says that he has "I have fought the fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."  (2 Tim 4:7).  I am only running a few races, yet Paul, under persecution, arrest, and eventually murder, keeps the faith, runs the race, and fights the fight.  He did everything for the glory of God.  Bethany Hamilton loses an arm, and continues preaching the word through her athletics.  Tim Tebow almost wasn't with us, but uses every touchdown to praise the Lord.  God had plans for all of them to work toward His glory.  The simple things are acts of ministry to the fallen world.

What am I doing with my running?  I can do it.  I can run the race.  Because "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength."  And I am certain He has a plan for it all.

I finally sprung for it. . .

Holy, mazoly!  The past few weeks, running has gotten harder and harder.  There were too many problems with the running:

1.  The sun wasn't rising until 6:15am
2.  I have to leave for work by 7:15am
3.  It was too hot in the afternoon to run.
4.  I was being late for work every day I ran.

In the end, Monday through Thursday was getting harder and harder for running.

In comes the solution:

Hello, new treadmill.  My credit card is still smoking and I feel sorry for it.  But this morning, I put in 4 miles, and I am excited to be able to run whenever I need to--even if it's at 2 am!

Do Everything. . .

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.--1 Cor 10:3


Of all of the verses in the Bible, I think this is the one that is hardest for me.  It's so easy to tout my achievements, my accomplishments, my progress.  I forget sometimes that I am not the one who makes the achievements.  There is One who is bigger than I am pushing me through.  Cheering me on that extra mile.  Helping me lift that next weight. 


 When I'm running, I think a lot about how far I've come, and gently I'm reminded that "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13)  It happens when a baby deer crosses my running path.  When I look to the right and the sun is rising over the horizon.  When I look to the left and the ducks swim across the pond. 


May I be reminded daily that I am running the good race not for myself and ultimately not for my health, but for the better of God's kingdom.