own it

Sometimes I like a good list.  This week's list is sponsored by my own unabashed, unashamed personal experience.

You know you're a running DORK when... 

1.  You get to a really good part in a song, and you have to resist the urge to break out the air drums.  I mean, your fists are already in prime position, up by your sides, swinging back and forth... really, is this just me?!?

2.  You still get kind of excited inside when you happen to pass someone else who is running on the same trail/road/sidewalk/path as you.  My heart does a little happy flip while my knees say, Slow down you jerk! We are NOT really this fast!

3.  You've been known to take pictures while running.  Seriously, using my iPhone as an iPod makes it all too easy.  Plus, just look at where I'm so blessed to live and play...

(By the way, that's a paddle-boarder—not the Loch Ness Monster.) 

From across the other bridge.

4.  ...then you get home to realize you accidentally took one that looks like this... 
HA!!!  Silly touch screen.

I think I'm 4 for 4. :)

In other news...

I did run my 5-miler in 49 minutes today.  (Which, if I'm excited about that, it should tell you how slow my long runs are, lol!)

This was so sweet... I came back to my cube after a meeting today to find my WORD sitting on my desk! :)  A very sweet coworker of mine made this for me, and I pinned it to my wall...

#MOW 2012 -- keep it in front of you.

This one is a bit late, but I've also learned recently about dynamic vs. static stretches BEFORE running.  I know that you really shouldn't stretch before exercise unless you've warmed up somehow first (because your muscles are cold), so I'm trying to incorporate the dynamic stuff beforehand instead.  Really, more than anything, I've learned that good stretching after a run (when you can do the deep static stuff) will make the biggest difference in how I feel during my next one.

I think that's it for this week so far... OH, we're doing 12 miles on Saturday, which is definitely the longest I've ever run at one time and will actually be the farthest distance we get to in our training... prayers appreciated!!  Til next time... :)

eleven — ya-hoo!

Awesome 11 miles this morning!!!

Even though I did the same distance as last weekend, it just felt really good today.  I had great company (which makes a world of difference), it was beautiful out, we changed it up and went all the way the end of the north end at Shell Island, and we even "sprinted" to the finish.  Amazing run!! :)

Here we are... 11-milers!

Noticeable this week is how much more I am able to talk comfortably during runs.  Today, the two girls I ran with and I carried on a conversation until the very end (the home stretch is where I usually start to get quiet).  Besides a slight discomfort in my knees (nothing painful or major), I felt really good endurance-wise and had controlled breathing the entire time.

Another update... my Lulu pants came in!!! :)  Of course the delivery dude brought them to my door not 20 minutes after I walked in from my run today. :P  But they're heeere, and I loooove them already. :)

lulu love

I'm extremely thankful for such a redeeming run this morning.  Just keeping it real...

I was SO TICKED during one of my short runs this past week.  

Ha!  You will not hear me say that often... but it's so true.  I was.  It was my own problem; I had set my expectations way too high.  I was totally expecting a beautiful day and a glorious run: 5 miles at the beach with sunny, 70-degree weather.

I guess that's what happens when you expect.  You make an "ex"... out of your... spect...

Anyway.  From the moment I stepped out of my car, I knew the conditions were NOT very glorious... The wind was ripping so hard, I felt like I was on an outdoor treadmill.  The kind of run when you feel like you're doing twice as much work to get the same result.  My hair was blowing all over the place, and I was also much tighter than usual: tight calves and tight arches in my feet made my legs feel heavy to pick up—the worst feeling.  I realized I left my arm band at home, so I had to carry my iPhone in my hand for music (which actually turned into an opportunity for getting a couple drive-by photos—see below.  Not the best pics or all of my favorite places, but I figure I wouldn't waste them.).  Last but not least, it was extremely crowded at the Loop that day.  I was weaving in and out of people all over the place, and NO ONE seemed to know that a sidewalk is like a two-lane road: you stay on the right, and the person running the opposite direction should be to their right.  If two people are walking (or running) beside each other and taking up the whole sidewalk, why WOULDN'T you automatically think to move over or get behind the other person to allow for the two "lanes" when someone is coming your way?  Maybe that's just how my mind works.  This lack of etiquette (or should I say common courtesy) got on my nerves SO bad that day, and it seemed like EVERYone was an offender...

Good thing I SNAPPED OUT OF IT about halfway through when I realized how silly I was being.  One forecasted expectation gone south had set the negativity ball in motion so quickly... how scary.  Did I really expect there to be perfect conditions in every aspect every time I run?  Did I think I deserve them?  Did I think that the only way to get in a good workout was to have them?

Bad days are going to happen—it's a fact.  So I can either allow them to dampen my day, or I can choose to focus on how much I do have to blessed with... and let gratitude turn what I have into more than enough.

Late afternoon at Johnnie Mercer's Pier, Wrightsville Beach

Boats hiding behind the sunlight on the waterway.

I'm so grateful for such a "great-full" long run this morning... with great people, a lovely landscape, and a great God. <3

new stuff

I recently received the schedule for the remainder of our training, and I can't believe how close we are to the end...

Feb. 25 (this weekend):  11 miles (again, lol)
March 3:  12 miles
March 10:  6 or 8-ish miles (tapering back)
March 18:  RACE DAY!!!

I'm starting to wish time would just slow down... mostly because of how much I have enjoyed our group runs on Saturdays and the whole training process in general.  Fortunately, running itself doesn't have to stop after the half; it's only just begun...

In other news...

My new Lululemon pants are on their way!!!  

I am SO excited!  *Slightly* in love with this brand. :)  I've needed a good pair of compression running tights, BUT since it's been so nice this winter, and spring is right around the corner, I decided to go with crops instead (the "Run: Inspire Crop II"  style).  I'm thinking that if I can get in several good runs with these to break them in, they will probably be what I wear on race day.  Woo-hoo! :)

Last but not least, I have yet to post the map of the half, so I figured I would do that at some point.  Here she is, all 13.1 of her!

Wrightsville Beach Half Marathon - 2012

All for now... Have a great week!

10 miles... make that 11 :)

Friday morning was my loner 10-mile run... and I did it!!!

I was out of town on Saturday (the reason I had to miss the group run), but I put on my big-girl, um, running shoes and set out to see if I could "go the distance" alone. :D

What's funny is that the week before was supposed to be 9 miles, and we ended up running close to 10, then on Friday I was supposed to do 10 and actually ended up running 11!  I wasn't able to view what had been mapped out for our group, so I did what I thought it was, then mapped it myself when I got home, and realized I did a little more than what I had to... Did that just happen!? :)

Inside my car on the way there...

(I had to be my own motivation!)

I started a *teensy* bit later than we have been starting recently (7:45 instead of 7).  It was a GORGEOUS morning; I was wishing halfway through that I could shed another layer.  Nothing beats running at the beach on a sunny day!  I did Eastwood Road, Summer Rest Trail, the far side of the Loop, down to the Coast Guard station at the tip of the south end, up the close side of the Loop, Summer Rest Trail again (which, as it turns out, I didn't need to do), and back.  It definitely felt long, but endurance-wise I was doing great (took it a little bit slower than I probably would be going if I had been with the others).  I actually ended up taking TWO gels on this run (Pineapple was good, too—YES!!), and those last two miles were not at all easy, but most of the run was just glorious, full of good music and beautiful scenery, sunshiny, and the kind of "work" that feels good to do: challenging, intentional, and even slow, but incredibly rewarding.  Knowing that every step makes you better is such an awesome feeling.  Knowing that you aren't taking the easy way out is just icing on the whole sweet cake.

A friend told me this past week that if you can run 10, you can finish the half marathon (13.1).  And I really do feel like, from this point, on I can really do it. :)

I ran it no walking, and I want to run the half that way, too: no stopping until the end.  But a phrase has gotten lodged in my mind a lot lately: Don't stop—finish.  My volleyball coach in high school used to say to us, "Don't play not to lose. Play to win!"  There is a big difference.  That same concept, in a different sort of way, is beginning to play into My One Word this year ("finish").  Do I do things just to finish them, or do I do them right—and well?  (At least finishing is a good start. ;)  I'm an INFP to the core... leave things open-ended, and you can always continue to make them better.)  But I'm paying attention and not letting myself forget.

Inspiration on my dash.

The purple sticky in my cube at work.

Yep, 10 (11) was good, and another mile marker down... I can't WAIT to finish the half.

for the love of the run

New song added to the expanding playlist for running this week: "Paradise" by Coldplay.  Great one for a run at the beach!

Had a GREAT short run at the beach this week, speaking of, with a 5-miler around the Loop twice (I know... with such great resources like MapMyRun, I really should get more creative).  I think it was one of the best short runs I've ever had, and I'm recording it for when runs are really hard and I want to remember that feeling (or at least know that I can have them!!!).

I've decided I definitely want to keep running fairly often when this half is over.  (That is, more than I was before.)  The last two miles of those five actually felt the best, and I NEVER want to lose that!  I had hit my stride and was really moving (at least in my mind I was!), and it felt like I might as well have been floating.  I wasn't exhausted or counting the minutes until it was over.  I was loving it.

Running is such a pure way to get that feeling.  Imagine way back when, a long time ago, when gyms and equipment didn't exist, and people were simply on their own two feet all the time.  That's how they were always in shape—they didn't require anything else to be fit; it was their only choice and a part of life.  I absolutely love the fact that I can get out there and just go.  Nothing necessary but enough land, pavement, or trail.  Running makes me feel strong PLUS gives you that cardio endurance—and it's all purely from your own body propelling itself.  (Not saying distance running isn't somewhat "high risk, high reward"—Insanity, too, which is what I was doing before training.  How do I stumble into these things again, haha!)  But add to that simply being outside, not in a gym, and it really does make an all-natural experience all the way around.  I have gotten to an unfamiliar place suddenly, without even realizing it.  It has totally slipped up on me...

I enjoy running.

At the core of what it is and how I feel while I'm doing it, despite the fact that it's not always easy (and, to some degree, because of it), I actually look forward to it and, dumbfoundedly, enjoy it.  Enjoy it!  Enjoy!?!?!?  Yep, I guess you could say I never thought I'd say that.

Precisely the reason I was so put out with myself for sleeping through my alarm today... AUGHHH!  I woke up on my own to see an incredulous "7:00" on my clock and could not believe it.  What in the world happened?!  I never even heard my alarm or remember turning it off (if that's what happened).  I missed getting up and running at 5:30, AND I missed it.  Both ways you can interpret that.  So with that happening, plus Valentine's Day this week, plus taking an extra day off on Monday after those 9+ on Saturday (thinking I'd surely still get in 2-3 short runs this week), I have ended up getting in only ONE short run this week before tomorrow's 10-mile long run.  Oh no. :-/  (Valentine's Day was great, by the way; no complaints about that. :))

I guess you just have to realize that life happens, and you're not always going to have the perfect week for setting up the next big objective on your list.  In fact, for once I am actually not as worried about reaching the next mileage.  I ran almost that far last weekend, and even with only one short run this week, it was that amazing 5-miler that I enjoyed so much... So why should I let an imperfect week steal my joy???

You can still pray for those 10, though. :)  I'm going to be doing them... by myself.  GULP.  I'm missing the group run on Saturday for being out of town, so I'm making them up tomorrow instead.  Funny how the tables have turned, and I actually prefer running with others now.  You could say that this is most often true with a long run.  So, I'm tweaking the longer of my running playlists on my iPhone and already gearing up in my mind that it can be done.  It will be interesting, that's for sure.  But yet another personal record—yeahhh!

Maybe I'll just think that I get to have another amazing 5 miles—twice.  It's all about perspective. :)      

Niner... and those golden calves

So, I just realized this today...

The marathon is five weeks away!!!

Whoa, that is SO close!!  It's really amazing how fast time has gone by—and how quickly what we have been waiting for will be over.  Just another reminder to appreciate every moment...

Like 9 MILES yesterday!  Woo-hooo!!  Here we are (and, why yes, that water belt I have looks just like a fanny pack :))....

Niner :)

Someone said it again yesterday: how amazing it is that so many of us get up and go out there to run every Saturday morning.  (I might add that we are now starting at 7am, and it was finally cold.)  But I think we all keep going because of each other, and that is a really cool thing.  My family is super encouraging as well.  Just one example: my sister calls me every week with her boys in the car, my two sweet little nephews, for my weekly pep talk—I love it! :)

Once again I was worried and wondering all week about how I was going to pull out another mile farther than I've ever run... and once again it happened!  I don't know how long it will take me to get over how crazy it is, the way that this training works... but it just does.  What's even crazier?  The group I was pacing with kind of had a little adventure (OK, we were sort of lost as far as knowing all the twists and turns of our route)... and we ended up doing almost 10 miles!!!  I couldn't believe it!  I just think back to that 7-miler when I was so tired at the end, and I simply cannot believe how "relatively" good I felt at the end of this one.

So let me back up just a bit right there.  This past week, following our "scale-back" Saturday, was pretty normal: three short runs, no shorter than 3 and no longer than 5.  But I have been SORE!  There's been a tenderness under my feet/heels and a soreness back behind one of my knees.  Nothing bad, but I paid close attention to it and tried to be really conscious of how much I was on my feet when it wasn't necessary, especially the day before Saturday.  (Can I just interject right here: I don't know HOW my teacher friends have trained or are training for a marathon!  Wow!  They are on their feet ALL the time!!!)  I have to admit, I was nervous about our long run because of this.  I made the "pre-decision" to STOP and walk (oh to the horror of my silly pride) and not push it if it got worse during the run.  But I didn't end up feeling any abnormal or extra pain, so I was able to do the whole thing. :D  (Slow moving the whole rest of the day, that's for SURE—probably what 9 miles will do to you—but I had no real red flags about anything during or after we finished running.)

Now, just a few things to note about yesterday's 9-mile milestone...

Rain!
We got rained on during our run just before halfway.  Not a big deal, just a "first."  To be honest I was more worried about possibly getting sick (let's face it: I am drenched with sweat while exercising anyway—SUCH a sweater!!!).  But it felt kind of "hardcore" for some reason, so I have to admit: that was kinda fun. :)

New scenery once again (some of it by accident, for those of us who were/are directionally challenged, HA!).
I loved running up part of the north end this time.  Just a cool change of scenery while still running right near the beach (you can't beat a sea breeze).  And even though taking Summer Rest Trail is not new, it is always such a gorgeous section in the early part of our runs when we come up parallel to the waterway and get to peek at all those dream homes facing it.  One of these days I'm just going to run with my phone and take pictures, lol.

Slower pace.
I ran a bit slower than my long runs have been recently, at least for the first half, and I think it was a contributing factor to not feeling like I was completely exhausted during the run... ya think?! ;)  I realized just how much trying to keep up with a few of my faster friends plays into how hard the run feels.  Don't get me wrong: I love being challenged by them in this way and most definitely enjoy their company, but it's almost good in a way (at least in thinking about the actual half marathon) to realize that I really can do this, and even be comfortable, if I simply "run my race at my pace."  (But I can't help it and will probably still want to "keep up"... friends just make you better—in more ways than one!)

Break it down.
No dance moves here (YET—I do think we should all be practicing our "touchdown dance" for crossing the finish line, haha!).  I'm talking about breaking down the run mentally.  I read from Runner's World that you should break a half marathon down into three segments: the first five miles (easy does it; get into the rhythm), the second five miles (hold steady; concentrate), and the final 3.1 (time to push—and there's less to go than the first segments you've done!).  So yesterday I thought about our run as just three 3-mile short runs... and it really helped!

New GU gel.
I ran with "food" and my water belt for the second time yesterday.  Again, I was amazed by how easy it is to run with a water belt.  Just make sure it is nice and secure so it's not bouncing around, and you'll be fine!  It's actually fairly easy to pull the bottle out, take a swig, and push it back in, all while running.  I'd much rather have it and run with something around my waist than not have it.  There is a zip pocket in the belt where I stashed a new flavor of gels... and the verdict is... two for two!!  Strawberry banana was good, too! :)  I am very happy that I seem to NOT be with the majority on this one... No big deal, and they are great fuel!!!

From the facts to the "epiphanies"...  A while back, when I very first started pushing myself to run farther—when the half was just a consideration and training had not yet officially begun—I was starting to absorb the thought in my mind that through this type of challenging myself and discipline and determination, the half marathon might actually be attainable.  I think yesterday, for the first time, it actually FELT doable.  Physically.  I ran close to 10 miles and could only think: Just a little over three miles more, and this thing is in the bag.  What an amazing feeling!!!  I was busy the whole rest of the day yesterday, but I would randomly think about it from time to time and just BEAM on the inside... Did that really just happen this morning?!  Feeling physically able to run that far is great, BUT it is definitely still just a bonus to this whole thing.  I will say it forever: the physical aspect of all this training is only just the beginning—only scratching the surface.

One LAST thing to note... (I know right; how can I possibly have this much to talk about every week about running?!)

Last week at small group, as we are studying the great big topic of insecurity (who CAN'T relate?!), the question posed was about what area(s) we may have a lot of pride in.  (Pride, of course, being in the exact same boat as insecurity—rowing it, in fact—not its opposite.)  One of the girls in my group immediately exclaimed, "Training for the marathon!!"  She is training for the FULL marathon, I might add, which HECK YEAH is something to be proud of...  But I got where she was going with that.  I could relate to how doing something like this can totally tap into your pride.  Very easily, actually.  For me, whereas I'm not nearly on her level, my conviction instead went straight to idolatry.  "Too much of a good thing is a bad thing," our pastor has once said (paraphrasing).  Training has been a wonderful thing—physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually—but if it becomes an obsession, if it becomes greater than God in my life, then that is a horrible thing.  There is a balance to strike for sure, especially when I think something in human beings is wired to desire greatness.  We see athletes on TV, or whatever it may be, and there is an attraction to that because of the spirit in us that is enkindled when we see it.  We want to become great, or even just be part of something great, which is all fine and good—until we start taking all the credit or losing sight of what it's all for.  Those golden calves are harder to see when they aren't inherently bad, right?  (And I'm not talking about the golden calves you build up on your runs, HA.)

To keep that in check, I must be in a continual state of gratitude to God for this gift.  It is not something I am doing on my own, working hard to earn for myself, pulling myself up by my bootstraps to boast about.  I am not entitled to an amazing half marathon after all this training—I am not entitled to anything.  All of it, every moment until the day of and after, is a gift.  I have to thank God for it every day, recognizing that He is both the motivation and the source... and the one who gets all the glory.  I keep an earbud in one ear even during runs just to have that praise music flowing in as a background.  I want to finish that half, finish this blog for that matter, and give the glory to God by showing everyone that He took a non-runner and did all of this with her Himself.  I just get to be the recipient of the journey, the process, of getting there.  And can you believe He gives us these moments and these opporuntities every day to be a part of?!  For me lately, it has been running, but we ALL have something we can use or tap into within our "sphere of influence" to magnify God through the scope of our experience.  Rather than ask "how," we can be free to say "how cool"... Because it really is.      

mind games

A few things to note this week…

After the 8 miles last weekend, and my short runs during the week being 5 and 4's, I realized that I have put in more miles this past week than I ever have before—ever!  This past Saturday was actually our "scale-back" long run, so we aren't bumping up to 9 miles until this coming weekend, but the whole week before that I felt like I was really knocking it out.  There is definitely a sense of achievement in all that, but honestly part of what I am most excited about is the way that I feel.  No tightness or soreness, no aches and pains.  The only thing I know to contribute that to is stretching (ALL the time: before and after runs, in between, and every morning), and good running shoes.  (If there is anything else I don't know about, then I hope in blissful unawareness I just keep doing what I'm doing!)  I don't know if all this running will catch up to me eventually, but for now I'm just really trying to pay attention to how I feel and will simply keep going as long as I feel like I can.

Speaking of the scale-back weekend, this past Saturday I only did 4 miles, but I was averaging a 9:30 pace.  That is not going to sound all that great to many people, but I was proud of it.  I finally got a good playlist onto my iPhone, whereas I used to simply put my iPod on shuffle.  I'm telling you... especially when/if I'm ever by myself, the music makes a big difference.

That is also the day I got PULLED OVER.  Whoops!!  Hasn't happened in years, but he got me for doing 55 in a 45 on my way to run.  (My husband pointed out that I wasn't even a mile away from the house... guess that's not the place for me to be working on my time!!!)  The good news is, the cop only gave me a warning. :)  And I think it kind of became motivation for my run when I finally got to the park.  Catch me on foot!!!  Haha.  (Really, people; I am not a law-breaker.)

So here's something funny.  I can remember having crazy dreams about my wedding before I got married.  It was while we were engaged, and I was right in the middle of planning.  I know of other girls who have said they did this: either showing up late for the wedding, or when they got there everything was completely different than what was planned.  Well, last night, I dreamt about the marathon!  And it was the same type thing!  It's so funny because this is the only other time besides my wedding that I've done this.  In my dream, I was late to the race (the start line of which, by the way, was in my parents' backyard).  So I was already way behind, and then they had all these obstacles and games you had to play all along the way.  It ended up taking us SIX HOURS to complete 13.1 miles, and I was so frustrated because all I wanted to do was run.  The worst part was getting to the finish, and it was dark outside, and my whole family had been standing there waiting the entire time... six hours later.  This is really telling, I think.  Haha!  I have this huge thing with being late, not just for punctuality's sake but because I absolutely hate making people wait.  I must also be subconsciously worried about being behind everyone else and running into challenges along the way.  I think the best thing I can do is laugh that one off (really, how silly!) and try not to put so much pressure on race day—which, as I emphasized in a previous post ("Set-back and an A-Ha Moment"), I didn't THINK I had been doing lately... The mind is such a funny thing.

Well, like I said, we're doing 9 miles this coming weekend... I swear I feel like every single week I'm wondering how I'm supposed to be able to bump up another whole mile.  The way this training works is just crazy to me!  But I have to continue laying down the "logic" of it all and just trust that it can (and will) be done.  It's a whole new process of surrender.  I mentioned in my very first post ("So Not A Runner") something my pastor has said: "'How' is third."  "How" is not the first question we should ask when we cast vision for something—it's actually the third.  I definitely wonder, but I'm going to stop asking.  Especially now that I've seen 8 happen, and it was the same thing in my mind the week before that... I'm going to trust experience, not fear!

Speaking of the mind, I have to end with a quote a friend of mine said today while we were doing a short run together.  We've worked out together but never actually run together before, and she had a great perspective from the half she did last year.  We were talking about how mental running is.  She said she eventually realized that it wasn't about whether or not she could physically run a certain mileage but whether or not her mind could—because your mind is what can really cause you problems.  That could be at mile 12 or at mile 2... and you just better hope it's not mile 2!  Preparing yourself mentally is one of the biggest helps to me.  That's why sometimes a 3 can feel so much worse than, say, a 7.  Because you brace yourself ahead of time for a 7, but in your head a 3 is "practically nothing"... and then you end up counting every minute!  A good thing to always "keep in mind."

OK, just kidding, I do have one more thing... speaking of friends.  I have said before that I have REALLY enjoyed the camaraderie of training with a big group, and just the other weekend I met a girl who works at the hospital here in town.  We got to talking (8 miles allows for longer conversations, that's for sure!), and after finding out I have Type 1 diabetes, she said I HAD to meet a friend of hers—a girl about my age who is a nurse, also has Type 1, and also runs marathons!  I honestly do not know many people at all my age who have Type 1, so I did something very out of character for me... I looked her up on Facebook when I got home and asked her if she'd want to grab coffee sometime!  I promise I am not a stalker... and I typically don't ever initiate things like that with strangers... but I'm so glad I did!  We had a great conversation over coffee the other day, and it was WONDERFUL chatting with someone else my age who not only has diabetes as well but is also a runner.  We gleaned a little wisdom from each other and shared stories, and I think it was a real encouragement to both of us.

On that note, I am ready to rest up for the rest of the week.  I am grateful to continually see God work in all of this, in only the ways He knows how... 

lately

Every time I hear the song "Lord of Lords" by Hillsong (one of my running songs in the list on the right), there is a line that sticks out to me and resolves to getting stuck in my head for days on end: "I'll run 'til I finish the race..."  Right now, it's just where I am in this season of life:  With my one word being "finish" and, of course, as I'm training for the half, and as I spend time with my elderly neighbors at the senior center next door each week, this concept all the way around is something I've been thinking about a lot lately...  If "finishing the race" is coming to the end of our life here on earth, then how are we running right now?  And, the bigger question... for Whom?

The line in this song implies that being finished is not simply to stop.  We run until it's finished.  It's a process.  There is progress.  We don't reach the end until it's over.  So how we live now (and who we are becoming) is vital to the legacy we will leave behind—and to our lifelong quest that our entire lives are to glorify God.  Every aspect of them.  In running and in life, it takes perseverance, discipline, and lot of faith.  There is resistance, refinement, and response.  It requires positioning oneself... and paying attention.

I can remember thinking a long time ago that my biggest fear is complacency.  (If I'm being REALLY honest here, it's probably spiders... shhhh.)  That fear had nothing to do with anything spiritual, but at this point I really don't think it's such a bad place to be in my walk.  God is always going to come in and disrupt us.  I don't think He ever wants us getting too comfortable.  Being taking out of our comfort zones, facing change, being challenged... these things are God's classroom.  They are where he molds us into His image.  One day we'll reach it, one day we'll see His face... but, like with training, how are we doing with what we've been given?  Right this very second, we have what we've been given.  And it may or may not always live up to what we want... but it's what we've got.  So how do we use it?  We all have obstacles to either face and press on through, or allow to stop us.  But we also have God's mercies that are new every morning—that are just enough for every day.  (Lamentations 3:22-23—love this truth.)

I think the word "finish" for me is already becoming more about transformation than anything else (ironically).  I know I'm not perfect and will never be.  But I can't let that be an excuse for becoming content.  Something I heard our pastor say once (paraphrasing) is: "The biggest enemy of 'great' isn't 'bad'; it's 'good.'"  I really believe that...

On a less "deep" end of things, I have to say, running has felt just plain GOOD lately—and I am savoring it!!  My recent runs have felt amazing; no pain at all.  Did a "fast 4" two days ago with a friend and had a smooth 5 yesterday at the beach.  The Loop is such a quick drive from work, so it's a great place to run before heading home (not to mention the sea breeze and a sunset over the waterway!).  And it doesn't hurt that it was yet another 70-degree, sunny day in January... so blessed!!!!!

Today I took a rest from running, and did some ab work and yoga with a friend.  This week also happens to be our "scale-back" week—we're only supposed to run the equivalent of a 5K (3.1 miles) on Saturday instead of bumping up to 9 miles.  It's hard to rest and to scale back when things are feeling so good.  But I have to have the patience and the wisdom to know that sometimes rest actually adds to the progress—and then have the discipline to follow through.  Lord knows I truly believe I can do whatever I think is best for me sometimes.  Learning... :)

So thankful for His provision and faithfulness today... What are you thankful for?