Marathoning for Miracles

I finished a marathon! Well, sort of. I ran in a marathon relay race as the second leg (6 miles) and then our whole team crossed the finish line together, which was really cool!

Prior to the race, the farthest I had ever run was 4.5 miles. That was several weeks earlier and I only ran twice in the last 3 weeks before the race. The cold weather, rain and darkness of Oregon fall had completely destroyed my motivation.

The day before the race, Jacinda and I drove the entire course of the marathon, which initially intimidated us both, but turned out to be a great idea. The race took us out to the boonies and much of our time running was out on dirt roads south of Abilene where the cows and cactus reside. A few people took the wrong turn and did the wrong route, so we were happy we knew what turns to take because of mapping it out the previous day. (There were also arrows and signs and people to help direct, so it really does puzzle me as to how they got lost?)

Jenise ran the first leg of the relay which was 5 miles. Quick shout-out to Southwest Airlines, Jenise's employer and the friendly people who carried me to TX and back. If you are flying any other airline, you are wrong :) Jenise ran mostly through Abilene neighborhoods and down one very long dirt road.

She tagged off with me and sent me around the Abilene airport on a dirt/gravel road that was a little bit slippery (with all the little rocks) and a whole lot dusty (with cars driving past us at ridiculous speeds). My plan was to run 2 miles, stop at a water station and then walk for a couple minutes, before running 2 more miles and repeating the process. I ran the first 2 miles and didn't have a water station because I just passed 2 at the starting line and the 1 mile mark. So, I decided to keep going and stop at the water station around mile 3. When I arrived, I realized I wanted to try to run through while drinking the cup of water and throw it down when I was finished because it seemed like a hard core runner thing to do. So, I kept running past mile 3 and was still feeling really good! As in, I didn't even want to stop and wasn't really out of breath.

About mile 4 I realized, "Hey! I could run this whole thing!" So I decided to just keep going since I'd already made it that far. The last mile was difficult because I was getting winded a strong wind picked up and was blowing in my face, but the perfect song came on and I picked up the pace while jamming to "Body Moving", quite possibly the best workout song EVER!

I have never said this about running before, but it was really fun! The flat roads of Texas were awesome after running on hills in Oregon. I think that is why I was able to run so much farther than I expected--I didn't realize just how much a difference it would make to be on level ground.

Jacinda and Jenise's cousin were supposed to run with us, but she had sick babies and wasn't able to make it. Luckily, Jacob (Evan has running connections in Abilene--we don't know him at all) was able to step in at the last minute. He is a marathoner, so 8 miles was no big deal for him at all.


Jacob, Jacinda, me and Jenise

We definitely didn't win the relay, but we also didn't get last, so we were pretty happy with being right in the middle!

Texas Weekend

This past weekend I went to Abilene, TX to run in a marathon relay race and see some of my college friends. It was so much fun! Even the running was fun, which is something I have never said before! More on the race in my next blog...

I read Diary of a Wimpy Kid while in Texas and really enjoyed it! There were multiple times that I laughed out loud while reading it. I saw on the inside cover that there are several other books in the series, so I plan to read those and see the movie soon.

Thanksgiving is this month and I am so excited for it! Partly because I will get to go home for the holiday and partly because it is my favorite holiday all year! Only 13 days of work left and then I get to fly to NM/TX. I actually just looked at a calendar and realized I get a 4 day work week this week and next-yay!!

My last day in Lubbock I woke up 15 minutes before we had to leave, didn't shower, had no makeup on, threw on a T-shirt and jeans and headed out the door...felt just like I was back in college! :) I realized recently that people in the South dress up way more than people in Oregon.

It is funny to watch people on a plane when it lands. Some people have that phone out and ready to turn on the millisecond the wheels make contact with the ground. I have even witnessed some who have their finger on the button, as if they have no time to spare to get back in touch with the world!

BEANS

Head on over to Trey Morgan's blog today to worship through giving.


http://treymorgan.net/beans-for-hungry-honduran-kids/

Rock Climbing

                               

For Kory's 25th birthday, we went to Smith Rock State Park near Bend, Oregon and went rock climbing! It was a lot of fun, although quite scary for me.

Kory on my favorite route of the day--about 85 ft tall.

It was pretty terrifying, but I still had a great time!

A professional climber from France that we got to watch--incredible!



We camped the night before so no showers + helmets all day = greasy nasty hair, but the view is still pretty!

Running (Part 2)

September 11 was the day of my 5k race and I feel really good about it! It was the fastest time for 3.1 miles that I had run up to that point. The race was at 9 a.m. on a Saturday morning, which wouldn't be too bad except I NEVER run in the morning. I read somewhere that you should try to run about the same time as your race to get your body used to it, but there is just no way I can get my body out of bed in time to run before work. I seriously get out of bed in time to shower and get dressed and get to work a few minutes before 8 and even that that is a struggle most days. I am most definitely a night owl...if only the sun were up longer, I could do my runs about 9-10 p.m. and I'd feel great!

The guy behind me shows how I really feel about running in the morning

Half-way through



Belinda is my friend from church who ran the 10k

Much to my dismay, I still don't really enjoy running. I hate it less than when I started, but it's still something I have to force myself to do most days. My motivation/desire has decreased GREATLY since my 5k race. I'm still currently training for a Marathon Relay in Abilene, Texas on October 30. There will be 4 of us running and I will run the 6 mile leg. I am currently struggling to run 5 miles, so hopefully in the next few weeks I can get to 6 with little or no walking.

Running (Part 1)

This past weekend I read A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller. If you haven't read the book, let me start off by recommending that you do. It's a really easy read, but it's very motivating and inspiring. The book is all about the story of your life and whether you're living a memorable story or one that is meaningless. While I certainly don't feel like my life is meaningless, this book reminded/encouraged me to live my life more fully and spend more time making memories and less time wasting hours of my life away.

One of my favorite quotes from the book reads, "...I've noticed something. I've never walked out of a meaningless movie thinking all movies are meaningless. I only thought the movie I walked out on was meaningless. I wonder, then, if when people say life is meaningless,, what they really mean is their lives are meaningless. I wonder if they've chosen to believe their whole existence is unremarkable, and are projecting their dreary life on the rest of us."

So, running is one of the things that makes my story exciting and memorable for me. This blog has always been about sharing my story, so I want to continue to do that by explaining what the journey of becoming a runner has meant to me.

June 27 was a turning point for me. In Miller's book, he talks about an inciting event, which is where the character makes a decision and essentially, there is no turning back from this point. I went running for the first day of the Couch to 5K plan that day. I knew I had tried running many times in the past couple years and I never lasted more than a week or two. I always got tired of it or got busy and just forgot about it. I knew myself well enough to know that I needed motivation and accountability to stick with this.

So, I took several steps to make sure this wouldn't be another week-long fad. First, I downloaded the Couch to 5K app on my phone. I had seen several people on Facebook using this program, so I researched it and decided I would use this program to help me get in shape. Second, I joined at team at my work in the Summer Buds program. It was a wellness program that lasted through the summer and each team was made up of 3 people. Each person set a goal for the summer (mine was to complete a 5k) and we were supposed to check on each other weekly to make sure we were still working towards our goals. Thirdly, I found a 5k race to sign up for, knowing that if I would register and pay for a race, I would be much less likely to back out last minute.

Probably the best motivator for me was that I found a race that supported a cause I felt personally attached to and passionate about. The race was called the Ramble for Recovery and celebrated National Recovery Month, for those recovering from addiction. Participants could run the race in honor or memory of a friend or family member in recovery, so I ran in honor of my older brother, Ty. I told Ty about the race so that it would be an extra incentive for me to persevere.

Meditation

I recently read and watched Eat Pray Love and really enjoyed both the book and the movie! Michelle and Rachel both recommended the book, so I knew it had to be good. This story (and Michelle) have really got me thinking about meditation as a spiritual discipline.

"We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."
--2 Corinthians 10:5

This scripture keeps popping up in my mind as I think about meditation, particularly the phrase "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." I certainly do not feel like all of my thoughts are controlled, much less obedient to Christ. This is really my focus and motivation now--to take control of my thoughts and to think more on things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy.

So, I have attempted to meditate several times now. As I expected, it's really hard to get my mind focused and not jumping around to all kinds of random thoughts. My friend Sarah that is in my small group gave me a Yoga video and I've been doing it in the evenings. It has a few minutes of relaxation at the beginning, then about 15 minute of yoga (very basic--it's a beginners video) and then ends with a few minutes of meditation. I'm trying to do the meditation for longer, but I keep getting interrupted by my phone or Mr. Sir or having to go to the bathroom, so I haven't been very successful so far.

I'm very interested in hearing what other people have to say about this topic. Michelle, have you done any meditation since finishing the book? Do any of you meditate regularly?