The Bread of Life

"I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believe in Me shall never thirst."  -John 6:35

One thing I have learned from running is that your conditions are rarely never ideal. It's either too windy, too hot, too cold, or raining. If the weather is perfect- you probably didn't get a good sleep last night. Or maybe you had to skip lunch and won't be able to eat enough before your run. Maybe your knee is still bothering you from your long run a couple days ago. A big part of learning to run for me is how to condition my body to prepare for my next run. 

What I take from the verse tonight as I read my devotion is that we cannot concentrate on our problems. As runners, or just athletes in general, how many times have we heard that it's all a mental game? It's all in your head. So why not focus on the Father? Let Jesus be our strength. Let Him fuel your run. Sure, you need your water and your carbs and your sleep. But the next time you feel tired on your run, remember that Jesus is your fuel, and you'll never run out. 

Today's run was 3 easy miles in the park with a friend. Nothing amazing, just good social time. 😄 

Pictured above 👆 my Brooks Mach 14 Spikelss shoes- if you've ever thought about trying minimalist shoes- I highly recommend it! They are great for anyone who has feet/knee injuries, shin splints, blah blah. But listen to me when I say to break them in slow! They advise to build up slowly to your normal running mileage- walk a lot! I didn't listen and the only way I can describe the pain in my feet would be in a car wreck/blender. Seriously. 

Oceans

I'm a few days late on this, but I had the most incredible run the other morning. And the crazy thing is, it was on the treadmill. I'm sure I'm in the top percentile of all runners when I say I hate the treadmill. It hurts my knees, and when I run at home, its even worse than the gym...instead of watching my treadmill TV, I stare at the tractor because its in the workshop. Borrrrrinnnnnnggggg.

For this run though, I tested out running to a new song. Its been a favorite for a while, and I thought it would give me strength to press on. I'm a little less than a month from my race now, and I'm hungry. Starving, really. I WANT this win. I've wanted it for a year now. A lot has changed since last year. I'm not moved in my house yet like I thought I would be- which is actually why I thought I could sign up for this race- because I would have plenty of time to train. ....Surprise! I thought I would have extra time to run since I was finished giving my free time to painting and pulling up floor and....whatever else has taken my time to renovate my house. (COMPLETELY restore it, I may add!)

So this run, though. I'm trying to figure out how my negative splits can time out for my race. The more I run, the better I get at racing. I don't mean that as in, 'I'm getting in better shape.' Well, duh. No, I mean I need to stop going out too fast and wearing out too soon in my race.

So for this run, the song is "Oceans" by Hillsong. Part of the lyrics are- 

• "Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders

  Let me walk upon the waters

  Wherever You would call me

  Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander

  And my faith will be made stronger

  In the presence of my Savior"

This really pushes me when I'm feeling weak. Yes, I run and work out as much as I can, and I would say I'm in pretty good shape. Yay for me. That's me pushing myself to succeed. But none of this could be done without my Savior. I am nothing. I am a lazy couch potato who loves pizza. I pray for strength and perseverance. 

I'm pretty stubborn by nature, but I'm also weak. If I haven't had enough sleep, I'm hungry, its hot, its windy.....those all also pretty good excuses for a walk break. If you catch me in the right mood, I can push on. If not....oh well. Its too hot to really run this much, even if it is a race. 

Everyone finds inspiration from different things. I'm happy I've found that this song pushes me more to be stronger and better, and remember to rely on the Lord for strength and stamina. 

I ran 3.1 this day, and my splits were 9 minutes, 8:30, and for the last mile, I ran at an 8 min pace for the first half mile, and then each .1 mile, I increased the speed by 1. For the last .2 mile of my "race" I ran at 7:30 pace until I was done. I love finishing my runs pushing myself every now and then, to know I can do it, and to prepare myself for when its actually a race. 

With all the knee pain I've suffered in the past and having to taking breaks from running to rest my IT band, I'm so thankful I can run without hesitation now. I could say my clean diet with paleo and drinking plenty of water is giving me that, but I know its also a gift from God. Thank you, more than I could ever express.

First Run of March

With last week's snow in the ground, I felt so overwhelmingly happy today to be running in a T-shirt. I wish it would last all week- tomorrow is going to be a high of 35. Glad I got a warm run in while I could! 

Today I ran just over 3 miles, and walked home the last mile. The headwinds were insane the first two miles before I turned around, but wouldn't you know as soon as I finished my 3 miles the wind completely died down. I think overall I had a pretty good run. I think my average pace was 8.53 per mile. It's hard to tell on my Nike app- doesn't always seem accurate. 

The other day when I ran, my splits were 10 mins, 9.22, and 7.57.  I'm happy with these two runs. For my race, I think if I finish in 25 minutes that should put me in a good position to take my age division. Last year's winner finished in a little over 26 minutes, and I think she was 28th place overall. My race PR is 26:24, and that was October 2013 and I was sick and my breathing was off. I think I took 5th out of like 800 In my division, and 71st overall. You never know who is going to show up and give you some competition, but I really want this. I want to earn this win.