A gaggle of runners?

Car headlights from four different cars come to rest in front of my house at five-thirty in the morning. Women emerge from all of the cars. I am sure if my neighbors are up at this time it looks like a Mary Kay convention is about to happen on my front lawn but no it is just a group or as my husband so fondly refers to us a gaggle of runners.

Let me introduce you to these remarkable women who have decided to take on running and a journey that will hopefully not just challenge them physically but spiritually as well. The Runninmama's (my pet name for the group). Jenn of course you know from previous post, is "coach". She has a wealth of running knowledge and is an amazing motivator and her patience must be as deep as the sea. Look at what she was able to get me to do. Debbie is an inspiration, she started running in August with me, in her late fifties and is an amazing force. These two ladies and myself began this group but we are not the end. We now total eight awesome women with other women inquiring about joining us. New to running is Leanne, Janine, Cindy, Becky and Dee. These women are the reason I get up to run so early in the morning. Their can-do attitude and cheerfulness make the start of my running days incredible. I can't wait to share more of their journey and my own in running. Ladies I am so proud of you.


These women came to running because of watching from the sidelines and seeing the changes it made in mine and Debbie's life. I know that I talked about running almost as much as I talk about the Colts. Yes, I had to sneak that in! I talked about the high that I got from running, the increased energy it gave me, the friendship I had made with Jenn and Debbie. And of course, I talked about the dress sizes I lost too. Excitement about running even when I was injured flowed off of me like a waterfall. If you were close to me you were going to get splashed.



What I have pondered about my excitement about running leads me to think about my excitement about Christ. Do I talk about Him with the same enthusiasm? Do others see joy and peace in me because He is a part of my life? I don't know that I can always answer yes to those questions. I know that I have a habit of inviting everyone I meet to my church including the police officers who in the past year have pulled me over. But is that really enough? I want others to see my love for God as something they want too. I don't want to just tell them about it, I want them to see it in me and desire it. I know that in saying that people who know me will also be able to see how far short I fall of the mark. They can see me stumble and that I don't always live up to the person God desires me to be. But they will also see the grace and mercy God gives to me in my mixed up life. So, with that, what do others see in you and your life?

I did it!

Saturday morning the alarm sounded at four and I pushed myself out of bed. After dressing and eating oatmeal, I taped my shin and my foot, pulled on my running shoes and headed to Jenn's house. It was a crisp fall morning made perfect by God for runners I am certian. The run went smoothly



It is amazing the beauty you can see when running early in the morning before the day is tainted with traffic and the rushing of people. At 5:30 in the morning when we began our run there was a peace. While we were running this morning I actually saw actually saw a coyote upclose. It was amazing to see this creature sprint across the street just a few hundred yards from where I was. This led me to this verse.



Psalm 105:1 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.



In rereading this verse I thought about just this morning how often God blessed me. He blessed me with perfect running weather, wonderful friends who inspire me to run longer and he blessed me with His abounding love for me. He gave me two strong legs to run fourteen miles and a willing spirit to continue even when I wanted to give up.



How has God blessed you today?

104 miles to Wichita Falls

Water dripped from the brim of my hat and my shirt clung to my body, never mind that my running shorts were plastered to my legs and water soaked my socks making my feet squish with every footfall. The rain came down at first in a slow easy pattern only to pick up the longer I ran as if taunting me to stop. Pain radiated down my right leg and my pace was slow compared to other days. But the wonder of running even in these conditions is amazing and the sense of achievement is like a drug to me. After running for five weeks, taking it easy this week due to pain has been difficult but today I was able to run and I rejoiced in the fact. God is good.

I have done 28 runs! For a total of 104.00 miles = 167.74 kms. I am astounded by the fact that I have covered that kind of distance. With that amount of miles, it is like traveling from Ft. Worth, Texas to Wichita Falls, Texas. Absolutely amazing!

I am encouraging all to get out and do something they didn't think they could because if I can run over 100 miles everyone can get up and do something they never thought was possible.

Hills and Valleys

Okay, what I didn't expound on with my "Ten Miles and Counting" is the fact that I have somehow injured myself to the point I haven't been able to run since Saturday. Today, I thought I would try to see if I could run. I had rested my foot for several days, iced it and worn a bandage. I mean really shouldn't it be better by now. I was desperately missing running with my running buddy Jenn. I know you nonrunners and saying "Oh geesh it is her head that is injured not her foot." So back to my story, I woke up, got my husband and three kids off to school and suited up for an easy run. Three miles was on the schedule and the weather was cool and breezy outside.With my Ipod on, Garmin watch strapped on wrist, and shoes double knotted I took off down the street. The first mile is always horrible but I didn't have any pain in my foot until 1.30 miles and then the pain came back with a vengeance. What was worse is I had to walk that far home with pain radiating through my foot.



Okay so what is the point , I would love to say that I came up with this little lesson on my own but really it isn't mine. After my horrible run this morning I called Jenn in tears. She, in her wonderful Texas accent, said "God doesn't lift us up to put us down." So right now in my sorrow at hurting and not being able to do what I want to do, I know that the race is not over. Isn't it the British that say "Chin up Ol' girl." I'm going to stay positive, go to the doctor and pray for the best. Your prayers would be greatly appreciated too by the way. So now, I have climbed out of my valley or at least I am determined not to stay there. The view is better at the top of the hills.

Ten Miles and counting

Saturday morning the alarm went off at 4:15 am. I reached over turned the radio off swung my legs over the side of the bed and stretched. I had ten miles to run and it was up to me and my attitude to accomplish it. After dressing and eating a light breakfast, I embarked on my journey to meet my running buddies and slay the ten mile run. The sun was still asleep as were most people on this beautiful morning, and except for the occasional dog barking or a car passing by the peace of the morning was a gift from God and it only got better when two hours later the sun rose as my ten mile run came to an end.


The first three miles are always the hardest for me but after that I get in my groove and just run I am able to accomplish so much. While running this past Saturday, I couldn't help but thank God that I have the ability to run. When I say ability I don't mean the talent. Trust me, my running buddy Jenn, is always giving me pointer on how to run better, "Shoulder back, tummy in and tuck your hiny under" When I am running with everything pulled back, in and tucked under I don't feel all that graceful. The ability I am talking about it the actual movement that I am blessed with. Even in the aches after my long runs I rejoice in the fact that I can run with two strong legs to keep me moving.

Running gets easier...or at least today it was.

Okay, I ran 3.5 this morning which was a piece of cake up until the steep hill but even that wasn't horrible. I put my head down and plowed forward.

Why was running so easy today? Well mentally, I knew 3 miles or even 3.5 wasn't going to be as hard as my Saturday long runs. So I did little whining today which was an improvement. I have a four mile run on Tuesday that I am now looking forward to. Until then...

Attitude is everything

The alarm clock glowed 4:00 and of course I had only slept in short jaunts all night. I woke up every hour to roll over and look and the clock, groan and close my eyes again and wait sixty minutes to repeat. The anxiety of having to run seven miles played with my mind all night. Have you ever had one of those nights? You know you need the sleep but it just alludes you.

At four, I turned off the alarm, crawled out of bed and went about my daily ablutions before running. I ate a Fiber One bar. Those are so yummy. Then I hopped in my car and dropped off our water at our three mile mark.

Jenn and I started out on our run and I thought okay, seven miles, you can do this. It doesn't matter that your have never run that far in your entire life. You did four this week by yourself. What is three more miles? Oh my goodness THREE is a very large number when your attitude slips. I would love to say this was easy but that would be a huge lie. It was hard and I really wanted to just give up. Doesn't that sound familiar. I kept thinking if this is hard what will 26 miles be like? Am I totally insane for even trying to do this? Jenn kept talking about attitude and more than once she told me to dig in and run. Walking isn't an option.

I wanted to yell at her that I had nothing left to dig into, but that would have taken more energy than I had left. After five miles, we stopped for water and stretched. We were meeting two other ladies to run the final two miles with. I got a second wind and was able to run out the last two miles without complaint.

This run brought the realization that this wasn't going to be a stroll in the park. It was going to be hard and I am going to have to "dig" deep within me to find the mental attitude to keep running. This is like writing. Often writers want to give up when they meet the middle. I fall directly into the category I am in the middle of my novel and I want to chunk it and start over. You see starting the run is easier than getting through the middle and the end is wonderful because the finish line is in sight. You can relate that almost anything in life that you struggle to finish. When things get tough we don't "dig" down we walk away and say we will do it another day. That wasn't an option today.

What stops you in your journey? Is it the difficulty of the task? Boredom? Where are you "digging" down to to finish the task? I have repeated over and over the verse "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me". It has become my mantra while I struggle to run those miles. I wouldn't say that God wants me to run 26 miles, but I know that even in the journey to complete this I can turn to Him for strength.

By the way, I have to share that I have gone down two pant sizes since I started running but I have only lost three pounds. So not significant weight loss but my body is changing which is really the most important factor for me.