(2/6/11) - 4 miles - (1st Groupie Run for Rock the Parkway Training) - Today was my first training run for the 10k race that I signed up for. This was the furthest distance I've ran without stopping to date and I hit a point of discouragement on the second stretch of the run. I was going along, pretty tired, but excited that I hadn't yet stopped to walk a bit. According to the 10K novice training schedule that I found online, I only needed to complete 3 miles for my first long run and that is what I had set in my mind to do. At mile two I was feeling really good and decided to GO THE DISTANCE (lol) and shoot for 4 miles. Around mile 3 the runners training for the half-marathon began to pass me on their way back. My immediate reaction was to feel a bit discouraged as I realized that I was struggling my way through my third mile and they had already covered 5-6 miles (without even appearing winded). Almost as quickly as the discouragement came my encouragement though! I began to REMEMBER. I remembered where I've come from and where I'm going. I remembered the first complete mile I ran not even a year ago, the first 5k race and various other milestones along my journey. I remembered the times God's carried me through many obstacles in life and the times that I've blown my own mind by doing things that I didn't even believe I could do! I really just began to PRAISE GOD for my health, for my hope, for my healing!
I realized:
- Everyone out there is doing their own race. It's personal, it's not a group effort!
- It's not about how fast I finish, it's that I DID IT!
- Don't compare yourself to others! What matters is what YOU do and that YOU did your best!
- I'm running "MY" race, not someone else's and someone else isn't running mine!
"Pay careful attention to your own work, for THEN you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. For we are each responsible for our own conduct."
"As long as I'm looking around to everyone else, I will NEVER be satisfied with my own work and will rob myself of certain elements of joy that come from being original." -ME
(2/13/11) - 6.5 miles - When you push yourself, you'll go the distance!
I realized:
- When you BELIEVE it's possible, you'll MAKE.IT.HAPPEN!
- You reach a point where you start to tell yourself, "I've made it this far, why stop now?"
(2/20/11) - 6.2 miles - This run was TOUGH! Awesome "revelation run" day though. I was out well after 1 a.m. last night and didn't eat anything before the run, not to mention I've made HORRIBLE food choices the last few days. A friend ran my 4th mile stretch with me and I shared with him how I was really struggling with today's run. I didn't run the entire distance, I actually had to walk several times towards during the final 2 miles. As we ran, he listened to me but didn't accept my negative outlook. He told me how WELL I really was doing and reminded me that right now we are out there for distance, not speed. He went on to talk about how we'll never fully grasp the scriptures that talk about running OUR race with perseverance until we've experienced what it's like to run. You get tired, hot, it's tough and you are tempted to give up, but it's about persevering through it all.
I realized:
- I'm stronger than my mind. "Your mind will give up before your body ever will."
- RUN, not fast, but with PERSEVERANCE!
- What matters most is the fact that you push through the obstacles
- dead last finish > did not finish > did not start. It doesn't matter where you finish, it only matters that you did. (Compliments of Jackie Frost)
1. steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., especially in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.
2. Theology . continuance in a state of grace to the end, leading to eternal salvation.
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
"...let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,..."
(2/23/11) - 5.2 miles - Today's run was by FAR my favorite yet! It was nice because this was the first long run where I did a loop run rather than a half out then just turn around to run back. It's also funny because I realized that I've been spoiled! lol. This wasn't a nicely marked course with water stations every two miles like we get for our Rock the Parkway Groupie training runs. It was neat though, because today I wasn't concerned with interval training or constantly questioning to myself, "Where is the next mile mark?" I didn't have the mental struggle of, "Ugh, I've only gone 2 miles." Today all I knew was where I start and where I finish - the rest is just running. It was about getting from point A to point B and knowing that if I kept going, I would reach my final destination. About half-way through my run I looked ahead to what appeared to be a BIG hill on my path. The dreaded HILLS of running. I was pretty bummed about this upcoming challenge that I could clearly see ahead of me but then I noticed something, the closer I got to the hill, the smaller it became. When I actually reached the hill and just continued on course, it really wasn't that difficult at all. I allowed my mind to blow it out of proportion and it wasn't nearly as bad as it seemed.
I realized:
- Your mind has the ability to make things much worse than they seem! We really can be our own worst enemies and we have to be conscious of our false perceptions vs. TRUTH! We are told in scripture to take EVERY thought captive (2 Cor 10:4-6) - why not do the same thing when I run?
- The hills looks so much bigger from a distance, but when you are on them, they aren't nearly as bad as they had seemed. Oftentimes this same concept is true for life. The obstacles and challenges thrown our way as we journey through life seem so BIG and intimidating until we are right there walking through them. By faith, we've got a GRACE to make it through!
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
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| Dean Karnazes - Ultramarathon Man |
(2/24/10) - As a newbie to the "runner's world" I'm not really "in the know" about the celebs and heros of the sport. I saw a post on my friends facebook status the other day about a man named Dean Karnazes, maybe you've heard of him, but this man is an ULTRAmarathon runner. 26.2 miles sounded bad until I learned what an ULTRAmarathon is! Apparently someone decided that for those marathon veterans, there had to be MORE! This man has ran a 135-mil ULTRAmarathon (this is an official race - I think it's INSANITY and I'm not talking about a P90X upgrade)! Anyhow, as I was trying to mentally comprehend the incredible limits this man has pushed his body to, I started reading an interview from his website which prompted this "Runners Revelation."
Q: How do you take control of your mind and body to achieve the focus you need during pivotal sports moments?
A: By taking "baby steps." When I hit a low, say at mile 75 in a 100 mile footrace, I don't think about the 25 miles still left to cover, but just focus on putting one foot in front of the other, and take it step by step.
While I was reading this I somewhat laughed because even though he said at MILE 75 (ugh), the concept is relative. I remember not even a year ago, only 7 months ago actually, I did my FIRST road race which was only 1 mile. At the time, it was one of my toughest challenges to the date. Now that I'm training for a 10k, I look at 1-2 mile distances as a warm-up. Every long run though, around my fourth mile I begin to struggle and I have to start pep talking myself into not giving up! I know that my body is stronger than my mind allows at times, but even with that realization, its still a matter of MAKING your body do what you start convincing yourself you do not want to do. After reading Dean's interview, I told myself that next time I hit my "Mile 4 Meltdown," I'm going to quietly say to myself, "Dean is at mile 75!" and just keep running, "one foot in front of the other, and take it step by step."
