Talk about nerves. It was a very gloomy rainy morning, August 11, 2012. Yet, here I was full of excitement (and a little bit of dread) getting ready for my first race ever! (Besides the 3 mi. Fun Mud Run in June, I have never been in a race before.) People thought I was a bit crazy to do a 10 miler for my very first one. But, when I found out that it fell on the same day as my 10 mile training day for the Half Marathon, I thought it would be a good opportunity to get the feel for racing. Of course, that was before I found out about all the Hills!
Surprise! I received a 7th place bobble-head trophy for my age-group 30-34. I just showed up willing to run with endurance the race marked out for me for His Kingdom sake that I may finish the race (Heb 12 and Acts 20:24) Yet, He had so much more in store for me.
First, I have to thank all my supporters! Thank you for praying for my training! I could feel your prayers during the race lifting me up and even carrying me at times. Many of the verses I meditated on were gifts of encouragement from you! My lil support crew stayed home with Grandma due to the rain. They were so determined to go camping they set up a tent in the living room while we were away!
Strength and Courage: After the first 2.5 miles my legs were already cramping with all the hills. I kept praying, "With my G*d I can scale any wall, with my G*d I can climb any Hill, with my G*d any giant I can KILL!" Larry prayed before the race that I wouldn't be afraid of the Giants...meaning the MASSIVE hills. He prayed that I would be like Caleb and Joshua proclaiming G*d is with me! (same story G*d used to call us to western Mongolia and give us courage.)
Encourage one another: Around 3 miles, I was even given the opportunity to give some encouragement to a young man, with the same prayer, when he came back on the course after puking. One of the best parts about the race was encouraging other runners and sharing the experience with so many other people. Amazing how you can keep going when you surround yourself with others with the same goal and vision! If they can do it, we can too!
Getting rid of the extra weight: Larry was cheering me on at the halfway point, so I decided to ditch my huge lumbar camel bak. During the next few miles (usually when I am in the most pain during a run) I felt like I was FLYING! THAT is why we are encouraged to throw off the sin that so easily entangles (and WEIGHS us down) and THEN run the race marked out for us!!! We are SO much lighter when we get rid of the things we think we need! I found out really fast that I didn't need most of the stuff I was carrying (usually true of my life as well!). When it really comes down to it, His LIVING WATER is ALL we need! AND there are water stations set up for us along the way. We just have to reach out and grab it! We can run so much faster and efficiently for His Kingdom when we figure that out!
I've heard it said, "If you want to kill a Giant, follow a giant-killer!" Considering I had never ran 10 miles before, this race was a Giant to me! During the race, I kept scanning the crowd of runners for a Giant-killer to follow. About 6 miles into the race, I was running close to a young boy in a bright orange t-shirt. I told him, "You are kicking butt! How old are you?" He said, "Thanks, I am 12," and quickly sped a quarter mile or so ahead of me. I was so inspired! I kept that orange shirt in my sights and finally caught up to him. I decided I would follow his lead because I knew that his 12- year-old "child-like faith" would lead me to the finish line. Sure enough, he put on the gas toward the end! Faith like a child. He ran with such ease and determination. After the race I told Him, "You are like David who killed Goliath when he was young. This race was a giant and you are a giant-killer, don't ever forget that!!!"
Results: Considering all the hills and being my first ever race, my goal was to finish in less than 2 hours and less than 12 minute miles. My time was so much better than I ever thought possible: 1:31-ish broken down to 9:08 per mile for 10 miles of constant hills. When we ask, He gives us immeasurably more than we could possibly imagine! After all this time saying, "I AM NOT a runner," I was very encouraged talking with a man and his wife in their late 50's after the race. This man has ran 11 marathons and multiple other races. He said, "if this is your first race and you ran it in 9 minute miles, you better believe it. You ARE a runner!" I guess 9 minute miles must not be too bad considering my race was good enough for 7th place in my age group (out of about 20 females). There were almost 1000 participants.
Half-Marathon Goals: Before this race, I never even would have hoped for beating a time goal in my Half-Marathon. Now, I am really hoping to finish my Half-Marathon in less than 2 hours which would be 9:09 for 13.1 miles with way less hills! I just barely beat 9:09 for 10 miles so there is HOPE! I know I can look back and say, "I did 10 miles at that pace, surely I can do just a few more!" When we finish strong, it gives us great strength and courage for upcoming events in our lives. May He give you courage to run your next "race" and finish strong!!!
My next race is September 2nd. When is yours?
Times of Triumph
Encourage one another: Around 3 miles, I was even given the opportunity to give some encouragement to a young man, with the same prayer, when he came back on the course after puking. One of the best parts about the race was encouraging other runners and sharing the experience with so many other people. Amazing how you can keep going when you surround yourself with others with the same goal and vision! If they can do it, we can too!
Getting rid of the extra weight: Larry was cheering me on at the halfway point, so I decided to ditch my huge lumbar camel bak. During the next few miles (usually when I am in the most pain during a run) I felt like I was FLYING! THAT is why we are encouraged to throw off the sin that so easily entangles (and WEIGHS us down) and THEN run the race marked out for us!!! We are SO much lighter when we get rid of the things we think we need! I found out really fast that I didn't need most of the stuff I was carrying (usually true of my life as well!). When it really comes down to it, His LIVING WATER is ALL we need! AND there are water stations set up for us along the way. We just have to reach out and grab it! We can run so much faster and efficiently for His Kingdom when we figure that out!
I've heard it said, "If you want to kill a Giant, follow a giant-killer!" Considering I had never ran 10 miles before, this race was a Giant to me! During the race, I kept scanning the crowd of runners for a Giant-killer to follow. About 6 miles into the race, I was running close to a young boy in a bright orange t-shirt. I told him, "You are kicking butt! How old are you?" He said, "Thanks, I am 12," and quickly sped a quarter mile or so ahead of me. I was so inspired! I kept that orange shirt in my sights and finally caught up to him. I decided I would follow his lead because I knew that his 12- year-old "child-like faith" would lead me to the finish line. Sure enough, he put on the gas toward the end! Faith like a child. He ran with such ease and determination. After the race I told Him, "You are like David who killed Goliath when he was young. This race was a giant and you are a giant-killer, don't ever forget that!!!"
Holding my Key to the Kingdom in Hell, Mi.
I carried this key and listened to worship on my i-pod the entire race while praying for His Kingdom to overcome the powers of darkness all over the world! At one point, while climbing a huge hill, a song came on, "Let our hearts burn for you!" Oh, my heart was burning literally from the climb! I thought, it's when we exercise the hardest in prayer, faith, and mission...when we lay it all down...when we climb that impossible mountain only by His strength. That is when our hearts burn the MOST for him. Consume our hearts, Oh, G*d!!!!!
Half-Marathon Goals: Before this race, I never even would have hoped for beating a time goal in my Half-Marathon. Now, I am really hoping to finish my Half-Marathon in less than 2 hours which would be 9:09 for 13.1 miles with way less hills! I just barely beat 9:09 for 10 miles so there is HOPE! I know I can look back and say, "I did 10 miles at that pace, surely I can do just a few more!" When we finish strong, it gives us great strength and courage for upcoming events in our lives. May He give you courage to run your next "race" and finish strong!!!
My next race is September 2nd. When is yours?
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