Friday, July 30, 2010

Next Purchase

So I was reading the other day and I came across this article that said that if you run often that it's better to have several pairs of running shoes..
Sounds nice, but running shoes aint cheap and I just bought some not too long ago. (Not to mention the darn things already have a hole in the mesh, prob from the good ol' Oak Mt. race)
Ironic enough, I was talking with someone that night about running and training for a half marathon and the first thing he told me was to make sure that I had 2 good pair of running shoes... ha
He said that I would go through 3 pair of shoes faster than I would 2 if I never swapped the shoes out.
If I swap them out every other time I run it wont wear them down as much and they will last alot longer..
Thanks for the advice!!!
Now I just have to save up for another pair of nice running shoes

I'm really liking these right now!!!

NEW SHOES

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Race Results

Pictures to come!!!
I thought it was going to get rained out, but it didn't
It just rained enough to cool it off but it intensified the humidity
Couldn't hardly breathe while I was running!
But I made it to the finish line
Praise Jesus

Monday, July 26, 2010

Sunday Scare


We had so many girls show up last night to go run and it was incredible!!
Everyone was excited and ready to go.. only to drive up to a huge dark cloud full of lightning.
Looked PRETTY scary!!
We wanted to be smart and use wisdom, but we also wanted to run. We prayed, checked the weather and decided to step out on faith and hurry and run! lol
Don't know if the Lord would actually call that faith or stupidity.. but we were off!!
The whole time we were running though, it NEVER rained (although that would've been kinda nice), we just saw heat lightning and heard thunder.... the wind gave a cool little breeze every now and then.
I kept saying outloud... LORD, PROTECT US, COVER US!!
It worked

DETERMINED & DEDICATED
We had 3 new girls come for the first time last night!
Ashley Langley, Ami Knight, Haley White
SO PROUD OF THEM!!!!!
You don't even know!
THEY DID AWESOME!!!
Group's growing.. continue to send them Lord

Last night was the first night that i've been able to run the whole thing without stopping!
I about cried when I finished because I couldn't believe it!!
Now that I know I can, NO MORE STOPPING
The encouragement last night was beyond uplifting
What an amazing group of girls
Come join us
Picture to follow
Love all ya'll

Sunday, July 25, 2010

Just a Glimpse

I consider my life worth nothing to me,


if only I may finish the race

and complete the task

the Lord Jesus has given me-

The task of testifying

to the gospel of

God's grace.

Acts 20:24

Hannah's Bday Surprise

YaY to BIRTHDAY'S


Our running small/large group took Hannah to Yogurt Mountain after worship



We all pitched in a got her a nice pair of Nike compression shorts and then all sang HAPPY BIRTHDAY as loud as we could!!


HAPPY 17th BIRTHDAY HANNAH!!!

Hannah
Let me start off by saying that you are absolutely GORGEOUS!!
You have the sweetest spirit and are such a joy to be around.
You encourage every single one of us in a way words cant describe
Continue to be the woman of God that you are
Your friendship is a blessing
WE LOVE YOU

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Opened Eyes

RUNNERS SMALL GROUP
So as you know, we've all been pushing ourselves so much harder than we could've ever imagined. This heat is to the point of an almost unbearable degree. The group has grown to about 15 people now and it's just amazing to see how God can use something like running to bring girls together and into close relationships. The age group is so spread out and it doesn't even matter. We've learned how to encourage one another and lift each other up even when we don't feel like we have the strength to go one more step. When we run I see us as an army/family ... kinda cheesy, but I do.
I really feel like I need to share this because I know that since I've been running the Lord has opened my eyes to many things!! I'm curious as to know if anyone else has felt this same way or experienced something that changed the way they thought, lived, acted, etc.
I think i've been running now for about 4 months and I have a whole new look at life... Who knew doing something as simple as running would help me to see things differently. I can remember when I started running, I was just running with Melissa and we would do anywhere between 1 to 2 miles and I thought then that I was going to just die. We would gradually increase and SHE pushed me and I was so grateful!! Without her I wouldn't have made it. THEN, we started running with the beast...EMILY! That girl can run, and fast. There were so many days when Emily and Melissa were so far ahead and it was all I could do just to try and keep up so I wouldn't lose them! New route that we now run on a regular basis that will be the route for the Basement 5K September 18th. That first day I ran the Casey's Cause route I thought I would never make it out of bed that next morning..Thankfully I had them to push me to keep going!
Gradually more and more started to join every week...Maegan, Hannah, Stephanie, Maegan's mom, Haley (Maegy's sister and then her friend)
Then the Lord sent more... Courtney, Jackie, Ashley, Natalie, Lindsey, Amanda, Carman, Natalie Bezet, Jennie, Walls
We have now increased to 4.5 miles!!!
Can you believe that this many girls run together on a weekly basis? The bond we have all made is inseperable.
My favorite thing to do is bring more people to run.. if they even mention that they like to run I tell them to come run with all of us...
Most people's response..." I can't run that far "...
Groups response ... " yes you can ", If I can do it, you can "
When you run in a group of girls, it's so much easier to push yourself then it is when you run by yourself.. THAT'S WHY WE DO IT TOGETHER! 2 is better than 1, but an army is unstoppable.
You don't mess with family either
I love it when we're running and this happens.... it's such a domino effect...someone will start struggling and think they can't go any further and someone will just holler a quick encouraging word and they keep going ...
They, in return, holler it to someone else and when you lift others up, it motivates you also!
I get chills when we're running and I hear shouts of motivation
We're a team and we honestly care about one another
People are always shocked once they do the 3.1 mile route and realize that they can do it and the feeling afterwards is unexplainable. I firmly believe that THAT is what brings them back the second time and then they're hooked.
The feeling of exhaustion.dehydration.ACCOMPLISHMENT.FAITH.SELF-WORTH.
Honestly it brings me to tears because it's those feelings that I long for..
In my eyes, it's worship!
I think the Lord looks down on us and is smiling.. HE is the only reason I make it through every single run! He loves it when we push ourselves beyond what we think we can do, because that is when He steps in and allows us to go even further!! With HIM all things are possible!
This is the main thing that the Lord has really been showing me lately...
If He has giving me to DRIVE to run and the ABILITY to run, do it and do it without complaining! We take for granted so often the gift of just being able to exercise.
I cry everytime I think about the people who aren't able to go run, much less even walk and here I am complaining about how I don't feel like running today or it's too hot...so on and so on.
Do you KNOW what those people would give to be able to just WALK? and here I are complaing about getting to use our legs that we are so fortunate to have. Are you kidding me??? How selfish and self-centered
Everything is a gift!! Let's start acting like it...
What some people would give....
just think about it....
The tactic I'm going to use is when I want to complain, flip it and say a thanks instead! Boy will it change our perspective on running and just life in general if we did that.
The Lord is checking my attitude and it's not fun, but it's breaking me!
I can remember when I broke my ankle and I was in a cast for about 6 weeks and couldn't walk, I was so depressed... It takes a toll on you physically and also metally. I never want to have that feeling ever again. I longed for the day I could go run... said I would never complain again, but guess what? I have and that's because I'm human, but it doesn't hurt to be reminded every now and then that our legs are a gift and we need to see it that way!! We don't realize what we have until it's gone...
I feel like if change my complaints into praises that somehow the Lord will reward them and even though I might not be able to see it in my running, it was meant for something deeper!
I do feel like the Lord birth a dream in my heart to run a half marathon and Lord willing I will be able to this coming October in Atlanta... Praying about it!
Not only physically, but it's also really been revealed to me that my body IS a temple and I should respect that! We only have one body and we need to take care that body the Lord has given us...
When I exercise, I begin to feel better about myself and I don't want to eat the unhealthy foods that hurt my stomach, cause high blood pressure, and make me tired. It can't be good for you if it does that to your body. I can't justify running that much either and then turning around an eating somehting that cancels everything out I just did. Don't get me wrong.... I eat unhealthy food often but it's in moderation.
Why stuff our faces to where we can hardly breathe and are insainely miserable?? I hate that feeling... when you have to unbutton your pants, that's the first indication that you've gone too far.
My brother-in-law is very fit and I remember making the comment at dinner one time that he never eats alot of food and his response was " I don't eat to get full, I eat till I'm not hungry anymore" HMMM
Before that comment I was enjoying every bit of food I put on my place and then he said that and I can remember pushing my plate forward and thinking to my self ( you passed that point long time ago) It has stuck with me since he said it...
Moderation Moderation Moderation
The Lord wants us to feel good about our bodies and by being more aware of the things we put in them, it will do it!
I don't know why the Lord is reavling all of this to me, but I am taking every bit of it in and sharing it with you in hopes that He will show you something through it also.
I'm so proud of each and every one of the girls who run in the group and on their own....
I love ya'll and thank you for all of your encouragement
that ya'll give me and don't even realize it!!

Monday, July 19, 2010

Saturday's 5K Retro Run



So, my next race is coming up this Saturday!!!


I'm very excited because I haven't been in a race since the awful Oak Mt. race.


I've already ran this route and so I know what to expect... (which is NOT bad)

Not really any hills so it should be a quick easy run!


I'm really going to try and finish this one in 29 mins.

I don't know if I will be able to but I'm going to give it all I got and run my little heart out and pray it's good enough.


NO cokes this week or anything really unhealthy..

That's going to be hard


Here's the fun part about this race... you get to dress up in retro gear!!!


Taking a trip to Thrift Store this week and planning on getting some HOTT bright colored stuff to run it.

I'm really looking forward to it, it's going to be fun.


Not to mention, after the race, we get to eat some YUMMY Jim N Nicks BBQ and hang out.

First race my parents are coming to and this one is different beacause it's at night instead of in the morning.
CAN'T WAIT



If you're interested in running this race also, register
You don't want to miss out of this fun experience
Hope to see you there!

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Another 4.5....INCREASING

********Yesterday********
Me, Jackie, Ashley, Natalie, and Natalie Bezet set off on a semi new adventure in Liberty Park
I wanted to change up the route just a little bit to see what all kinds of streets there are out there to run
Come to find out... this Paxton Place is pretty hill-e... ouch!! Let's not forget that the humidity outside yesterday was breath-taking. LITERALLY couldn't hardly breath just being outside, much less running in it.

Our goal was to run it in under 50 mins. WE MADE IT!! 48 mins... keeps getting better
We were all SOAKING wet when we finished and totally disgusting
Worship here we came...

Apparently there's lions, tigers, and bears though in this hood now and we're being warned to watch out:/
Seriously it's the middle of the summer and there aren't that many woods in there anymore...buh

Don't know what we're going to do about that...I love running here and it's perfect location before we go to worship

BE BRAVE I GUESS....WERE RUNNING WITH JESUS

Here is what we ran yesterday
MapMyRun.com View Liberty Park 4.5 in Birmingham, Alabama

Friday, July 9, 2010

Basement 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run | Trussville, Alabama 35173 | Saturday, September 18, 2010

This is going to be AWESOME!!!!

Go to this website and SIGN UP!!

Basement 5K & 1 Mile Fun Run Trussville, Alabama 35173 Saturday, September 18, 2010

The Accidental Run

So this past Tuesday, I thought it would be cool if we were a little adventurous and found a different route before we went to worship.
Why not Liberty Park since it's just right down the street! Sounded like a great idea...
We had managed to get 8 girls to go running that HOT afternoon. We were dedicated and determind to run 3 miles
Melissa, Maegan, Jackie, Hannah, Ashley, Stephanie, Natalie, and Me


Earlier that day I had searched and found a route that was exactly 3.1 miles...PERFECT! I was pretty familiar with LP, but not so much with the side streets we found out!

I had hand written the directions down and didn't print out the map
BAD IDEA

When you have 7 people depending on you to take them on the right route and then get lost, not a good feeling.

Let's just say what was supposed to be 3.1 miles ended up being 4.52 HAHA
I'll have to admit that it was kinda nice though cause I normally wouldn't have even tried to run that, but know we know that we can and we WILL be from now on!!

What was even funnier to me was the fact that half of them thought I did it on purpose and just tricked them in to thinking we were running 3...HMMMM

I thought they were going to be so mad at me but they actually were glad that I got everyone lost!

Here's the accidental route planned again for this Tuesday coming up!
Let me know if you want to join us!


MapMyRun.com View The Accidental Run in Birmingham , Alabama

Trussville 5K Training

This is the 3.1 miles that we all do on a regular basis.
Last night...Me, Hannah, Jackie, Natalie, and Ashley ran.
Althougth I must admit I was dreading the run, 33 mins wasn't that bad for how I was feeling and for how muggy it was outside.

Check out the route..
Come run with us!


MapMyRun.com View Maple Leaf 5K in Trussville, Alabama

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Run Your First 5-K

Very helpful information on your what your pace should be for a race and how to get the best results possible!
The main goal of the first race though is to just finish and make sure that you had fun doing it so that you will do it again and again!

Take a look!

Tuesday, July 6, 2010

Retro Run Training

Me and Melissa got up at the crack of dawn this past Saturday morning and went running at 6a.m.
It was a new route and we were fired up!
We look foward to doing this one again and again.
It wasn't hill-e at all.. nice run

Here is how we ended up

MapMyRun.com - Regular Run: Regular Run on 07/03/2010