4 mile race recap and a little extra goodness

I forgot to give a recap of my 4 miler that took place a couple of weekends ago on the 16th of July. I was REALLY worried about the run. I honestly didn't think I was going to be able to do it. This heat is putting a damper on my running routine. I am sure I am beginning to sound like a broken record since that seems to be all that I am talking about these days on the blog. Anyway. I was very worried about this race. I found myself thinking about it every night before I went to sleep the whole week prior. I was mentally running the race from start to finish with my eyes closed, thinking about the places that would be most challenging and seeing myself push thru. One night as I was running the race in my head, the Lord gave me a really cool image. I was running the race and came to a place a little further than 1/2 way, that I would have to stop and walk every time I practiced the route. Every. single. time. I would stop in this one spot. So I am running along and all of a sudden, a HUGE bolder out of nowhere just lands right in front of me. I thought... well isn't this just awesome. And then I thought to myself, this rock will not stop me from finishing. So I put my arms under the rock, lifted it over my head and threw it backwards as if it were just a pebble. I really felt like the Lord told me that this race was going to be a breakthrough for me in my running. I was a little more at peace with this race after that image, but still wasn't completely confident in my ability. Race morning comes a long and my sweet friend Drenna decided to run along with me.And you know what? The weather was around 66 degrees! Praise Jesus and Hallelujah! Another thing I was rather preoccupied with was coming in last! I knew this race wasn't very large and when I asked the total number of runners, I was told 800... well that dude LIED to me. There were only 458 runners! Drenna and I positioned ourselves in the back of the pack. I knew that I needed to really be careful with my pace this day so that I wouldn't get completely exhausted in the first mile, that also happened to be uphill. Awesome, right? I finally found my groove right before mile 2, shortly after seeing my friend Cori driving on the road. I thought, I am doing this, and this is going to be good! And I did just that. I did it. And the spot that I always stopped at and where the bolder met me in my dream, I ran right thru. No stopping for me! I rounded the corner right after the mile 3 sign and said, Amanda you are so close. Just keep going. So I ran hard up one heck of a hill and thought about dying at the top next to the nice police man, but then "Marvelous Light" came on my iPod and it gave me an extra boost to complete the race. My friend Anne Marie who is an amazing runner, came back to meet me and ran in with me. I thought I was going to be running for an hour, but I finished at 48:40. YES!

This race it seemed that I was very aware of how my body was feeling. My ankles hurt, my legs hurt and my legs just felt heavy. But I didn't stop! I did a lot of self coaching along the way (thanks Eric Hoffberg) and tried to mentally cheer myself along! It was also quite lovely to see these faces at the finish line..

And of course, no race would be complete without going to breakfast at Original House of Pancakes to celebrate! It was such a lovely cool day! thank you sweet Jesus for knowing my heart so well!

In other news... I went to the dermatologist last week. I have this freckle on my lower lip and while I was home for the 4th, my dad recommended that I get that thing checked out. I like the sun and the sun likes me but doesn't like my skin. So I went and the freckle on my lip is just that, a freckle. I also had her check a spot on my arm, she sliced that one right out and I almost forgot to mention this little place on my nose, right next to my nose ring. I knew it was there, but honestly didn't think it was a mole or anything to be concerned of. My friend Mikala said I should get that one looked at just to be on the safe side. I still almost forgot even in Dr.'s office. So she took that one too...

That's with the bandaid...

without the bandaid...

Don't worry, she didn't turn my nose black, that's just silver nitrate to stop the bleeding. I got my pathology report back and my arm mole was fine, but for my little nose mole, that wasn't the case. Turns out that little sucker was a Basal Cell Carcinoma. Huge bummer. I have to have another procedure done at a surgery center where they will do a procedure called MOH's surgery. You should google it... after I did, I was a bit frightened and rather worried for my nose hole! I will keep you posted on what takes place.

I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Tonight we are celebrating my sweet friend Emily and her upcoming wedding! Should be a great night full of great stories and lots of laughter!

the heat...

this heat. it just might be killing me. I am having the hardest time running. This morning I woke up and was out the door at 5:50 in hopes of getting a cooler morning run in, as opposed to my hotter than hot night runs that I would prefer, but it was DISGUSTING at 5:50. There was no breeze, no crispness, nada. It's really affecting my running. I haven't been able to run more than 3 miles without walking. And the sweat. oh the sweat. goodness gracious. I think I lose a gallon of water out of my body when I'm running these days.

I'm running a 4 mile race on Saturday. Honestly, I'm a bit worried about it. well, more than a bit. On my run this morning I even thought... maybe I will just not run it. I thought about that a bit more and decided that I can't do that to myself. Yes, it will be hard. I might even have to walk. And I keep telling myself that it will be ok. I've never run a 4 mile race before, so the goal of this race will be to finish. I don't want to be last, but if that happens, that's ok too. I just want to cross the finish line with my head held high and another race behind me. I will enjoy it though. I always love the race atmosphere. I will keep chanting I can do it I can do it I can do it every step of the way!

A side note...

I'm LOVING summer break. My hours are definitely LONGER than a school day, but the girls I get to hang out with are so much fun and we enjoy our time together. We go to the pool often, the library, the park and play around the house. I love the flexibility of hanging out with other people too. Mondays we hang out with my friend Laurel and her 2 kids at her pool and it's so lovely being able to have adult interaction! We've been to Discovery Place and I'm planning a few more fun field trips for the remainder of our time together!

I would love for the fall weather to get here quickly... but I'm not ready for school to start, even though I miss my school friends like whoa!

Have an awesome Tuesday. Wherever you are... stay cool!

no excuses...

I've thought many different times about what I'd say to all of you for my absence, but then I just didn't really have a good excuse. You should know that my running hasn't progressed really, and it's because I haven't pushed myself. Yes, the weather is extremely hot here in Charlotte, but that isn't a great excuse, I could discipline myself enough to wake up early in the morning and run, or I could continue running at night. Honestly, I have a really hard time waking up to run. I can't seem to get motivated to run before the sun comes up unless it's a race day. Maybe it's a running rut. I don't know. I have a race July 16th. It's a 4 miler with my dear friend Africa. I think it's going to be awesome... but I need to get off the couch to make sure I can complete the race!!

What do you guys do when life gets really busy, the days get really hot, and you lose a bit of motivation to continue running?

And eating. whew. I am not sure I should get started on that subject. My food choices have been less than desirable and I am thinking that is another contributer to my running rut. Ugh. I just wish it were easy. and that I didn't really have to work at it each day. or that I could just really want celery sticks and carrot juice all the time. now, please hear me for a second. I think there is definitely a balance issue here. Balancing what's good for you while allowing yourself to enjoy something that you like that isn't necessarily healthy every once in a while. I'm not very good at the balancing thing. I've been praying a lot about that lately. Jesus, please let me live a balanced life. I'm all or nothing. And I must admit, it's a daily struggle. But I really believe that I am capable of walking this out and pushing thru and each day I will prove to myself that I can do this.

Side note that is still some what connected:

My great friend gave me a ring for my birthday that says "You Are Brave." I think it's a super fabulous ring. If you know me at all, you know that I am not much of a jewelry wearer. The only "jewelry" i wear is my nose ring, and I am sure the term jewelry is debatable. Anyway. I LOVE this ring. It's not something that I would normally wear, but the more I wear it the more I just think... this is so me!!! I can't wait to show it to you! I am not sure what the material is that has the words on it, but maybe it's polymers clay, and the letters were pressed into it and then water colored a shade of green. It's perfect. As I was wearing it today, I kept thinking about the word brave. Then I decided to look up the definition to gain a better understanding...

Brave: 1. People who are ready to face and endure danger or pain

2. A young man who shows courage or a fighting spirit

I like that. I like it a lot. I will choose to walk in that. I am brave. I am ready to face the pain that comes with running and I am a fighter with great courage! This process is difficult, but it's so worth it! So so worth it! I can't lose sight of that!

Twilight 5k

Friday, May 13th, was the Twilight 5k in Uptown Charlotte. This was my 2nd time running it and I just have to say it was so good! My time was 36:20, compared to 41 something from the year before and 21 seconds better than my 5k in March. We're making progress folks! I know I say this often, but it really is so fun to see how much you've progressed in just a year.

I don't really have any more races lined up for the rest of the summer, well, take that back... running one at the end of July in Asheville. The Bele Chere 5k. Should be fun and challenging... Asheville is much more mountainous than Charlotte. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other I suppose. That's all it takes to get to the finish line!

Here are some running quotes I've been loving lately:

"Every accomplishment begins with the decision to try."

"The miracle isn't that I finished. The miracle is that I had the courage to start."

"It's very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit."

where oh where

Has anyone seen my motivation because I sure can not find it. Well, I take that back, I saw a glimpse of it last night on my run, but that's the first I've seen of it for a couple weeks. What in the world? I think someone forgot to give me the memo that Charlotte had gone straight to summer, completely skipping spring. The air is so thick and muggy and gross and just ugh to the air. How do people train for runs when it's gross outside? I hate running on a treadmill, so I need some suggestions because I can't not run the WHOLE summer.

Anyway.

So I am working on locating my motivation. When I'm running I have to tell myself just keep putting one foot in front of the other Amanda. You can do it. You have come so far. I've had to have a lot of coaching moments in my head these days. This is when it really matters. really for anything in your life. Not just running. Pushing thru really matters when the task at hand becomes really hard or not fun or exciting anymore, but you know you have to do it because you have set a goal. made a promise to yourself. The more you challenge yourself, the more you grow. So, I will keep fighting for it. Keep going for it. Keep pushing because the payoff will be so worth it. I'm worth it.

Here's a quote I'm liking these days....

"Pain doesn't tell you when you ought to stop. Pain is the little voice in your head that tries to hold you back because it knows if you continue, you will change. Don't let it stop you from being who you can be. Exhaustion tells you when you ought to stop. You only reach your limit when you can go no further."

Fastest Mile Ever... for me.

Has anyone noticed anything about the weather the last couple days? I definitely didn't get the memo that Charlotte skipped spring and went right in to summer. Not really fun for running outside in, that's for sure. So to be honest I haven't felt very motivated to get out there and run. I love the feeling after a run, but getting started is H.A.R.D!

So anyway. Today I was excited when I got home and noticed I had a package at my door. For Easter and my birthday, my dad got me a Garmin FR60 running watch!! WOOHOO!! Well that thing is difficult to figure out, but I sat on the couch did just enough to be able to go for a run. And now, I LOVE IT. I still don't understand it. But it's so cool. It tells me my heart rate, pace and how far I've gone. AMAZING.

Folks, I ran my FASTEST MILE EVER TODAY!!! 10:23! I couldn't believe it! I've come so far! Holy goodness! It just shows me that you can do what you put your mind to.

So if you're feeling unmotivated, discouraged, weak, or __________. Get those thoughts out of your head. CLEAR YOUR MIND OF CAN'T. the reality is... YOU CAN! You can do it. If it takes you telling yourself ALL DAY every single day that you can do it, then do that. Do whatever it takes to reach your goal! It's hard, it's fun, and my gosh... IT'S SO REWARDING!!

In the end it's going to be SOOO GOOD!!!

I DID IT!

Sleeping the night before a race is not very restful. Especially when they're calling for severe severe storms. I prayed really hard all night it seemed, that they wouldn't cancel the race or postpone. I remember waking up around 2 something and hearing the wind and monsoon type downpour. And for the next 3 or so hours I prayed in my sleep. Please Jesus, let the rain hold off and the storms stay away until after I finish. I was going to be so sad if the event was cancelled. I woke up around 5:15 and it was still pouring, and I thought to myself, well this race is going to be memorable. I started getting more and more nervous thinking about running 6.2 miles. That's a long way. A long way to continue with the same motion over and over again. And I thought had trained enough, but I hadn't gotten close to 6 miles at all during any training. Thoughts like... what were you thinking singing up for a 10k, you are going to have to walk, hope you don't trip and fall running down the finish stretch. Whew. Those thoughts were all over my head. I slowly began speaking truth into them. Yes, it's going to be challenging, but you have trained for this. you can do this. you are going to do this! It didn't make the nerves go away!

We get to the start line and it's NOT RAINING! Praise you Jesus! Annie, Kati, my dad and I were standing around waiting for them to tell us to line up and then it started to rain. I didn't even hear them start the race. I just saw everyone start moving forward... and we were off! The first mile seemed to take forever. But around mile 3, I thought to myself, wow I am really doing this. And I felt strong! I was keeping a good pace and wasn't worried about passing anyone or anything! I prayed a lot during this race. Praying that He would get the glory in it. Thanking Him repeatedly for giving me the ability to run and asked Him to help me have fun while running this race. And you know what, I did have fun. I never once thought I was going to die or felt like I needed to walk. And that was amazing. Kati is a great race partner. She paced right along with me and every mile marker we got to she would clap and cheer and tell me how great I was doing. And for a words of affirmation girl like me, it was wonderful! Miles 4 and 5 seemed to go quickly. And before I knew it, I was climbing the last hill of the race, and I felt great! I was hungry, but other than that, I felt so awesome. I was flooded with emotion at the top of the hill thinking about what I had just accomplished. I really couldn't believe I had run the entire way, never once thinking that I needed to walk. That is really crazy. Around the last curve it started to pour. BIG. RAIN. DROPS. It was so refreshing. We passed by Annie's family, we waved and smiled and kept running. Then as we approached the finish line I saw familiar faces! That's the best part. I saw Janet first, Misha, Annie, Laci, Brandon, and then I saw Mikala and Cori. I heard Drenna yell my name, but I couldn't see her until I crossed the finish line! It was so great to have so much support from my friends! I felt really loved! My dad got stuck in race traffic trying to get back from seeing me at mile 3 and missed me crossing the finish line, but he came right after! Don't worry dad, there will be another one!

I just checked the results and I came in 586th out of 687. I wasn't last!!! YAY! My average mile was 12:26 with my fastest being 11:39 on mile 6! YES!! I did it!