God's first sign was this little box sitting in front of the front door when I opened it! I was grateful for the reminder of WHY I'm waking up early & training for the next 3 months (I'm running the St. Jude Half again December 6th- I must be insane to do 2 halves a month apart!).
I get on my way, enjoying the 60 degree weather & somewhere between miles 2 & 3 (halfway down Eagle Point), I see a car driving next to me, creeping really slow & it's one of my best friends- Kim!! She was headed to a yard sale so we chatted for a minute & she had me laughing (we decided that I was running at about 15 mph since she couldn't read the speedometer on her mom's car!! Lol). I keep on going, trying my best to avoid getting ran over by yard salers!
I was back at the house at mile 4.5 or so & was getting hot with my black shirt on & the sun shining. I knew shade would be limited over in Oakland Farms & Saddlebrook so I did something I never, ever thought I'd do... I took off my shirt & ran in my sports bra only!!! OH. MY. WORD!!! It was the most terrifying, freeing, & coolest thing I've done. I had a GREAT pace after I threw my shirt in our front yard, thanks to the adrenaline! It's not like you could see a whole lot since I had my fuel belt on plus it was a high impact bra (translation: LOTS of support & coverage). I don't have the body to do that but I read an article this week that kind of made me think.... No I don't have flat abs, I'm overweight, my thighs rub together, I have a muffin top & a hundred other imperfections but I'm a runner. I'm pushing myself when I don't want to. My legs can carry me long distances, my heart & lungs work hard to sustain me. I am a runner. I can do hard things. That includes letting go of insecurities so I can feel cooler (which I did & didn't get overheated on my run like I normally do)! And as a bonus, I kinda felt like a badass. (P.S. Kevin was getting ready to run when I got home & saw me like this & I was like "I was hot & I didn't care what anyone thought of me running like this." His reply: "Who cares?!? You look awesome!!"😊❤️)
At mile 7 I was in the middle of Saddlebrook & knew if I ran straight home, I'd be at 7.5 miles or a little more so I decided to make another loop through Oakland Farms so I could do the 8 miles. That's where God sent another sign... I ran into our sweet old neighbor Mr. Don with Mocha, Hayley's dog bff. It made me miss my Hayley girl but he said "if you're tired honey just go sit down at the house. Mrs. Sue will take care of you & I'll give you a ride back home after Mocha & I are done with our walk." I said "I think I'll be ok but if you see me laying on the ground, just attach me to your bumper & drag me home!" I hugged him, told him we missed him & kept on going.
So once I got to 8 miles, I was at 1:48 so I said "I'll just go until 2 hours and be done." This required me to run past the house again. I hit the 2 hour mark & was at 8.88 miles but I couldn't quit on an uneven number so I ran past the house for a third time until I made it to 9 miles!!! I did quit then & walk the 0.12 miles back home!!
Running is so much more mental for me & my mind is never full of positive, enlightening thoughts. I have to fight hard to over come them- like really hard some days. Usually in the form of prayers, uplifting songs, "fight" songs (those are what I call the ones with beats that make me push myself to speed up), and even tears. Isaiah 40:31 is my running verse. I repeat it often. Same with Philippians 4:13 & Hebrews 12:1. God reminded me today He is with me every step, I'm never alone & even when I feel like I'm terrible at this running thing- I'm really pretty awesome.
(Not my running shoes; photo from Google images)
(Not my running shoes; photo from Google images)
