A Few Things

I am a country girl.

I am a home body.

I am NOT adventurous.

I am a creature of habit.

I hate driving.

I hate parking even more.

I hate driving in the "city".

However.

When it came time to celebrate my friend, Ashley, I decided I could handle the drive to the "city", find a parking spot that wouldn't get me ticketed, park, and walk to watch her and several other friends run the Skirt Chaser 5k.

I'm not kidding when I say I hate driving in the city though.

By the time I got to the race, I might as well have looked like I had already ran a race. Pitted out and heart pounding, I was ready to cheer them all on...


And, oh my word, what FUN that was!

However.

While standing with my friend's husband waiting for the race to start I noticed a girl in the very front wearing briefs and a sports bra. I ever so non-judgementally rolled my eyes and commented on the fact that this wasn't an Olympic event. It was just a little 5k in a little city. I went on to say that if she was going to rock that outfit, she really better rock the race too. Because, if you going to dress like that, you better be fast. My friend's husband then pointed out that there was another one right next to her with about zero percent body fat. Seriously. Even her tight short shorts were about an inch lose on her waist.

Off the girls went. 3 minutes later, the guys took off.

And guess who came in running a 5k at 16:55??? Yep. You guessed it. Little Miss Briefs. And 2nd place you may ask?? Yep. Little Miss Zero Percent Body Fat. I'll just keep my mouth shut next time, thank you very much!

And then, I found out that Little Miss Briefs was asked to run and try to win the race so that she could donate the money to the Ethiopia Project because, she, of course, cannot keep the money. She, of course, is an Olympic qualifier. She, of course, is a collegiate athlete.

Way to feel like a complete idiot.

My friends rocked the race as well and I had so much fun cheering for them and everyone else. It really made me feel like I would love to volunteer to help at races. Something to do in my free time...

After the race we headed up to the hotel room where everyone got ready and then we walked to dinner. Great dinner. Celebrating a great friend.

Ashley, Julie and I spent the night at the hotel and the next morning headed out for our long run of the week. Their 14. My 12.

I felt amazing. I had had 2 days of rest (I normally do my long run on Saturdays). They, however, didn't feel as amazing. They had, after all, just raced a 5k the day before. I, ever so selfishly, decided that it was God's way of putting us on a more even playing field. They are much faster than I, their heavy legs allowed me to keep up!

12 miles in and I was still feeling great. I decided to keep going. And going. And there it was. 14 miles. 14 whole miles. Holy cow. My longest run and I felt great. It was amazing! Even more amazing was looking down and seeing that we finished at a 9:37 pace. Right in the target for their run. A great pace for me for 14. I have to say I was so stinkin' excited!

14 miles.

14 miles that had me feeling quite sore as the afternoon wore on. Wonderfully sore. A sore that I have not been since I ran my 1/2 marathon. A sore that left a smile on my face knowing I had pushed my body and my muscles would thank me for it later. And today, 2 days later, my thighs are still talking to me.

It was a wonderful weekend and I was so thankful to have been invited to celebrate Ashley and get some great girl time. It took me away from the realities of life that was truly quite needed. It was a breather. And as I headed home, reality came back to life, and tears streamed down my face as I talked to my sister in law about my brother having a fever, about her driving home, about her leaving their kids. Again.

My brother is currently at the hospital. Day +1 since his stem cell transplant. 3 days since his last chemo. When I went for my run this morning I went without my I-pod. Just me. The sun peaking through. And God. We talked, God and I. I ran, half the time closing my eyes, face turned to the sun. It was one of the most peaceful runs I've had. I went into the run wanting to take it easy. And while my body soared, feeling easy as can be, my Garmin told me a different story.

I was going faster than intended and I didn't care. My run this morning had nothing to do with what I should be doing. I didn't care that it should be slower. My run this morning was just me and God. Letting go. Praying. Praying. Praying.

Complete therapy.

And surprisingly enough, at the end of the run, I was a bit surprised to see my split times...

8:55
8:33
8:22

A run, that by looking at the times should have been challenging. A run, that was anything but. A run that left me feeling more peaceful. Less sad. Closer to God.

Thankful for friends to laugh with. And cry. Thankful for runs with friends. Thankful for runs with God.