50 miles, Saddle Up.

 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord God will be with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9

 

Will you be with me down the backroads in the middle of nowhere?

Will you be with me at the butt crack of dawn when most are looking at the back of their eyelids? 

Will you be with me after a hours and hours? 

Will you be with me even when I feel my courage is depleting? 

9 hours of running last Saturday, starting in the morning sunrise, with the dew still resting on the foliage I continued to pray. 

I was committed to running a 50 mile training run but I was nervous. Maybe even scared. 

I wasn't familiar with my surroundings, I didn't know my route, I wasn't convinced I could run 50 miles. All I was truly confident in were my prayers. My courage was sincerely in my faith God was listening to my prayers and the prayers of others. 

50-mile training run takes a bit of courage. There are so many things that can go wrong, and a few things did!

The Plan: 6am start finishing by 3:30pm, average of 11-minute mile total TIME. 

• The first 25 miles: 9:50-10:15min/mi
• Pick Andy up and run 10-10:30min/mi 
• The last miles, solo, 10:30-11min/mi. 

(2 liters of water in my pack, oranges, pickles, protein bars, applesauce and Gu's.) 

I did the first 25 miles solo, heading down the back roads of Ottisville by myself. It was a 4-mile trek to the "Iron Belle trail" connecting Columbiaville, Otter Lake and Millington. 

I was so proud of myself when I made it to the trail without getting lost! I was smiling for a multitude of reasons when I arrived at the trail, I didn't get lost, the weather was perfect 55', I didn't get kidnapped or attacked by a dog and I found a clean port-a-jon!!

I just ran and smiled all the way to Millington and back. Play time came to an end after I had listened to Barn 45 and the heat began and I started accumulating sweat on my brow. 

My courage began to get softened with the battlefield roaring in my head. My strength was fading, and anxious thoughts were taking a grip. I tried to preach truth back into my head. 

I had eaten most of my food and drank almost all my water but the one thing I had not done was turn on my tunes. 

That music and the power of prayer put a little pep in my step as I made it back to our campsite. Andy was incredible, he was sitting at our picnic table waiting for me with potato chips, more oranges, pickles, Vernors, Gatorade, it was a ultra runners dream buffet. 

THE SECOND 25:

I was soo delighted to have Andy. I loved having some company and encouragement. Andy had his watch set up for walk breaks, giving me something to look forward to and break up our miles. We had fun running back to the trail only this time going the opposite way towards Millington. 

Andy shared with me he would be with me for 17 miles, this was such a surprise blessing. I felt that courage coming back. I felt like the Little Engine Who Could as we knocked out one mile at a time. 

It was fun until it wasn't as unfortunately, we both BONKED, I was around 38 miles and it was UGLY! Andy was running out of water, the heat was baking us, we were both out of food and we were not feeling any romance in this running date anymore! 

Andy found a gas station and bought me a bag of pretzels and water to get us back home. I literally ran carrying my big bag of pretzels and it was like it was manna from Heaven. 

My Last 8. 

By the time we arrived back at the campsite I was green with envy that Andy was done. He asked if I wanted to sit down for a minute. OH did I EVER!!  I knew I had to keep moving. I knew I had to dig deep those last 8 miles. 

Everything was beginning to wear down. My mood was worn down, my strength was worn down, my energy was worn out, my heart rate was the only thing I couldn't get to come down!

I took off down Farrand Road heading to M15 to do 4 miles out and back. 

It was hotter than Haiti. Full sun beating on my tender skin. I ran a little, walked a little, a couple times I had to stop all together under a tree to get my heart rate to come down. 

I had several friends reaching out to me to check on me. This meant so much to me. The encouragement and thoughtfulness helped me finish it in.  

Be Strong and Courageous. The Lord was with me. He never leaves me. Even when I fell apart, even when I was weak, even when I lost my mind, even when I felt fear creeping in on me, even when I have these wild and crazy dreams!!

Glory to God, very thankful for Gods provision over me. 

“Courage is being scared to death … and saddling up anyway.” —John Wayne

In Peace, not Pieces

Anita~

Stealing my Thunder!

 

"Storms draw something out of us that calm seas don't." Bill Hybels 

I left my house before 7am to meet my running partners and it was already 80'. It was like running in soup the humidity was so thick. Training for a 24-hour race has me running a lot of miles back-to-back.

I figured if I left early enough, I would be able to get 20 miles in before the thunderstorms rolled up on me. 

I was able to get my 8 miles in with the girls without a rain drop. 

But OHH the skies opened up not 2 miles down the backroads.

The rain came down so hard I could hardly see. 

Lacey knew my route and told me she would get me if it got bad, but I was determined to get my 20 miles in. 

I heard thunder off in the distance, I had another 9 miles to go. The rain settled down, I kept moving, no more walk breaks. It was supposed to be an easy run, now I was trying to beat the storm. 

The thunder drew closer, louder and lightning began to light up the sky. I was no longer smelling the blooming lilacs or looking for deer on the backroads.

At 14 miles, the roads were flooding, there was not a dry patch on my body, the sky was angry and loud and I couldn't stop laughing. 

It was that crazy, slightly lunatic laugh.  I startled myself with how much joy I was experiencing in such disturbing weather. 

A warm smile of security resonated in my soul. The sky had darkened, I could see the clouds moving with lightning flashing through its shadows, it was magnificent. I was awestruck as my legs moved effortlessly through another mile. 

The temperatures dropped, my wet skin was chilled and invigorated. 

I spoke to my Lord. 

He controls the thunder and the rain and the safety of his daughter. 

So small, in the vastness of a great storm. I ran by the comfort and peace that God was protecting me from the harm that surrounded me.  

My phone started making all kinds of rings and dings. Lacey was texting, Andy was calling and I was only at mile 15. 

I was begging Andy to let me keep running. It was too late, both Lacey and Andy were driving through Holly looking for me. 

The sky CRACKED and the thunder now interrupted itself with another BOOM! 

I ran faster hoping I could run more until they found me. 

Mile 16, I was still unfound by them but never out of sight of God. 

I don't know why but I wasn't rattled as the storm raged. The cars sped pass me with their wipers on high. My eyes were stinging with rain but I just couldn't stop smiling. 

I was exhilarated. I felt such freedom, even in the middle of the storm I never wanted the feeling of freedom and peace to leave me. 

But as I approached my 17 I saw Andy spot me, he pull into the gas station madder than a wet hen at me. Rightfully so. 

The rain had slowed down, the thunder was silencing as I pleaded to keep running. The radar showed I had ran through the worst of it and it was now letting up. "Lacey is out here looking for you too!" 

I am a stubborn fool but as Andy looked one more time at the radar, he reluctantly let me keep running home in the softened storm. 

I didn't get far, I made it to almost 18 miles when Lacey found me, "HEY! I'll buy you a coffee if you get in..." 

I am a sucker for coffee. 

I smiled, sat my drenched body on some dry towels and confessed my ridiculous perseverance, my bold bullheadedness and my conviction for causing so much grief. Lacey was gentle, laughed, loved and drove me to Tim Hortons.  

I could have finished. But was it permissible? I had 2 people out looking for me in the midst of a stormy mess. Just because I had peace didn't mean others had peace. 

Everything we do has a trickle effect. I could see the pain I had caused in Andys eyes. He was worried for me. 

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 Phil. 4:6-7

I fell in love with todays storm for such a reminder of that unexplainable peace that passes all understanding.

I started my run with heavy shoulders, with a pack carrying more weight than the food and water it was designed for. I had packed it with burdens of anxiety, fear, insecurity, confusion, hurt, disappointment and other weights I had not named. These burdens were bulky and cumbersome, my load was heavy and I knew the only one that could unload it was my Jesus. I knew the storms of life spewed more than the storm circulating around me. 

He met me in the storm, he heard my prayers, he chased me down, held me safely in his arms and loved me when the storm softened with a gentleness that could only come from the heavens.  He encompassed me with a peace to calm the storm inside me, a peace that divided the fear of deafening thunder and blazing lightning. He removed the distraction of fear to invite me into his arms. It was there I took my burdens, in that quiet place, that restful place that I was blinded by all the physical storms and even the heavy storms in my heart loosened their grip and the weight softened. 

 

In Peace, not Pieces

Anita

Honey Child, caught in Somewhere

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

 Proverbs 16:24

 Here I am, feeling caught somewhere in the middle of someplace, drifting gently in the middle of something, not heavy to one side or another. 

Just somewhere in between. 

I don't quite fit in. 

In the churchy crowd I am not churchy enough. I can't recite, remember or recognize scriptures so eloquently. I don't have the Godly jargon down, I sit on the outside looking in. 

I stammer my words; I blunder my verses and my bible knowledge is somewhere in there but gets lost in translation. 

In the wild world of others, I am too churchy. My spiritual blunders not noticed but my passion and love for Jesus is noticed. My strength, my breath, my gratitude, my purpose all from the Lord is mayhem to many and hypocrisy in the faults of my imperfections. 

To the church I am not enough.

To the unchurched I am too much. 

Here I am somewhere in between. 

Somewhere in the middle of two whereabouts. 

Cautious of being "lukewarm".

God Forbid. 

Hush, sweet child, honey child, daughter of mine...shhh. 

I ran harder this morning. The sun beat hotter on my bare skin and I swallowed back that lump of emotions thick in my throat. 

My breath was loud as I struggled those first couple miles as my body warmed up. 

I prayed. I cried out to for security. I prayed my secret prayers that are hidden deep in my soul. I shared the thoughts of shame and sorrow seeking comfort. 

My convictions, my confusions, my Counselor please come and rescue me.  

As my run came to the end, the sweat on my brows felt like comfort. My breathing was now rhythmic, my heart was at peace and I smiled and softly laughed to myself thinking of God, calling down on me, "Honey Child....My sweet child....I am chasing after you, you will always fit in my arms." 

Pleasant words are a honeycomb, Sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

 Proverbs 16:24

In Peace, not Pieces,

Anita~

A Dream between Friends: Boston Marathon 2022

 “You must dream big and dream often. Take risks and see what happens.” – Debasish Mrida

There are some things I remember very well; one thing I remember well was helping to train Lacey for her first marathon. What I remember more than anything was her GRIT. 

Those weekly runs gained more than training they grew a deep friendship. 

Lacey was more than just physically strong; she was and is tough as nails mentally. After she had ran her first marathon, a few days later I encouraged her to think about trying to qualify for Boston.

That little seed rooted and began to grow. 

I had no plans to run Boston again after 2014. Even though I had accomplished my dreams, Lacey was still dreaming!

Lacey shared with me it was a dream to be able to run Boston with me. 

This dream would entail a lot of sweat and tears, dedicated runs, painful runs, intentional training and pavement pounding, all of which I was reluctant to do again. 

I fell in love with our training runs and time together. We signed up for marathons to test out our training in hopes of qualifying together. 

As time and training moved along, I felt my strength weaken. 

The truth is each marathon was fun and exciting, but I kept missing the mark. I was failing and falling apart. I was getting older, and training felt like it was increasingly getting harder. I was struggling to keep up, I was throwing up at 5K's and Lacey even reminded me of a marathon we ran where I vomited 1/4 of a MILE from the finish line. 

Lacey would qualify and actually run Boston without me in 2019. 

I was so happy for her. I remember tracking her and cheering her on from Michigan. 

With all the excitement when Lacey came home, I would have news of my own. 

I had been diagnosed with Breast Cancer in the time she was gone.

Lacey never let the dream die even with cancer! We ran, we trained, even when I couldn't run, she still truly believed God had us running Boston TOGETHER. 

And Against All Odds, so many left out details, God parted the sea for us to both qualify and GET it! 

BOSTON BOUND!

"A goal sets your life on a path, gives it direction, and energizes you." Andrew Wheating, Olympian

Lacey and I flew out of Detroit last Saturday morning. 

We arrived in Boston that afternoon and took to the city enjoying the expo and city shopping. 

Sunday Lacey and I had breakfast at a local favorite hipster diner called the Friendly Toast and headed to church for Easter. 

We met Doug, a friend of ours from Michigan for dinner and to talk about our race strategy the next day. 

One thing we knew, we had done the work to get here, our race strategy was to soak it all in. Lacey and I planned to run it together, have fun doing it and smile all 26.2 miles with gratitude. 

Patriots Day: Boston Marathon

"Now bid me run, and I will strive with all things possible." Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Starting Time: 11am was my corral.

Lacey and I had to head out of our hotel a little after 6:15am to get coffee and a bagel before we headed to our shuttle bus. 

We were doing great on time but quickly found ourselves turned around in the city and running to find our busses where we were meeting Doug and another runner we know, Christina. 

We made it to the busses a little frantic but quickly settled down as the other runners began boarding with excitement and smiles. 

The bus took us from Boston to the starting line on Hopkinton and dropped us off at Athletes Village. 

Our shuttle bus allowed us to stay on until our starting time. We could eat, use the bathrooms and relax. 

The bathrooms were great until they weren't! After a dozen runners with nerves and anxiety have used them, the back of the bus was getting really special! 

Lacey and I had matching outfits on with our motto of "Rule #1, Look Good"! 

Before heading off the bus I decided to have one more potty break. The bathroom light didn't work in the bus and without looking I hovered over the tiny toilet unable to notice that someone had politely put the lid down to try and close that pungent smell. Within seconds I felt something warm and then I heard a trickle sound and came to the conclusion that I was peeing all over the back of my new bright corral skirt! 

I could barely move in those tiny quarters as I felt not only my face getting flushed by my new outfit being soiled. Typical Anita! Never a dull moment and always something to laugh about. 

Athletes Village

"When you get the environment right, humans will do remarkable things." Simon Sinek 

It was glorious out!  We decided to start heading to Athletes Village together. This is a very large area the race designs in the back of a school for the runners to wait before the race. It has clothing drop off, light food, water, port-a-jons, music and a announcer directing and pumping up the runners. You have to go here before you head down to the starting line. 

We were not here long when they announced "BLUE CORRAL you can now head to the starting line". 

Doug, Lacey and I were all smiles as we tucked into the hundreds of runners. 

Let's get it Started 

 “Through hard work, perseverance and a faith in God, you can live your dreams.” – Ben Carson

With runners on every side of us we all started together. 

Doug stayed with us for about a mile and then slowly broke free. 

The spectators were 5 people deep on both sides. 

Lacey and I couldn't stop smiling. I had so many people praying for us, I even had a list of prayer warriors praying very mile. 

The First 13: 

Lacey and I were having so much fun, we were high fiving people and cheering everyone on. 

I had forgot about all the hills but we continued to hit our splits for a fun 4 hour marathon. 

As we approached mile 13, Lacey passed me some Tylenol to open.  Lacey never let on she was hurting. She never does. 

The truth is, it was the grace of God and the power of prayer that had gotten her to the starting line. 

Lacey has been nursing injuries the last 9 months. The girl has GRIT.  Our injuries and illnesses the last 4  years have proved the resiliency of our friendship. We are more than just running partners, we are bonded together in more than miles, we are bonded together in love. 

The Second 13:

We let up on our pace but not our enthusiasm. Our outfits were so stinking cute that the spectators were commenting and cheering us on, this was a beautiful distraction! "TWINSIES!!" This was a very popular cheer and "Best Running Outfit" 

We didn't go minutes without being compliments on our matching outfits. No one notices your suffering if you look cute! The perfect distraction! 

Lacey and I were fueled by the energy surrounding us and Wellesley College was like a screaming tunnel of wild girls all looking for a KISS! As you barreled down the girls were screaming, almost deafening with posters and cowbells and unfathomable energy. 

That energy would come to a screeching halt as the Newton hills at mile 18 would continue to wreck us ending with Heartbreak Hill in between 20-21 miles. This is a pivotal hill because it is at the length of their longest training run.  

The sun beat down on us and the temperatures had us drinking at every aid station, both Gatorade and water. We were very intentional about staying hydrated. The final 5 miles are great, mostly downhill unless your ITband is hurting, then these last 5 miles could be very painful. 

At mile 23 , we came into a BIG spectator hub, BROOKLINE. The day was so beautiful that the crowds were 5 people deep. 

Lacey and I were still smiling with gratitude. One mile at a time I looked for the "Citgo".

I wanted a picture of the infamous sign, but the problem is you see it for a mile before actually reaching it at mile 25! 

THE FINISH:

“It’s part of life to have obstacles. It’s about overcoming obstacles; that’s the key to happiness.” – Herbie Hancock

Once we crested that last hill, Lacey picked up the pace. As the last mile to the finish chipped away the overwhelming feeling of gratitude began to surface. 

Lacey and I had been through so much together over the course of our friendship. Life had presented itself to both of us the last 4 years. Death, grief, heartache, cancer, families, life struggles. So many times we had to check in on one another, coax each other in our life struggles, in our pains, in our pursuits. Like a marathon we have had many rough miles in this thing called life and as I made that final turn to see our finish line I choked back the tears. 

It started with a dream. A dream that never lost its flame in all the struggles of life. 

The Finish Line just yards in front of us, I reached over and grabbed my beautiful friend's hand and raised it up as we crossed that dreamy Boston Marathon Finish together. 

Finish: 4h:10min

* Thank you for all the prayers! Especially to my Barn45 community! I was so blessed by all the love, prayers, support, comments, cheer messages on the Boston Marathon site. Those that tracked me, called me, messaged me, Thank you. So many that hardly even know me loved me like their own.  

In PEACE, not Peices,

Anita~

 

 

Being Miserable

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” ~ Wayne Dyer

 Miserable. Absolutely miserable. 

It took everything for me to lace up and bundle up to run. Mondays, I am usually running 16 miles of trails but today I decided to hit the roads. 

As I headed outside, the wet snow quickly saturated my socks. Even though I was avoiding puddles my socks were heavy and sloshing the first 2 miles. I tucked my hat down further over my eyes to block the snow now turning to sleet as it bounced off my hoodie. I calculated my miles and the time it would take to run 16 miles, or maybe 14 miles or....my goals were quickly being intercepted by the agony I was feeling. 

And the more I ruminated on how cold, wet and soggy I was, the more I felt discouraged.   

My thighs were burning from the drenched and frigid fabric of my running pants. 

I instructed myself to just get to 5 miles then reassess my misery. 

Before I even made it to 5 miles, I found myself turned around. Seriously! How does one get confused less than 4 miles from home?

Its called misery. 

I had to confront my suffering and all the negativity I was trudging through. I found I was making a tough run more terrible by the torture of my thoughts. My gloomy thoughts were adding more discomfort than the elements I was actually running in. 

I reminded myself of the races I have quickly approaching. The next 3 weekends I have races. This made me smile. 

My thoughts began shifting. My steps found their purpose again. I quit making excuses to cut my run short and instead found myself adding loops to guarantee ALL 16 miles. 

My pants were frozen, my Complete Runner gloves were water logged and dripping, my shoes sloshed with mud and water but my body was sweating with excitement. 

Today was actually my 3rd day of "Back to Back" runs. And I was feeling pretty strong. 

Saturday: 19.5 miles

Sunday: 10 miles

Monday: 16 miles. 

I DID IT! Not only did I do it, I ran it miserable and mighty. I had to remind myself to bring it down adding walk breaks to settle down my pace. 

This weekend I have a trail marathon. I am so stoked! Andy is bringing out the camper for me and my girlfriends. We are all running Carpe Diem. I am running a 1/2 marathon in the morning and a 1/2 marathon at night! 

Today was actually good training for what the weather will be like this weekend! 

It is going to be COLD! 

But we are going to have hot coffee and campfires! 

COLLISION 

“Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Whatever has to be done, it’s always your choice.” ~ Wayne Dyer

We are not going to escape discomfort. We are truly disillusioned if we think that life is all sunshine and fairy tales. 

Training presents many different runs. Just when I am about to throw in the towel, quit, cry or carry on in misery I have to consciously choose Misery or Motivate. 

I let my thoughts throw sand in the gears and make a mountain out of a mole hill. 

Pain speaks volumes to us. It is not easy to flip the script when you are doubled over in agony. 

But misery is a road we travel with easy, it takes courage to get off the wide road of misery and take a risk to welcome the joy and happiness. To be motivated or to find that motivation. 

There will always be suffering and misery, the elements of life will never run out of obstacles and challenges. But I have discovered that I have for more elements of life to motivate me to never give in to misery. 

 

In Peace, not Pieces,

Anita~

Out of the INBETWEEN

With my schedule so different these days, I am working harder to find the time to run. 

The "run" has become more precious as my time has become more limited. 

I get up consistently earlier than ever and find myself still working well into the night and I LOVE it. 

I don't have to, I GET TO. 

Don't get me wrong, I am TIRED but I am in a season.  I am not floating somewhere in-between some place. 

Everday is a GIFT and I find myself thankful to be exhausted.

I am grateful to endure long days and excited to enjoy the feeling of fatigue. 

I don't want to live life only to exist, stuck somewhere IN BETWEEN life and death,

IN BETWEEN happiness and sadness, IN BETWEEN absence and presence. 

It is frightening to be captured IN BETWEEN arrivals and departures, or depressing living life IN BETWEEN being asleep and awake. 

Chasing one experience after another, pursuing another day and wishing the present away only to forget the here and now. 

Not every day is butterflies and rainbows. I can say that with certainty. But living in the present, making the most and doing my best is not living to just EXIST, not just SURVIVING but THRIVING. 

Last Monday I headed out to Holdridge for a solo run. 

I disconnected all the noise, I shut off my music and the voices to just "feel" and embrace the quietness of the woods.

I wanted to enjoy all 16 miles.

I didn't want to "Get through it" rather I wanted to experience every mile, every wind that blew throughout the forest, I wanted to listen to each bird chirping and see every squirrel crossing as if it were the first. 

My training is picking up, my long runs are getting longer, and the intensity of my running is becoming more intentional. 

I broke the trail up into thirds, trying to quicken each segment, finishing my last segment faster than my first. 

My first segment is the hardest at Holdridge. The elevation is exhausting right out of the gate, my easy pace doesn't feel that easy at all. 

When the second section comes my heart rate is so confused and exhausted.

 As I moved through the trail, I noticed the foliage starting to grow. The trail was beat up from a hard winter of snow, ice, thaw and flooding. Many areas were washed out bearing thick roots and sharp rocks ready to disable you. 

When my watch hit 10 miles I was smiling, I was still UPRIGHT! 

My body didn't feel too abused as I coached myself to pick up my pace. I looked at my watch, swallowed my favorite coffee Gu, sipped some water out of my pack and chuckled as I came down the trail running along a ridge. "Let's Go" I whispered to myself knowing this was going to be harder than the first two loops. My legs were feeling the abuse from the eroded trail and the reminder I had to pick it up and stay strong was echoing to me. 

I recited my future races, the "WHY" in my run and I dug my heels back in preparing myself for the finishing challenge. 

I knew I had some prayers circulating around me as I recounted all the miles I had not tripped, flipped or fallen. 

I was coming down one of the last ridges trying to dodge a tangling picker bush only to quickly duck from a floating branch level with my eyes when I missed the root protruding angrily across the trail. That little booger concealed itself in the dirt and while my legs were moving and my eyes were darting from one side to the other, I was not fast enough to see this toe grabber and DOWN I WENT. I had my GU wrapper and my speaker in my hand, and they went in opposite directions into the weeds. My left palm skidded through the rough dirt and my shin felt the sting of open skin and dirt. 

And I laughed. And laughed some more. 

I gathered my pride, my posture and picked up my pace! 

I finished 16 miles of trails on Monday with gratitude and glory. Not because I "HAD TO" but because I "GOT TO". 

I ran it 2 days after running a marathon. I wasn't attached to a specific outcome, I was attached to the experience, the passion, the Gift with flexibility and gratitude.  

I wasn't caught in the IN BETWEEN, I wanted to enjoy every moment in whatever capacity I was capable of. 

Some of us are only living to exist. From day to day, from experience to experience, from one epic moment to another and are missing all the IN BETWEEN. 

Some of us are missing the good and the bad, yes, even the bad is meant to be experienced, to teach us and to grow us. 

ASHVILLE MARATHON 26.2

CAREBEARS TAKE ASHVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA. 

My CRU! Antonio, Nathan, Sarah, Doug and I made this little girls Day! Check out her tee shirt!!

We snuck out to Ashville this past weekend to run a marathon. My friends and I all showed up in Carebear onesies. 

Our CRU was so much a hit that Ashville Marathon invited the Carebears back on THEM!!
Our best 5-hour marathon EVER!!!!!! 

The Carebears were a HIT! We felt like the paparazzi was chasing us with cameras. The race director even invited us to come back to Ashville next year on them! 

We never took the costumes off even when the temperatures reached almost 70 degrees. At mile 13, alongside a busy road, I literally tripped over a stick on a flat sidewalk, CAREBEAR DOWN! 

The temp heated up and the sweat and cramping came out, but we NEVER quit smiling and cheering on both runners and spectators. 

Poor Bedtime Bear was feeling sleepy after the marathon!

Life is not summed up in what it is "Supposed to be". There is no perfect equation, but rather our response to every individual moment. Rather than waiting for the perfect, enjoy and make the most of the present. 

Anita~

Press On

 

"Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Phil 3:12-14

As my miles add up and add on, I am finding myself with myself more and more. I am having more solo miles, the company of one, myself and my God. 

As much as I am inspired by music and the beat that moves my feet to a faster cadence, I have been turning off the tunes a little more. Some pray on their knees, some in their closet, I find my favorite place running with the Lord next to me, coaching me, encouraging me, teaching me and loving me. 

 

"To be a consistent winner means preparing not just one day, one month, or even one year-but for a lifetime." -Bill Rodgers

Training consists of eating proper calories, maintaining good sleep, stretching, rolling, cross training, long runs, fast runs, hard runs and easy runs. I have fun runs and runs I want to quit on. I have runs I fall short and runs I nail. 

Longs runs consist of 2-4 hours right now. I am running on an average of 50 miles a week. 

Every run, every planned run and every run ran, I try to give my best. 

It's all about training. 

My mindset is that of an athlete. At 48 years old, my training has changed but my mindset is the same. 

I have learned to not look at my past, I have to forget what lies behind me and reach forward to what lies ahead. 

I PRESS ON

when it hurts. 

I PRESS ON 

when I want to quit.

I PRESS ON

when I feel inadequate.

I PRESS ON 

when I feel incapable.

I PRESS ON 

when I am weak.

I PRESS ON

when I am alone.

I PRESS ON 

when I am scared.

I PRESS ON 

when I hear the whispers. 

I PRESS ON 

when I am confused.

I PRESS ON

when I feel hopeless. 

I PRESS ON 

when I am insecure. 

I don't PRESS ON in perfection. I press on in the capacity I am, not in my strength, not in my will, not in my abilities but in HIS. 

My training to PRESS ON, to continue on with excitement not just my physical training but also my spiritual growth. 

As my physical training heightens with race season beginning, I am reminded to rest, to eat meals to help me recover and rebuild, I am reminded when I get injured or hurt to PRESS ON. 

In this life this will happen. 

We will have seasons when we find ourselves injured. By others, and sometimes from ourselves and then there will be times when we are disabled with no good reason. 

Be flexible to PRESS ON in the capacity you are at today. Not yesterday, and not somebody else's, right where you are at!

"In the days of my victory and joy, I had faith enough to thank the Lord. Now, as well, I should not but accept my accident in grace." Abede Bikila- two-time Olympic champion crippled in a car crash 1969.

• Feb. 28-March 6th = 62 miles
•  Make a Difference 10k- (McKenna Schummer lost a 20 month-battle with Osteosarcoma at the year young age of 11. 

She helped other children find thier courage, strength and beauty through McKennassquad Beauty Bar.

All proceeds went to #McKennassquad beauty bar. 

Congrats to all those that came out to run or support this beautiful cause. 

Don't Give up, PRESS ON

Anita~