Personal Acheivements

Sorry to leave y'all hanging for so long! I haven't given up the blogging just yet :)

I've been struggling with my running lately. Lots of traveling wreaks havoc on my training schedule. However, if I'm being honest, that's not really the problem. I could have gone running while I was traveling. I just haven't been motivated, and I've been really tired. I haven't been eating as well. Unfortunately, all these things play off of each other to make running seem downright impossible.

HOWEVER-

I had signed up for the Goodlettsville Classic 4 Miler, scheduled for this past Saturday. I hadn't run all week, but I knew that I had to do it because I had signed up. I wasn't anticipating a good time and I wasn't real excited about it. I started the run and it seemed like there were a ton of really serious runners and I fell to the back half of the pack very early on. When my phone announced the first mile split, I knew it'd be a pretty fast mile. It was a 10:50 mile. That is the fastest mile I've run since high school. It may not sound like much to most people, but to me that was exciting. I still wasn't too sure of the race though. I figured I had started off fast because everyone else had and that I would die off pretty quickly. The second mile split came and it was a 10:58 mile. I was slightly encouraged by that pace, but still not confident. The third mile was slower, at 11:18. At that point, I realized that even if I totally bombed the last mile, I would be getting a pretty decent time for me. I didn't hear the split for the last mile, but my final time was right around 45 minutes. I was pretty happy with that! I was tired and got really sore the next day, but I had done it anyway!

Now for the best part-I WON! No, I didn't win overall-I got 118th. No, I didn't win the female division-I got 43rd. I won the female 20-24 division! Normally, I don't even stand a chance because my age and gender bracket is usually super competitive. However, for this race, apparently there were only 2 of us who ran it. That signals the first time I have ever won anything related to running! Finishing is reward enough and enough of an accomplishment to keep me going. However, I was so down on myself that this was what I really needed. I may never win anything ever again and I'm alright with that. (But I get a medal!)

I feel like God was telling me that even though it has been a crazy couple of weeks, He is still able. I should not have been able to run 4 miles that easily and quickly after hardly running for two weeks. However, I know that through His strength, God pushed me through this one because He knew what was best. He knew that it would motivate me to get going again. Shoot, I cleaned the apartment and did laundry yesterday. There's some motivation I definetly didn't have before this race.

So while it was the hardest race mentally I think I've ever run, I won. That's just how running works I guess.

**Note to family members: While I am travelling with you this weekend, I need to be kept accountable. I need to run 3 miles on Friday and 7 miles on Saturday. Please kick me in the butt if needed. Thanks

**Note to Dad: I looked up routes around our hotel this weekend. There's a greenway-type trail a block away. Just fyi ;)