A Time to Think

Well I am sorry that I have not kept up to date with my blog, but my dad and mom were visiting from South Africa and so I really wanted to spend all my time with them. They went back to South Africa last week, so Thursday was rather a sad day for me. But I have bounced back and have so many wonderful memories to cling to. I just want to add that my dad and mom are amazing, they are the most wonderful parents in the world. They have an excellent marriage and both of them have hearts that just shine for Jesus, I couldn't ask for better role models in my life. So dad and mom I love you so much and thank you once again for coming to visit us, it was an amazing time.

Okay so back to training for the marathon, October 9th still seems so far away but I know that it is going to be here before I know it. I have had some good runs while my dad and mom were here. The one morning we went out really early, all of us again. But I was running out in front for awhile and I ran past this most beautiful garden. It had all sorts of wild flowers just growing together, now to a professional gardener it might not have been perfect but to me it was so pretty and it got me thinking. Before I carrying on about what I was thinking, I just want to say that running for me is a great time to think and pray. So what was I thinking,  I was thinking of the beauty of those flowers and how they were all so different, different colors, sizes and shapes and yet when put together it is something beautiful. And you know that God sees each of us as beautiful and He is doing beautiful things in our lives.
That reminds me of a song that we sing at church by Gungor called "Beautiful Things"  Here a few lines from the song "You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of dust. You make beautiful things, You make beautiful things out of us." and Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time." So I want to encourage you that you are special to God and He created you and you are beautiful to Him and He has placed you where you are for such a time as this. I think for a lot of us it is a season to bloom where we are currently planted.

So as you can see running not only keeps you fit but it really is a great time to reflect on God and pray and seek His heart for your life and for the lives of others.

One of the most special runs I have had so far was an 11 mile run last Monday, my mom came with me, she was riding the bike and keeping me company. It was wonderful for me, to just know that she was there, we didn't chat that much because well it just takes up a lot of energy. But I was so glad to have her with me and now she can picture where I run. As I have said time and time again family is such a huge help when training. My mom was just super encouraging and a huge blessing in my life.

I have been battling a bit with a sore toe, which you would think "Oh a little toe, how can that bother you?", but trust me it has. I have tried strapping it and rubbing vaseline on it before I run. (I read in some running magazine that vaseline really helps to prevent blisters.) I really don't want to stop running at this point as I feel like I am making such good progress. So I have decided to just push through the pain, keep strapping my toe and wear flip flops when I am not running. Oh the joys of runners feet. My husband told me that runners have the worst feet. Seriously I am hoping that it will clear up and I will be pain free soon. I battled with the same thing last year when training for the half marathon and it did get better.

I am still keeping up with the cross training, zumba, swimming and even a game of tennis with my dad last week and I am embarrassed to say he beat me 6 -1 and he made me run like crazy on the court but it was great fun. I would love to play more tennis, it is great work out and it is much more social than running. But as my dad will tell you, I need to get my serving right.

Yesterday I was so grateful to my friend Dana, she watched the girls for me so I could do a 10k before it got too hot. It was a good run, time wise, but I did feel like the heat drained me quite a lot. I do know that it is good to train in different weather conditions. Although tonight I had to draw the line, I was going to do a quick 6k run and I was only a short ways into my run and I looked up and there was the most amazing display of lightening but really a bit too close for my liking. So I ran as fast as I could home and just as well because we had rather a big storm.

At this point in my training, I am doing 3 to 4 shorter distance runs during the week, a half hour of swimming and then an hour of Zumba on a Monday and then a long run on Saturday. Sunday I have a rest day or hike with the family. And I am feeling good, I know that I have just got to keep up the discipline that goes with this kind of training. Happy running everyone.