Running my first 15k

Running makes me feel younger, stronger and healthier. Just like good nutrition; it's been good to me, so I keep doing it and keep trying to make progress.

After a year of warming up to the idea of being a runner, I'm still running, and loving it even more. It's showing me that I can do hard things. Not just hard things but things I thought were impossible for me. Also, it's showing me how AMAZING God's creation is. As I run I consider the birds and the sky and the other people walking and running around me. I'm aware of my surroundings, and I'm also aware of how blessed I am to have a healthy, strong body that's able to run for miles and miles without stopping. I'm often praying my way through a run, which keeps me God focused. I don't run fast, but I am faster than I used to be. God blesses me through my running and I know that He delights in my progress. 

In January I went and ran a 15k. I did the Hot Chocolate 15k in Houston. My favorite race of the year. 

I was all by myself. It was raining, and I was getting a cold. I had also already done my long run that week and didn't even have the cash to register. But God. 

God put the money in my lap and all but told me to go do it. 

God gave me the strength to run and the energy to finish. 

God helped me train and arranged for everyone else in my family to be busy with other things that day, so .....I wasn't missing anything. 

I got up at about 4:30am, got dressed, put on my running garb and took off the doubts and fears. It would be my first race longer than a 10k, so there were doubts and fears, but I left them at home. There's no place for negativity in racing. You have to have faith. 

That faith paid off. It was faith in God and gratitude for all the training I was able to do. The entire race was a blast. I was cold but I wasn't alone. SOOOO many other racers and so much race support from volunteers. It's a great race to run if you have thought about it. The hot chocolate and fondu at the end is insanely good. The race swag is also probably the best of all the races I have done. You get a jacket instead of a t-shirt. 

This is me on the last mile of the 15k. I've just taken in a run fuel and I feel awesome. It's full of sugar and caffiene, so that explains the energy boost, right? Oh wait, it might be the training 5 days a week, too, and the oatmeal, blueberries and protein powder earlier that day. However it was that I felt awesome after racing 8 miles, it felt like I'd already won the race. I'd won over fatigue, low energy, doubt, comfort levels, etc. Let's face it. That's the race we're really in from day to day. I don't care if I'm fast or if I finish before anyone else; I'm always racing myselft. I want to be better, faster, stronger and more equipt to go the next mile in front of me, whether it's in a race or in my daily life. God is so good and helped me finish this race feeling great and at a pace that was faster than I thought I could do. 

My pace was a slow 10:27, but because I'm usually slower than that, I finished with a new PR on that distance. To God be the glory. 

There is this small voice inside of me that's saying "keep running- you can do more". I know I want to do a half marathon soon. Past that I do not know what the future holds. I just know I'm not done yet. For now running is a hobby, but I do feel it slowly transitioning to more of a passion. Only time and lots more training will tell.