It's Kind of a Big Deal

Wow!  It has been wayyyyyyyyy tooooooooo long since I last posted.  I think it is time for an update.  The kids are doing well. Chloe turned three, Sara is five and Mya turns seven tomorrow.  She is so excited to be a birthday girl for the day.  Birthdays are fun at this age because they get so excited about presents and celebrating their special day.  And of course I get excited to give them their presents.  Tomorrow will be fun.  Mya asked me tonight before she went to bed if she would have to do school tomorrow since it is her birthday.  I might cut her a break just a little bit.  But I told her she still had to do some school work.  Homeschooling is going well.  It is a tough job.  But I have learned how to embrace the fact that each day is new for us.  Each day we are given grace and that is a wonderful blessing.

Dan flies to Oklahoma on Thursday to meet with a company that could be a potential job change happening in the near future.  We are very excited and feel the Lord leading this direction.  We will know more when he gets back on Friday night.  Neither of us have flown in an airplane since our honeymoon more than 9 years ago so I am excited for him to go on a trip. 

So it was "kind of a big deal" that I ran a race yesterday and beat my personal record by 12 minutes!  Dan and I spent the weekend in Columbus with a couple from our Sunday School class.  We had such a good time together eating great food and having nice adult conversation.  We even had time to sit in the hot tub at the hotel for a while.  Dan and I enjoyed sleeping in a king size bed with no children pushing us out of bed.  On Sunday we all woke up around 5:30 am to prepare for a 7:30 race.  We stayed near the Columbus airport so we had to commute to downtown Columbus for the race.  With nearly 18,000 participants for the half and full marathon, we had to leave early to find a parking spot.  None of us were prepared for the cold weather.  I thought I would be fine with a sweatshirt and gloves, but I made a mistake by not bringing sweatpants to wear before the race started.  My legs were freezing and we had to stand in the cold weather for an hour.  I was thankful to have a tall husband with a warm body to keep me semi-warm.  But I still shivered for that hour. 

We were running the race for a dear friend in our town who has a daughter with special needs.  She was a sponsored child at mile 15 and so many people from the Ashland community ran for this sweet girl.  I know it was an emotional run for many.  Even though we only did the half marathon, it felt great to know that I was running my heart out for her. 

The start of the race was awesome.  There was a live band and then fireworks.  And then the gun went off and we waited and waited before we got to the start line.  The size of the corrals were outstanding.  People were side by side and trying to find their way to the start line.  And finally we made it.....I started my watch and was off with a great pace.  A few miles into the race I had to go pee.  That is not a good thing, but I was so determined to get a certain time that I refused to stop at the porta potty to go to the bathroom.  I was not going to waste any time.  It was quite a mental game to keep myself going at the pace I wanted to and not focusing on needing to go to the bathroom.  So I held it and somewhere around mile 8 or 9 I forgot about needing to go.  Then around mile 10 I found my pace guy for a 1:40 pace and stuck with him until mile 11.  He coached me on how to break the 1:40 time, I took his advice, and ran as fast as I could for the last couple miles.  And I crossed the finish line at 1:38.  I never imagined I would get a time like that....ever in my life!  It was "kind of a big deal." I placed ninth out of over 900 women in my age group.  I crossed the finish line and needed to hug someone so bad....I kind of felt like crying.  But I couldn't find anyone I knew so I held in my tears and waited for Dan to cross.  Finally I found him and got my hug.  I just felt proud.  At that moment I was so grateful for having healthy legs and healthy lungs and the mental strength to push through those tough moments.  I was proud of myself.  It seems like it is a feeling that we don't experience often enough.  God gave me the opportunity to do well and run for Him.  I did it!