I’m NOT a runner…or am I?

07 Jul I’m NOT a runner…or am I?

I truly have never been a runner. In 6^th grade at the track and field day, I ran a relay race with three others and when the time came to pass the baton to me, I dropped the baton, tripped and fell right there on the track in front of EVERYONE. After many tears, I got up and finished the race by myself and I WAS SLOW!! NEVER AGAIN would I let myself face that embarrassment and defeat! Despite the constant encouragement from my best friend’s father (she was definitely a runner) to go out for cross country because I had the ‘determination and will to succeed’ I never did run in high school. I even avoided volleyball because I heard that they had to run many laps every day in practice!

My sisters were runners, though. They inspired me with every race they ran. Whether there was a blistering cold spring wind at a local track meet in Chariton, or it was a sweltering HOT day in May on the blue track in Des Moines, I loved watching them give it their all. That continued into adulthood and we would travel to watch them run half marathons and full marathons around the Midwest. We would map out the path and figure out how we could see them the most times along the route, encouraging them to keep on running. Nothing was more rewarding than seeing them cross the finish line, giving it their all and then nearly collapsing when they were done. It was inspiring! I’d love to feel that sense of accomplishment…but I’m NOT a runner…or was I?

Shortly after moving to DeWitt in 2013, I became very active in a bootcamp group, No Limit Fitness. I had never been one to work out on a regular basis, or even care about my health and wellness, besides the few months working up to my wedding day! That first 5am class on June 12^th (the day after I turned 31) I felt like I was going to die. We did a 300 that day…25 pushups, 25 situps, 50 kettlebell swings, 50 kettlebell arm raises, 50 mountain climbers, 50 burpees, and 50 jumping jacks. I ABOUT DIED!!!

3 ½ years later, I was still at it. I loved bootcamp, and everyone who knew me asked about my crazy bootcamp adventures! Not only did I love the exercise and challenge, but I loved the camaraderie and friendships I gained. Not many people look forward to getting up at 4:30am three days a week for 3 ½ years! But I did, and I will forever cherish the fond memories I have of those classes.

After I had my third child, I was on a family vacation in the Ozarks with my sisters. They were going out for a run one morning and I thought…’Hey, I could probably join them!’ I had continued bootcamp until I was 29 weeks pregnant and now I was 5 weeks post-partum so I figured I could keep up with them, right? Ha! It was the Ozarks! Hill after hill after hill! But I did it. We ran 4 miles that day and I decided it was my time. I was up for a race. My sisters invited me to join them for a race in Clinton, IA on September 10, 2014. This was three short months after Easton was born, but I was up for it. A 10K as my first race…not too shabby. I ran it in 1:01 and I was so happy just to finish!

My sisters had often talked about wanting to run another race together and I didn’t say a whole lot. I figured they can plan all they want, but I doubt I’ll ever run more than a 10K. So when they invited me to run a half marathon in Peoria in October 2016, I was reluctant at first. “Really? They think I could actually run 13.1 miles?” I knew there would be a lot going on that Fall. It was 9 months away, I had time. If I wasn’t ready, I could just not sign up, right? Well, needless to say, I began training, and although I was preparing to run a race, those runs were the outlet I needed to let my mind wander, to think clearly about my future, and to open my mind to the opportunities that were ahead of me.

My race training was less than consistent. I could go out and run 3-4 miles here and there, no problem. So when June and July came around I started to get more serious. I would run 6 miles here and there, but still nothing consistent. I ran 8 miles one time in Geneva, IL with a co-worker’s wife. She had run several half-marathons and our route that day was FLAT! She encouraged me the whole way and I did it. I had a glimmer of hope…’maybe I CAN do this!’ I thought!

I continued to run 6 miles here and there, but the summer and fall started to get the best of me. The details of the upcoming move started to become overwhelming. I was starting my new business, wrapping up loose ends from my current employment, transferring the duties of the many volunteer organizations I was part of, preparing my children to move, fixing up the 1910 farmhouse and acreage we’d be moving to, preparing to sell our existing house, and more.

As October approached, I realized I needed to get serious, but there was no time. I’d just sign up for the 10K. I had done that before, I could do that in my sleep, right? Nope. I got on the race website to sign up…no 10k was offered. There was a 5K (too easy), a half and a full. Wow! A guess a half it is! I signed up! I established in my mind that I had a lot going on. I could use every excuse in the book and everyone would understand. I hadn’t been training like I should have. Worst case scenario, I’d just run/walk it and I’d make it through. I’d finish, and if my sisters ever asked me again…I BETTER learn how to say NO!!!

Not so fast…two weeks prior to the race, I hardly ran at all. 2 days before the race, I ran 3 miles, but that was tough! So what did I do? All I knew how to do when times got tough. I prayed. Every day I would pray that God would give me the strength to get through it all. I had no idea how I had made it this far, but if this was His plan for me, I would trust in Him that I could do it. And so I did.

6am on Sunday, October 16^th, my sisters and I got ready at the Embassy Suites in Peoria and then made our way downtown. I realized that I probably should have gotten new shoes a month or so earlier, as my shoes were nearly worn through the bottom. My stomach was flip-flopping and I didn’t feel so good. I wasn’t ready. I had so many other things I should be doing besides running a race. Excuses, excuses, excuses. I didn’t have time for excuses. What I did have? Strength, determination and the will to succeed.

I DID IT!!!!! 2 hours and 26 minutes later, I crossed that finish line. I DID WHAT I THOUGHT I COULDN’T DO! I overcame my fear of running, I overcame the excuses in my head. I trusted God that all would be okay. I now have a constant reminder that no matter what challenges lie ahead, we must have faith in God that if He brings us to it, He will bring us through it. It starts with our attitude and succeeds with a strong faith and trust in God.