A few weeks out and getting our minds, hearts, and bodies in check.

Anyone else looking forward to February?!

Our 3rd week out from the race looked a lot different than all the previous before, in a good way.

Typically, our schedule for the weeks has been to complete 3 key runs; track repeats for speed, tempo runs for pacing, and a long run. In between these 3 key runs we cross train (row) to help improve our endurance and give our running muscles a break. The last two days are set aside for either an easy run or complete rest (allowing your body a break to recoup is vital).

This week, both Justin and I did completely different things. As I wrote about in my previous post, we believe that Justin has acquired a shin splint in one of his legs. After trying to rest with light running, the injury was actually getting worse. Justin then made the decision to not run for the next week or so to allow his leg to heal properly. From this, we ended up altering our workouts, just a little bit.

I ran 5 of the 7 days and worked on strength training for one day with one day of rest.

Justin, alternated days in which he focused his strength training on (avoiding anything with the legs). No running for him.

We are both actually pretty sore from the weights but feeling good, overall. I am even happy to report that Justin feels that his leg is getting better and healing well. Praise God!

I have seen so many coaches and runners talk about the importance of incorporating strength training into training routines. The best way to prevent injury is to build up  your muscles. The best way to strengthen your run is to strengthen your body. It all makes sense! I believe this will be something we will start incorporating into our normal routine.

I really didn’t have much planned, writing wise, regarding our runs or workouts for this week, since its been pretty haphazard between the both of us. But, I did want to share a little bit about how a small change has made such a huge impact in my training.

Anyone else love listening to music while they run?! I sure do.  I know a lot of runners will listen to podcasts when they run but I am a music person, through and through. I find that I am able to really get into a song/songs that either help to motivate me or keep a certain pace. I am also someone who can become fixated on a song and listed to it non-stop for hours. Fun fact: I listened to the same song on repeat at our last 5K race to keep up my motivation and a faster pace.

After church this past weekend, I decided to add a few worship songs into my running playlist. Although these songs are typically slower in tempo than others I run too, I find that I can become incredibly inspired when listening to them.

During my treadmill run on Tuesday, the song Reckless Love started playing (anyone else love this song too?).  As the song started playing, I found myself initially wanting to change it due to the slow tempo change. Wanting to give the song a test drive, I allowed it to keep on playing. I actually, pretty quickly, found myself drifting from a running and workout focus and entering into a complete state of worship. I was sweating like crazy (hard run) but felt my body become consumed with goosebumps as if I were cold. Everything around me kind of fizzled away and it was just me in a state of praising God. I didn’t close my eyes or feel compelled to raise my hands for obvious fear that I probably would have wiped out on the machine. I found myself becoming hyper-aware of how incredible it was that I was running and felt my body driven to run harder. It was as if, in this state of worship, I was made aware of just how incredible of a creation we are, which makes our creator even more incredible.

We Matched 🙂

God created us, created me, to be able to push myself in this way. Hard to explain because the whole moment was that, such an emotional moment, where the Holy Spirit moved me and just loved on me in a different and incredible way.

I have been using The Devotion Training Journal for a few weeks now (totally recommend) and I have really noticed a difference in my training mindset when I center my focus on The Lord and not myself.

Running is something that both Justin and I love doing but, like with anything else, can become subject to our sinful natures. We can be harder on ourselves than we should be, as we start comparing and viewing others as competition. Instead of celebrating the achievements of others, we feel threatened and that somehow their ability to succeed diminishes our ability to succeed. We start becoming obsessed with running a certain pace, looking a certain way, training a certain way, finishing at a certain time, ultimately proving ourselves and our abilities. All of a sudden, running becomes a chore.

I do realize, I am only talking about the physical sport of running here, but even with something so trivial, I have found that when I surrender it to the Lord first, my mindset completely changes. My thoughts no longer focus on what I am not doing or believe I should be doing, but become amazed at what I am doing. I am, by no means, the fastest runner. Deep down I know this about myself, however, I also know that I have used it as an excuse when I can’t run a pace I want or feel like the run is more difficult than it should be. Sure, I am not the fastest runner when I compare myself to those who run 7 minute miles for 20 miles every day. I am, however, fast when I compare my current running self to my past running self. I used to not be able to run past 3 miles without stopping. Now, I am able to run double digit distances at a pace that is at least (if not more so) a minute faster than where I was. That’s a huge accomplishment and improvement to celebrate!

My worth as a runner is not determined by how I measure up to someone’s accomplishments. No one is made elite over night, it takes years of hard work and improvements are slow.

Being able to take steps to be present where you are now and continue to strive for better is tough. Yet, surrendering the whole process, the hard days, the goals, the mental battles, and the comparison struggles to the Lord helps to get not only get my head in the right place but also my heart. Taking small steps like reading scripture that corresponds with my training week or listening to worship music helps to make this happen.

So, all of that to be said (it ended up being a lot longer than I anticipated), if you are like me and find yourself fighting that battle of comparison or frustration with training or whatever you are doing, try adding your favorite worship song to your workout or running playlist! It’s a small thing to do with a mighty impact.

Every day is not incredible or amazing but I do find myself enjoying my runs a lot more than I have in the past. I tend to put a lot of pressure on myself that in order to prove myself as a serious runner, I need to perform like a serious runner. Our race is in 2 weeks and I have found myself bouncing between emotions of excitement and complete nervousness. Both Justin and I have worked really hard for this and we want to use this race to show off just how hard we have worked. But, the fear of not succeeding or achieving our goals is just short of devastating to think about.

These next two weeks will be ones of some good training and good recovery in all areas. My running goal is to run this race non-stop in under 2 hours but I am really working to make my goal one to just have fun and enjoy this race.

2 weeks left!