Strong & Happy

Hi guys! Thank you all SO much for the sweet comments!

The race was AMAZING!!!!!!

I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful it feels to accomplish something like this after being so incredibly down on myself for the past two years because of my shin splints. There were soooo many days where I would just get so frustrated with myself and my body and to be able to do this now is such a gift. I had ZERO PAIN today and the whole race just felt fantastic….I pray I can continue to do this for a long, long time because finishing a race strong is one of the best feelings in the world. And coming back after injury just is so, so sweet!

I finished strong in 26:24….YAY!!!! The race was super challenging and started downhill with a very very steep run (climb?!) uphill in the dirt. I knew that if I raced up the huge hill I would wear myself out too early and be fighting for breath, so I took the start very slow and climbed up the hill to the best of my abilities. After the climb, we raced down a dirt path for the first mile and then totally into the woods above a lake for the next two miles. The woods were crazy….at times I felt like I was on an obstacle course because if you weren’t paying attention, you totally would have fallen flat on your face. There were tree trunks and vines all over the place and roots coming out of the grown. Other times, the sand was so deep that my foot almost got stuck! There were no mile markers and when I looked down at my hrm at 23 minutes and saw no finish line ahead I sort of freaked and wondered if I had accidentally veered in the direction of the 15K! Alas, I saw my dad’s bright orange shirt in the distance and I hauled my butt into a major sprint to cross the line in 26:24. It felt wonderful. I am thoroughly and completely obsessed with trail races….SO much better than concrete and so pretty!!!

And I am just bursting with pride for my mom! She finished in 34:20 and never walked once. She said she has NEVER ran the total 3 miles before and she felt great today!

My dad was camera man =)

My mom and I getting ready!

Pre-race stretches

Lucky hat!

Prayers

Finishing strong

My mom finished strong too! SO proud

As soon as I finished, I gulped down some coconut water-—

And then later on the car ride home, I busted out my special snack!

Yep, I finally found ONE white chocolate macadamia luna bar! It was sitting all by itself at the health food store last week and I just knew it would be perfect for today. Very, very yummy! It sort of felt like I was eating a candy bar actually because it was so sweet! It was a nice little treat 🙂

When I got home, I drank this:

And then I found Ryan upstairs at the gym running on the treadmill and I stretched a bunch. For lunch, Ryan took me to celebrate to my favorite health food store where I got a fresh fruit & veggie juice (carrots, apple, celery, beets and ginger…YUM!) and my favorite hummus and kale salad on a sprouted grain wrap.

I am officially putting a juicer on my “kitchen gadgets to have” list. I would LOVE to be able to whip up fresh veggie juice every day! This drink was awesome and super refreshing. I can’t believe I drank down an entire carrot, celery stalk, apple, beet and ginger. Wowza

Thankfully they remembered the hummus this time!

Ryan and I are about to pass out by the pool. I can’t put my book down!

Remember that today is Scripture Memory Verse Team day! Head on over to this website and enter in your verse for the next two weeks if you haven’t already!