...They Need to See Jesus!

Those Weirdos Are My Tribe

I saw this posted in a group on Facebook that I am in, called Meg's Miles (a very encouraging and inspiring group of people.) and I had to steal it! I love all the quotes and they fit so well with my blog title!

I am currently training for my next half marathon, which will be November 15th. It's all downhill, and I thought since I had such an amazing PR time from my 10k (which was partly downhill) I should try a half with a downhill. Maybe I will suddenly be super fast and speedy! My PR to date for a half is a 10min/ mile pace. So, we will see if I smash that record or not. (My amazing 10k pace was 8:31min/ mile. I have no idea where that came from! Except for that downhill slope... and probably all the training left over from my full marathon earlier in the year.)

The quote "I love the person I've become because I fought to become her, I am a runner" is very cool. Running has its challenges, and I have had to overcome many issues to keep going. Runner's knee, IT band issues, a stress fracture, just to name a few. But I got through those problems and have kept on going! I am a runner, and no one can take that title away from me! I remember not wanting to claim that as a title for myself, I wasn't sure I was a runner. And then one day, after looking at a wall full of medals from multiple half marathons, a couple 5ks and a full marathon, I decided... "Yup, I am a runner." My brother, Nathan, visited me in September and he said he's been following my posts on Facebook (he lives on the East Coast and I live on the West Coast) and he said, "Wow! My sister's a jock!" I thought that was pretty cool. I am an athlete, I am a runner, I am a full on jock! Never thought those words would ever be used to describe me!

The next quote is pretty awesome, "You are intense. You are obsessed. You are not normal. You say yes, when others say no. You rise when others sleep. You are better today than you were yesterday. You do what others will not. You control your destiny. You are on a quest. Never stop." I think those statements are very true about myself. And I can thank running for that. I use to never get up before the sun rose! This past week, I have woken up between 4:10am for a 7 mile run, to 4:30am for boot camp! When I wake up my daughter for school I have a pile of sweaty clothes sitting in the laundry machine and my hair is wet from taking my shower. When I tell her I have already worked out for the day, or just ran several miles she says, "No way!" (She's 6, by the way.) And I say, "I am not lying! Go check out the laundry machine, look at my wet hair. Check out my Facebook post from this morning." And she runs to the machine, and checks out my sweatie selfie portrait, or my boot camp check in, and she goes... "Wowwwww." How cool is that?! I hope that inspires my daughter to do great things in her life. I want her to conquer the world, to feel that anything is possible, and to be a strong woman, as well as a woman of God. And yes, I am not normal either... so I accept that statement as true. haha And yes, I am obsessed with running and staying fit. But I think that is a healthy obsession! A pattern in life that I hope my daughter and son follow in theirs.

That last quote really sums things up perfectly, regarding my running buddies. "When you find people that not only tolerate your quirks but celebrate them with glad cries of "Me too!" be sure to cherish them. Because those weirdos are your tribe." I do love and cherish my running buddies! I am in an awesome group of women runners, our group is called "Mom's Run This Town," and we get each other out of bed at 4am for 5am runs, and drag each other through hilly dirt trails, and around bike trails, and we share our lives with each other while we run side by side. They accept all my craziness, and my quirkiness, and they are my tribe! They may be weirdos, because they get up and run and spend money on races, and talk about new running shoes, and all that stuff... but so do I! They get it, they get me, and I love it! And besides that group, that gets me out for early morning runs, or late night runs (after dinner is done, and the kids are in bed) I have another group that are my regular Saturday morning group. They are called RunningFriends4Life, I can't leave them out! They are there faithfully every Saturday, rain or shine. And they are up for ANYTHING! Any distance, any direction, any pace... they never leave a man or woman behind and they just give the most amazing support! No matter how fast or slow, or how new or seasoned you are. They are just amazing! I love them! And they are so funny! They make getting up early for a run on Saturday fun, and not a chore.

So, have I sold you on running yet? Do you want to lace up your shoes and head out the door? How about this... I feel like I could have written these myself! These are from a woman named Suzanne Kvilhaug and this is from her blog on Mind Body Green

10 LIFE LESSONS I LEARNED FROM RUNNING
1. Beginning is always the hardest part. Push yourself to keep going. It gets easier.
2. Consistency creates habits, and habits create the results to want to achieve.
3. If you want to get better, pain is unavoidable. Don't shy away from it.
4. If you don't get out of your comfort zone, you'll never achieve your goals.
5. People who do things better than you are your teachers, not your competition.
6. Often, thinking you can't go on any longer is a illusion. You often can.
7. Sometimes things don't go as planned. Accept it and move on.
8. When you're going uphill and you want to quit, don’t. Move slower if you have to, but keep going. You will get there.
9. Happiness shouldn't be put on hold until you cross the finish line. Enjoy as much as you can along the way, even when the going gets tough.
10. Don’t let your desire for improvement rob you of pride in small victories!

I may be a weirdo, I may be half crazy... but can you feel it? Can you feel how awesome it is to be a runner? ;-)