Running with Perseverance: A story of reaching my goal!

Last Sunday I completed the Pensacola Half Marathon. It was an amazing experience and I wrote this story to tell about it. Enjoy!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us," Hebrews 12:1

So I was almost there. Up ahead was an arch with one of the most beautiful words I could see at that time: FINISH! I was there! Well, almost. There still was just under a half mile and I was so tired. But I didn't care. I had come too far to stop now. Let me back up a couple hours and explain.

4 AM Gulf Shores, AL

After rolling out of the bed and getting out of the shower I am wide awake. I know today is The Day! I felt bad about having to wake my family up and so I figured out how to make coffee that morning for my mom by looking at the picture instructions on the room's coffee maker. If Mom's happy then everyone's happy. Thats an important rule to remember. The coffee turned out horrible but I think she appreciated the effort. Anyway, by 5 we actually are on the road to Pensacola. I was shocked when I went outside because it was so warm, even at 5 AM! I know God has blessed us with good weather!

6 AM Pensacola, FL

We arrived downtown and head towards the start. This morning Pensacola is wide awake. There are tons of people there, runners and friends and family there to support. Despite the very diverse range in outfits all us runners have one thing in common: our bib. The half-marathoners have an yellow one and the full-marathoners (the elite few) have white one (Check out mine!)




I was amazed at the site. So many people there to push and challenge themselves with this run. It was nice knowing I wouldn't be running alone. At the same time I was nervous. This was something I had given my entire semester to train for and here I was. Was I ready? Could I actually do it? I knew though what the answer was. It was a huge, resounding YES!!! This was it! I was psyched!

6:30AM Starting line in Downtown Pensacola, FL

With the race about to start, the runners and supporters began to segregate. All of us crazy folk who were paying to suffer lined up on the street behind the line. I went to the absolute rear and stood on some steps gazing out over the thousands of people there. I couldn't believe this day had come! When the race started it actually took me a couple minutes just to reach the start line. I wasn't in a hurry and so I waited until those in front had gone through. I remember when I finally left the start gate I went out cheering. There was some lady to my right with her kids and when they saw me cheering they began cheer me on too. I felt like a rockstar!

The Run

So here I was, running towards the completion of my goal. To be honest, running can be a little boring and repetitive. So I'll try to just hit on the highlights of my race instead of describing every mile. To begin with I saw my favorite fans around mile 2. My family was there in full support. Dad on the camera, Mom with the cow bell (which I could hear a while before I got there), and my sister holding a sign they had made for me. What a sight to see.

Now about every two miles in the race there were aid stations for the runners. You could hear these spots before you saw them. This is because each one had a bunch of people yelling at the top of their lungs for us. They got me pumped. Each station seamed to have a theme. One of my favorites was where all the people were dressed up in 80's workout clothes and 80's wigs! I remember another had this dude in an Indian Chief outfit yelling at us to keep running. He looked like a cool dude.

I also loved the signs put up along the course. Pensacola has some pretty creative and random people who were nice enough to put up some signs spread out along the course. I thought they were hilarious. Here's what some of them said: "You only have 1 more mile to go... + 1 + 1 + 1... (this was at the beginning of the run), " This is NOT a 5K", and my personal favorite "Run, Justin Bieber is chasing you!" I loved these signs!

Now there was one big momma hill on this course. But I handled it like a champ, thanks to some special training my friend David Seay helped me with.

At 8 mile I had a very special guest join me. No, it wasn't Eminem, but even better, my Sister!!!! She had ran all the way from mile 2 to meet me here and I was excited to see her. So I got to traverse the next four miles with her there to push me harder and faster. I had a blast with her then. I remember we saw two cars almost get in a wreck and had a preacher invite us to church. So yeah, we had some excitement.

But at mile 12 we came accross my favorite fans again. My Mom and Dad were there (with cowbell, sign, and camera) to cheer me on! My sister left me to finish the last mile by myself but she challenged me to not slow down but fight till the end. I took her idea and began to pass people. I was tired but I would pick out someone in a group in front of me to pass. Somehow everytime I summoned the strength to get past them.


Finally I came to the last turn. From here it was a straight shot for about three quarters of a mile to the finish line. I could see it down there but it seemed so far away. However by this point I didn't care how tired I felt. I was going to finish this race and I was going to finish it strong. As more and more people began to line the sides of the road I drew closer and closer to the end! I was pumped!

The Finish Line: 2 Hours and 22 Minutes After Starting

So I did it. I finally finished! I finished a run which I had been preparing for since August. My time was 2 hours, 22 minutes and 55 seconds and I came in 601st place! But none of that mattered to me. All I cared about was that I had just run an entire half marathon, all 13.1 miles of it! A goal in August I thought I would never reach! I had pushed myself further and harder then I ever thought I could go. The coolest thing about this race is simply this: I set a goal months ago, I worked towards it with discipline and I never gave up. Therefore I praise God for teaching me just how to run with perseverance the race which had been set out before me.

So the moral of the story is this: set a goal, find a path to reach it, and stick to the plan till the end. Trust me, it pays off!

Twas the night before...

So tomorrow morning is the day! I'm down here at Gulf Shores and can't wait until I can hit the asphalt tomorrow morning. Earlier today I went with my sister over to Pensacola and we drove through the course that I'll run. It looks awesome and I can't wait. There's one nasty hill at about mile 8 but I'm ready for it.

But before I scratch this goal off my bucket list I want to go through a list of people I need to thank. These people helped me in many different ways to reach my goal. First off I must thank those who ran with me. Miki K, James E, Trey S, David S, and of course Jun Ho and Chrissy! Now Jun Ho did more then just run with me. He pushed me further then I thought I could go and spent hours out on the roads of Troy with me. So thank you Jun Ho! You are awesome and I'll miss having you with me tomorrow!



As for Chrissy, my amazingly awesome sister, I would not be doing any of this without her. She is the one who got me started running and has been a great encouragement to me. This past semester I loved informing her everytime I reached a new personal goal! So thanks Chrissy! I'm so glad you'll be here to cheer me on tomorrow!



Also I must thank Lauren N, who has been a very encouraging friend (and girlfriend). She gave me the running plan that I used to get ready for this. Thanks Lauren!



Now there are many other people who have encouraged me and thanks to everyone at Troy who has cheered me on. But finally I must thank my family. They have been so encouraging and my parents have gone out of their way to let me do this.



Anyway, sorry for getting repetitive with the thanks. Well I'm out of here! Good night!

Goal reached!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Hebrews 12:1

Yesterday morning I ran yet another record distance for myself and reached my goal. I ran 13.1 miles!

This next sunday is the actual half marathon and I am ready for it.

"I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

To God be the Glory!

Not your usual walkingstick.

So this past Tuesday I received a awesome gift. My professor, Dr. Diamond brought me an interesting surprize in a old ice cream box. It was a Walkingstick! These insects are fascinating! The reason for this wonderful gift was for my collection of insects for my Entomology class which Dr. Diamond teaches. So thanks Dr. Diamond!

Now unfortunately I had to kill this insect and mount it but before I did I took it out and let in crawl around for a bit. It was absolutely fascinating watching this creature. This thing perfectly resembled a twig you would see on the ground. Such a neat experience to me since I'd never really seen one up close like this. Here is a picture I took of it:



Also here is a link to a video of it:

My collection now is one step closer to being finished. Out of everything I've caught, the most beautiful ones are the butterflies and moths. So I'll end with a picture of these wonderful insects.

Mud Run

So this past Saturday on of Troy University's sororities, Chi Omega, had a Mud Run as a fundraiser. I participated in it and it was a lot of fun! It was a two mile run which had some obstacles you went through. My Dad was awesome and he came down and cheered me on while taking some photos. Here are some of his pictures:

This is my friend Ryan and I warming up before the race.

Dakota, myself, and Ryan before the race.

Walking to the starting line.

Me hitting up the tire obstacle!

Myself running up the big hill.

Hitting up the mud! (Photo by Blair Pierce)

Here's me going down the slip-n-slide right before the finish line.

Victory at last! Notice the smile, I was really happy I did this.

This was Ryan hitting up the slip-n-slide.

Here's the three amigos after the race.

So before I left I had to jump in the mud pit one more time.

This was a great experience and its got me pumped for my next race: the half marathon. So yeah, bring it on Pensacola!

I must admit it, I've changed

I never ever thought I would see this day come but unfortunately I must admit I've started doing something I never thought I would. I'm afraid that I have become a coffee drinker (GASP!!!).



Yes, I've joined the ranks of the coffee consumers. In the past the taste of coffee repelled me greatly. However, one morning this semester I went to SAGA and wanted something hot to drink. Since the only option was coffee I decided to try it (with LOTS of sugar in it).

Now I can't stop drinking it. Every morning that I make it to breakfast I have a cup and sometimes I have a cup at dinner! WHat has happened to me!?!?!?!

So yes, out of the many ways college has changed me this is one of them. My life will never be the same again!

Running Hard

So yesterday I set a new personal record in my running. Jun Ho and I completed a 5-mile run without stopping! I was so happy when I finished, knowing that I had just run further then I've ever run before!

The setting was amazing! We started out around 6PM and the sun was on its downward path at that time. Now I found a route which took us all the way from the University out to the edge of town and then back around to the other side of campus. One of the most beautiful sights was when we were running along an empty stretch of road with a field to our right and the sky being full of several colors since the sun had just slipped below the horizon. The air temperature was somewhere in the 70's making it a perfect evening for a run! Praise God for blessing us with such great weather.



Now on a side note, I want to say that running has taught me a lot about my life in Christ. Hebrews 12:1 really makes sense to me when it says "let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Just as this half-marathon is marked out for me, there is a life ahead of me which Christ is preparing me for and I must continue to grow in Christ.

Let me share a little story about how I learned this. There was a stretch in my training where I didn't run hardly at all for about 2 or 3 weeks. At first it was foot problems, which I needed to rest for, but then I had the hardest time getting back into it. I made excuses and put it off. However, I finally got back into the training, but realizing also that I had wasted time.

I do the same thing as a follower of Christ. I get lazy and don't progress in growing in "wisdom and stature" like I should (Luke 2:52). Thus just as my running is not an overnight thing, neither is my life as a Christ follower. I'm in it for the long-term and must persevere.

I know this sounds like a cheezy sunday-school lesson but it is important to remember and I'm so thankful God has used something as simple as going for a run to teach me.

So training is still going and I'm looking forward to this race.

Praise God from whom ALL blessings flow!