I wish I had more pictures to really show what this meant to me. The most I have ever run is 4 miles. I have wanted to run this 10k(6.2miles) for a few years now. As you can see I have three Beautiful girls and finding the time to run isn't always that easy.
In June of this year we had a miscarriage. It was a hard thing for me. I decided to take this time to do something for me. Maybe a bit selfish but I felt that I needed to do this. I found a great training program on line and followed it to a T. My husband and girls were very supportive. I think the greatest part of this race was in training for it. There were nights that I still hadn't gotten my run in and it was getting dark. My amazing husband would load our girls in the car and follow behind me for my hour of running. 
On the Day of the race we got up early and headed to Thanksgiving Point. As we got there I began to feel very alone. As embarrassing as it is I began to cry. Dave asked me what was wrong??? I expressed to him how out of place I felt. I had no running partner and so many people had a buddy. My second issue was my clothes. As you can see I run in my grubbies!! When I got there so many people had these spiffy clothes and running gear. I felt so out of place. I thought to myself " who do you think you are? what makes you think you belong here?"
Dave being his amazing self said "Don't let those things get to you. Do what you came here to do. You have worked hard and you wanted to do this, nothing else matters."
So I was a bit silly.. mostly afraid!! In that moment I learned so much though. How often in our lives do we feel inadequate? or afraid? These thoughts come from Satan. We need to focus on doing what we came here to do.
Well as the race got under way I felt good. It was fun, we ran through the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. They were beautiful. Half way through the race this Lady started to chat with me. We ended up running the rest of the race together. This is the second part of my lessons learned that day. Heavenly Father is aware of us. He sent me an angel to run with me to lighten my load. Many times in our lives Heavenly Father sends us angels in the form of other people to journey with us and make our path a bit brighter. I know that because of this women my race was way more enjoyable and easier to bear.
Last but not least .......we were supposed to run 6.2miles. The day after the race I found out through an email that we actually by accident ran 7.5 miles. I was in shock. I knew it felt longer and they had no mile markers. All in all it was an amazing experience!
On the Day of the race we got up early and headed to Thanksgiving Point. As we got there I began to feel very alone. As embarrassing as it is I began to cry. Dave asked me what was wrong??? I expressed to him how out of place I felt. I had no running partner and so many people had a buddy. My second issue was my clothes. As you can see I run in my grubbies!! When I got there so many people had these spiffy clothes and running gear. I felt so out of place. I thought to myself " who do you think you are? what makes you think you belong here?"Dave being his amazing self said "Don't let those things get to you. Do what you came here to do. You have worked hard and you wanted to do this, nothing else matters."
So I was a bit silly.. mostly afraid!! In that moment I learned so much though. How often in our lives do we feel inadequate? or afraid? These thoughts come from Satan. We need to focus on doing what we came here to do.
Well as the race got under way I felt good. It was fun, we ran through the gardens at Thanksgiving Point. They were beautiful. Half way through the race this Lady started to chat with me. We ended up running the rest of the race together. This is the second part of my lessons learned that day. Heavenly Father is aware of us. He sent me an angel to run with me to lighten my load. Many times in our lives Heavenly Father sends us angels in the form of other people to journey with us and make our path a bit brighter. I know that because of this women my race was way more enjoyable and easier to bear.
Last but not least .......we were supposed to run 6.2miles. The day after the race I found out through an email that we actually by accident ran 7.5 miles. I was in shock. I knew it felt longer and they had no mile markers. All in all it was an amazing experience!
6 comments:
Hi Rachel,
I'm not sure if you remember me or not. I knew you at college. I can't remember how I happened across your blog but I wanted to say hi. I've started running too and felt he same way you describe. You actually had me in tears. It is an amazing experience! I live in utah County too and if you ever need a running buddy...I'd love one too! Congrats and your kids are adorable!
Bonnie (Floyd) Holley
Oh and I have a blog too...if you want an invite send me your address to bonniefholley@yahoo.com!
I wish I could have been there to run with you!! You look great, I miss you. I am just starting to run again (after having Juliet) and I am only up to 3 miles but plan to run 4 on Saturday. You were a great motivator to me when I started running in Tooele. You are awesome, when are you going to do a marathon?:)
You are so fantastic! I wanted to cry when I read this - I am so proud of you. You are an amazing mom and wife - your family is just so cute. I'm so sorry to hear about your miscarriage - I'm glad that you took the time to do something for you. I don't think it's selfish at all. It's good for you to be able to relieve your stress so that you can do your job as a mom. Thank you for sharing this story - you motivate me to be better than I am. I still haven't run in anything more than a 5K. Just scared I think - I run 10 to 11 miles on Saturdays so I know I could - but I've always been afraid of new things. Next time you need a running parter let me know - I drive over to the old neighborhood to run my old routes a lot. :)
That's awesome that you were able to do this! I really like everything you said; thanks for sharing. I keep thinking that I want to do something like this but haven't found the motivation to do it yet. Maybe if you do it next year, I'll join you! I love all of the fall pictures, your girls are sooo adorable!
p.s. My blog is private now but if you send me your email address I'd love to send you an invite: stewartandcynthia@gmail.com
Way to go Rach! You go girl! Maybe sometime I could train and run one with you!! You look awesome!
I wish I had the same drive to run and accomplish such a wonderful thing. Did you ever watch Friends....if so, run like Phoebe and don't mind anything else around you. And, blessings are sure answered as you found a friend on your amazing 7 mile run! Congratulations!!!
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