9 Days to Go!

January 2, 2014.....The last few days of training have gone pretty well.  On Monday, I did 10-miles with 6 x 30 seconds hard (but relaxed) w/1:00 recovery jog between each one.  I felt some 'pop' in my legs on the 30-second intervals, which was very encouraging.  On Tuesday, I did an 'easy' 6-mile run on the treadmill.  Our family then loaded up in the car and headed for Charleston for a family New Year's celebration.  This was a lot of fun and definitely worth staying up until 1:00 am.  Later in the day (2 pm) was a New Year's Day 5K run in St. Alban's, WV.  This was to be my last tune-up race before Disney.  In my 2 previous 5K's, I had run 15:57 (Shinnston Turkey Trot on Nov. 28th), and 16:01 (Ryan Jobes Memorial 5K in Williamstown, WV on December 21st).  I wasn't too happy with my time in Williamstown, but was encouraged that I ran 15:28 in St. Albans.  My mile splits were 4:51, 4:57, 5:04, then 37 seconds for the last 0.1.  Although, my miles were progressively slower, I felt relatively strong throughout the race.  My first 2 miles probably would have been close to even splits had there not been a nasty little uphill right before the two mile mark.  That sucked a little of my momentum, and I had a difficult time getting it back.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day for the race (50 degrees and sunny). 

Today, I ran a relatively easy 12-mile run on the treadmill.  From here on out though, I plan to cut my mileage back in hopes of freshening up for the Disney Half.  As of right now, the long range forecast calls for a high of 78 and low of 64 the day of the race.  I would be thrilled if between now and then, each of those numbers drop about 15 degrees....at least the low.  The race starts at 5:30 am, so the temperature will probably be on the low end anyway.  However, mid-60's is pretty warm; especially when most of my training has been in the 20's and 30's.  I can't worry about it though.  It's all in God's hands.  Whether it's a perfect 45 degrees at the start of the race, or a sweltering 75 degrees, NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR GOD.  He can change the weather and/or provide strength to prosper no matter what the weather.  I want to believe God for BIG things for HIS GLORY.  Nothing is too difficult for Him, and He lives inside of me!  I really want to lock in on Him.  He can do soooo much more with the race than I could ever do on my own.  I want to live in daily surrender to Him and His purposes.  I often get in the way of this, which is frustrating, but I am thankful for His mercy and grace.  He's not going to give up on me........nor will He give up on you.