Nisqually Hill ~ Mountain or Mole Hill?

I tackled the mountain again today. Just once. But this time it was much easier. I ran down 5 minutes, walking the last minute to my resting place. I had to walk because my dog was about to mutiny! He kept getting slower and slower, so I decided to be nice and not kill him with the last minute of the hill. Aren't I sweet! =0) After a brief Gu break (chocolate gu is pretty good) and a resistance to the pleading eyes crying for permission to please go explore the smell down the gravel road, we started up. Walking the first two minutes wasn't bad. Running the next 3 (followed by 2 min. walk) not so bad either; but when you try to run up hill with a 30 pound weight dragging along behind you because he doesn't want to run anymore and there are too many good smells, missed on the way down, to sniff; it's a bit more difficult. I won't blame it all on Jazz. My calves were screaming for lack of oxygen too, but I could have pressed on a bit further I think, without my "anchor" dragging along behind me. =0) Anyway, we made it to the top a bit slower than last time; but we made it. So is Nisqually hill a mountain or a mole hill? Today, I say it was a mole hill...a very long, very tall mole hill...but a mole hill nonetheless. =0)

As for the trouble I was having last week with my left leg...GOD IS GOOD!!! It seems to have worked itself out. During our hour and a half run on Saturday, it troubled me a bit at first, and the cramping came back IN MY NEW SHOES!!! I thought to myself, "oh no, if the new shoes aren't helping I'm in big trouble!" But Thanks be to God, who knows I hate to quit when I'm so close to the finish line, once my legs got warmed up, He just worked that knot right out. I still feel where the muscles were "ripping" and can tell that they are healing, but I have not had any trouble with it yesterday or today. Thanks Father.

Half the battle of running, or any physical challenge, is psychological. Probably more like 90%. What we say to ourselves in side our heads as we face a challenge determines if we will conquer it or be defeated. Since i know this, and since I am prone to listen to the nagging voice in my head that says "Stop, it's too difficult," "Turn back now, you don't have to do the full workout today," or "Do you really want to run in the rain????" I bought myself an MP3 player and filled it with encouraging songs that remind me "IT'S NOT ABOUT MEEEEEE!!!!!" It never has been about me, and it never will be about me! (that should all be in caps, but I didn't want you to think I was yelling a you) =0). I took it with me to Cannon Beach, but never used it since I had a partner to run with. So yesterday I tried it out for the first time and you know, it really helped a lot. Music (Christian music) has a way of changing your focus from MEEEEEEEEEEEEE to HIM. I like that. My prayer, I think since Cannon Beach, has been "Lord, empty me of me, and fill me with YOU." That's really the only way to live. As Ezekiel describes in chapter one, the four living creatures that surround the Spirit move in the direction the Spirit moves! That is truly a lesson for life to dwell on constantly. Father,move me in the direction you are going, and keep reminding me ~ it's for your Glory, not mine, that I journey on.

Well, I guess that is my pep talk for today.
Thank you Father for a good run today with no complaints.
May tomorrow be the same.
26 days to go!
eryn