April 3rd: Carlsbad Road 5k (San Diego)
http://www.carlsbad5000.com/home.html.
http://www.flotrack.org/article/5861-Carlsbad-5000
This race weekend proved to be once again a “pezz”
special when it comes to traveling, racing, and encounters with new
people. It started with a shuttle ride to phoenix to catch a plane on
Friday for the Carlsbad 5k race on sat., also known as the "fastest 5k in the
world!" (which desn't make sense because there are obviously much faster 5k
races on the track.....but whatever:)
The bus stopped after an hour of driving because apparently there was a trailer accident where 20 cattle fell off a cliff and died. I tried to stay calm, but eight hours on a very
hot shuttle went by, and my legs started to cramp. Then I tried to stay
calmer as I missed flight after flight to get to San Diego. Now believe
me, I’ve missed flights before, but this was tough mentally because my race was
the next morning. I honestly didn’t think I’d get there and be ready to run a
very fast 5k with some of the fastest women in the
world!
Thankfully, these dilemmas have happened often in my life and because of that, I found myself in a very comfortable sort of situation. The situations where the only thing I can
do is pray to God. So I did. “God I don’t feel ready to race in the
morning after 14 hours of travel, but may your will be done. All I can do
is try my best and let you do the rest. Amen.” Sometimes, I wonder if God
gets sick of hearing those words from me. Other times like this, I think He
laughs. It turned out that 2 hours after I finally arrived in San Diego late
that night; I found out that the race was on Sunday! I had told Ryan and
everyone that it was Saturday but somehow I got the wrong day?:). Anyways,
it was a good thing, because that night after all the travel, I thought my legs
were not attached to my body and it hurt to jog 8 min.
pace!
Still, the next day in San Diego continued to have small trials. I looked at the elite list and saw
that of the 15 elite women on the list, my personal record of 16:16 from 2007
was one of the slowest. These women all had a very long list of running
accomplishments, and though I had had some success over the years, compared to
them, I was definitely an underdog. I was truly racing against some of the
best women in the world including runners from Kenya, Australia, Ethiopia and
England. Mental battle number one was to convince myself that I could reach the
goal that Ryan and I had set; finish top 10. I fought hard to believe that
that was reasonable, and finally was starting to,…..until I had an appointment
with a very different kind of masseuse!
One of the last of the competitors to get a massage that afternoon, I’m sure the guy saw me and said in his head “Wow….this girl looks a little different than the smaller runners I
just worked on.” But unlike most people, he didn’t just think it!
And his first comment while working on my legs was about how much bigger
they were than the rest of the girls. “Don’t take this wrong way” he said,
“but if you went on a vegan diet your legs would become thinner and you will
feel free as you lose more muscle and weight.” He in no way meant to be
negative; he was actually a very nice, positive and eccentric person. But
he continued to talk about how my physique was not typical for what I do and how
he really believed that I needed a drastic change in my
diet.
Having been classified as a runner instead of a soccer player for the last few years has made me come face to face with these situation lots of times. Other coaches and runners
have made comments, and even some doctors are surprised to see that I am an
“elite distance runner." Since I started running competitively back in
2006 with Zap Fitness, I always knew that I was different. Playing soccer
my whole life and being born with the genes that I have, I ‘ve never been
“skinny” or “lanky”. In fact, though my body fat percentage is similar to a lot
of distance runners, my average weight is heavier than 90% of the Elite
women I race against (even those who are significantly taller). To put it
simply, I am just broader and bigger than most women who have been runing their
whole life. It’s caused me many a time to second guess what I’m doing and I’ve had to have talks with some special people to encourage me that God created me a certain way and there really is
only so much I can change. Being who I am, it hurts sometimes to hear comments
like these, as it might for any girl. I do strive to eat healthy and be
lean, but I have to be reminded that if God wants to use me like I am, than He
will. Thankfully to get me through, I talked to a dear friend and mentor from
Charlotte after the massage and also meditated on Psalm 139. It says, “For
you created me in my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s
womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…..my frame
was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.”
After that, I decided that this situation; battle number two, was also in in my
mind, and I would fight it.
After all the travel, I felt great the morning of the race. I felt pop in my stride and energetic in my
warm-up. The weather was beautiful and I knew that although
I may not look like these girls, and although I may not beat most of these
girls, I could choose to run knowing who I was; A strong, redeemed child
of Christ, no matter the outcome.
I did end up running a personal best in the 5k of 16:11 and ended up coming in
6th overall. It was nothing crazy or super spectacular, but a
good stepping stone for what could come in track. And also another lesson
of not always taking to heart what other people think.
http://www.carlsbad5000.com/home.html.
http://www.flotrack.org/article/5861-Carlsbad-5000
This race weekend proved to be once again a “pezz”
special when it comes to traveling, racing, and encounters with new
people. It started with a shuttle ride to phoenix to catch a plane on
Friday for the Carlsbad 5k race on sat., also known as the "fastest 5k in the
world!" (which desn't make sense because there are obviously much faster 5k
races on the track.....but whatever:)
The bus stopped after an hour of driving because apparently there was a trailer accident where 20 cattle fell off a cliff and died. I tried to stay calm, but eight hours on a very
hot shuttle went by, and my legs started to cramp. Then I tried to stay
calmer as I missed flight after flight to get to San Diego. Now believe
me, I’ve missed flights before, but this was tough mentally because my race was
the next morning. I honestly didn’t think I’d get there and be ready to run a
very fast 5k with some of the fastest women in the
world!
Thankfully, these dilemmas have happened often in my life and because of that, I found myself in a very comfortable sort of situation. The situations where the only thing I can
do is pray to God. So I did. “God I don’t feel ready to race in the
morning after 14 hours of travel, but may your will be done. All I can do
is try my best and let you do the rest. Amen.” Sometimes, I wonder if God
gets sick of hearing those words from me. Other times like this, I think He
laughs. It turned out that 2 hours after I finally arrived in San Diego late
that night; I found out that the race was on Sunday! I had told Ryan and
everyone that it was Saturday but somehow I got the wrong day?:). Anyways,
it was a good thing, because that night after all the travel, I thought my legs
were not attached to my body and it hurt to jog 8 min.
pace!
Still, the next day in San Diego continued to have small trials. I looked at the elite list and saw
that of the 15 elite women on the list, my personal record of 16:16 from 2007
was one of the slowest. These women all had a very long list of running
accomplishments, and though I had had some success over the years, compared to
them, I was definitely an underdog. I was truly racing against some of the
best women in the world including runners from Kenya, Australia, Ethiopia and
England. Mental battle number one was to convince myself that I could reach the
goal that Ryan and I had set; finish top 10. I fought hard to believe that
that was reasonable, and finally was starting to,…..until I had an appointment
with a very different kind of masseuse!
One of the last of the competitors to get a massage that afternoon, I’m sure the guy saw me and said in his head “Wow….this girl looks a little different than the smaller runners I
just worked on.” But unlike most people, he didn’t just think it!
And his first comment while working on my legs was about how much bigger
they were than the rest of the girls. “Don’t take this wrong way” he said,
“but if you went on a vegan diet your legs would become thinner and you will
feel free as you lose more muscle and weight.” He in no way meant to be
negative; he was actually a very nice, positive and eccentric person. But
he continued to talk about how my physique was not typical for what I do and how
he really believed that I needed a drastic change in my
diet.
Having been classified as a runner instead of a soccer player for the last few years has made me come face to face with these situation lots of times. Other coaches and runners
have made comments, and even some doctors are surprised to see that I am an
“elite distance runner." Since I started running competitively back in
2006 with Zap Fitness, I always knew that I was different. Playing soccer
my whole life and being born with the genes that I have, I ‘ve never been
“skinny” or “lanky”. In fact, though my body fat percentage is similar to a lot
of distance runners, my average weight is heavier than 90% of the Elite
women I race against (even those who are significantly taller). To put it
simply, I am just broader and bigger than most women who have been runing their
whole life. It’s caused me many a time to second guess what I’m doing and I’ve had to have talks with some special people to encourage me that God created me a certain way and there really is
only so much I can change. Being who I am, it hurts sometimes to hear comments
like these, as it might for any girl. I do strive to eat healthy and be
lean, but I have to be reminded that if God wants to use me like I am, than He
will. Thankfully to get me through, I talked to a dear friend and mentor from
Charlotte after the massage and also meditated on Psalm 139. It says, “For
you created me in my inmost being. You knit me together in my mother’s
womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made…..my frame
was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place.”
After that, I decided that this situation; battle number two, was also in in my
mind, and I would fight it.
After all the travel, I felt great the morning of the race. I felt pop in my stride and energetic in my
warm-up. The weather was beautiful and I knew that although
I may not look like these girls, and although I may not beat most of these
girls, I could choose to run knowing who I was; A strong, redeemed child
of Christ, no matter the outcome.
I did end up running a personal best in the 5k of 16:11 and ended up coming in
6th overall. It was nothing crazy or super spectacular, but a
good stepping stone for what could come in track. And also another lesson
of not always taking to heart what other people think.