TA~DAAH!!! Mission Completed!

The River Bank Run....COMPLETED!!!

So i can't believe that the day has actually come and gone. All that training and we did it!

It wasn't exactly the most beautiful day but it ended up being just what i needed.

Here are some pictures from the day!

The Runners....before the run. It was Freezing and at this point it was actually tempting to forget all the training and go home to snuggle around a mug of Hot Chocolate.

The in-laws from Iowa braving the weather. What good fans we have and thank goodness for sleeping bags to wrap up in! We didn't have a hard time spotting Bonnie in a crowd :)

MY RUNNING PARTNER!!

We were thankful for the near by parking garage to keep warm.

We took this picture hoping it wouldn't be the last one together :)

WE ARE ALMOST FINISHED!!!

I think Nolan even has a smile on his face!!

Amy also ran the last 1/2 mile with us to cheer us on (she's in the Blue).

She may have also gotten a 25K medal for it :)

TA~DAH!!!

We finished!!

We averaged a little under 10 minute miles. My legs felt like Jello afterwards, but overall I felt pretty good. Nolan was a superstar and prolly could have won the thing but he stayed back with the the entire time. The weather actually ended up being perfect for running!

(Thank the Lord and thanks for your prayers!)

The Route was through the woods so the wind was blocked most of the time, and

it really is amazing how many people you are running with...that helps keep you going.

Friends for life!!




THANK YOU FAMILY FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!

They were waiting about 1/2 way on the route and at the end It was a definite encouragement to see people we knew along the run.



These last few months have come and gone, and I still can't believe it. I remember when it was amazing to me that i ran 3 Miles! It here went 15! :) It was great. While running i could really feel the prayers and was thankful for the support. But most of all i was grateful that i could run for such a good cause as Youth for Christ. Friday night we had a wonderful dinner put on by Youth for Christ. Not only was the food delicious, but also encouraging to hear their stories of why they do what they do and how they are seeing God busy in the lives of so many middle school youth. It's Beautiful! Thanks to so many of you for supporting me on my run for YFC!
I reached my goal!! So Thank~You Thank~you for your support!!

This whole running journey has reminded that anything truly is possible through Christ who gives me strength. But I realized (or awakened) to the fact that I received the strength once I started taking the steps myself, with out that actual step 15 miles, or job accomplishments, or friendships, or a personal relationship with Christ, or reaching any goal is not possible unless I am willing to do my part in it all...to actually take the steps in the right direction trusting that God will lead me to accomplish the goals and plans he has for me.

I encourage anyone to run!! You really CAN do it!
Let me know if you need a running partner...b/c i really should continue running :)
Thanks again for your support!

1 MORE WEEK!

So i can't believe we are to the last week of training. Saturday Nolan and I ran a 10 mile and i am relieved to tell you it was a great run. I felt like a million dollars at the finish...well, besides the sore knees, sore toes, being hot and sweaty, and ...jk...it really wasn't bad. Last week Monday however was another story. Nolan and I ran another 10mile run and we both felt sick after. I thought i could puke. It prolly didn't help that we had corn dogs an hour before we ran...but still...it was just a bad run. Bad bad...it actually scared me that there was no way I was ever going to be able to finish the 15miles in the race. I could bearly do 10!! So thankfully Saturday was completely opposite.



Maybe our run went so well b/c we had just finished up a garage sale at our house for the weekend. My mom, sister, and I threw one together for Friday and Saturday. It was quite the event. I actually love having garage sales. Once everything is all organized and priced and all you have to do is just sit and welcome people to check out your stuff it's great! It's just the anticipation of having a good sale. However there was one thing that i really couldn't believe someone would do. here is the story:



It is the last costumer of the day...a family comes in. Seems like a nice little family. Cute little girl. We are giving them deals left and right...free thing here, dollar off there...etc. The dad bought something...the little girl came to the table like 3 times for little purchases etc, and finally the mother checks out. When i check someone out i just quick take the stickers off, don't really look at what I'm selling and then total up the bill. Once the lady left i realized what had happened. I had a brand new looking zip up fleece that i never wore so it had a price of $3...now what the lady did was while the little girl was talking to us, she took a $1 off sticker from another item and took the $3 sticker off, and then placed the $1 sticker on to buy it!! It's not that i care about the $2...it's just the fact that someone would just go sneakily and do that. It felt like i had just gotten robbed...taken advantage of. We were being so nice to them giving them free things etc...and BAM she sneaks one on us. I am so naive and trusting of people I just couldn't believe someone would just do that. So i think that frustration just helped to add some fire to my run. Running is a good "cooler-downer" :) But still i was disappointed in the Human Race once again.



But I'm excited for next week Saturday...just excited. I can't believe we've made it this far!! Hopefully it will all work out for the good. THANKS TO ALL OF YOU WHO HAVE SUPPORTED ME FINANCIALLY AND SPIRITUALLY! It's been an encouraging few months.



Some people have asked if it's too late to sponsor...and no it's not. i have till Friday to take in more pledges! So feel free to go to https://www.formnut.com/up/8535/YFCRiverbank.html to make a pledge! :) Thanks!! and I appreciate you!