Training

Training for the half marathon has honestly been easier than I thought it would be. I have been running 16-20 miles per weekend which I never thought I could do before I set this goal. I'm pretty excited to get this thing underway on Sunday, that's for sure!!

I got a deep tissue massage yesterday and I can attest to this more than anyone I know, but tight muscles are the cause of a lot of my prolonged injuries. I never get "injured". No ACL tears, or broken bones but I do suffer a lot of sore muscles, sore knees, and sore back. The pressure often comes from the pattens I have in my life. A lot of the same things happen with everyone else. Now, instead of going to the doctor for a sports related injury or a sore kind of pain, I head to my masseuse. Every problem with built up pressure I have had, has been cured after a couple sessions, or even just one, with him. I recommend it to anyone. The trick is getting a good masseuse.

Anyway, countdown is to 5 days and after taking yesterday off I am looking forward to getting back after it tomorrow for 3 more hard training days before more rest. WOO HOO!

What I'm Loving Wednesday

1. Band of Brothers

 

This TV show/movie/miniseries thingamajig has me in tears almost every single episode. The way Tom Hanks has depicted combat in WWII is amazing to me (ahemm a history major/nerd). I am sad I am almost finished with it, however, I love it.

2. My New Shoes 

I think you are familiar with these. They are awesome, and that is that!

3. USA Soccer Videos

Holy moly, I'm obsessed. Following the USA team last summer in the World Cup was so.much.fun! I am such a fan of highlight videos and this one gives me chills like no other.

4. Running

I haven't been a big fan of it until recently. Don't get me wrong, I have ran in 10ks or just run for fitness my whole life but right now I'm really starting to enjoy it. Running for a goal and training for my race in two weeks has really been a lot of fun. I love working hard and seeing what happens.

Half-Marathon

Well, folks, my first half-marathon this year is in 19 days. Woop woop! I have started training and it's been going surprisingly well! I ran 8 miles on Saturday, 5 miles on Sunday and 3 on Monday. Today was my off day (my knees say THANK YOU!).

I haven't gotten my full training schedule until the race starts but I have a feeling this coming weekend has a double digit run. EEK! Good thing I bought some SAWEEEET new shoes. 

They are wicked comfy. Sooo we shall see how they do when we're on the road for over an hour and a half!

Pleroma

This idea was first inspired by my first tattoo. I was going to get a tattoo, but then I got a piercing instead. I am such a chicken! The idea of something being permanent on your body kinda tweaks me a little. Anyway, my junior year of college I was serious about getting a tat. I had been writing this word on my wrist where I wanted it, for about a month before going to the tattoo parlor and chickening out. I think I discovered this word reading Our Daily Bread. I used to do the morning devotionals everyday, which was awesome by the way, and pleroma was a word in one of them so I did some research. Anyway, like I said, I never got the tattoo but the word has always stuck with me. Pleroma was significant to me mainly because of a recent break up. I was left utterly devastated in Memphis and it was one of those moments you think you can't go on anymore but God picks you up in His loving hand and you are convinced you can do anything. It was an incredible experience. I discovered some revelations about my faith and my strength that I never knew I had. The idea that God can really hold you and touch your life so profoundly was the essence of this season of my life for me and I found this word really held me up. No matter what goes on in life, or what you think you need, you are FULL in God. Our father provides a fullness that can not be topped off anywhere else. That truth will forever ring in my ears and stay close to my heart.

So I guess if I were to get a tattoo, I would still get this word that has helped me through times of complete sadness and times of intense joy.

Now you know...

Goals

My goals have made a dramatic shift since last year. I was very one tracked last year pursuing golf and all things golf. To make a sport a profession and a way of life I felt that was the only way I could make it work. I quickly found that that is not the way to go about it. I needed to be a well rounded person otherwise I could not perform at my best. Anyway, I have reevaluated my goals.

1. To run a marathon. Yepp, I said it. It is something that is going to be very challenging. I can't wait to get on this journey. I have ran a half-marathon without training which was easier than I thought but with training I want to work up to 26.2 miles. Wow. My job right now prevents me from running after work, which stinks, so I can't wait for the days to get longer so I can get in a quick run in the evenings.

2. Save more money. I have a bad habit of spending money. I like to go shopping. I'm not even one who drops a lot of cabbage on one expensive thing, I just shop frequently. Anyway, sometimes it's justified and sometimes I need to just be without.

3. Tithe a larger percent of my income. This was introduced as a challenge at my church and I am ready to take it on. I usually give here and there but I want to be more intentional about giving my money to the church. I completely trust Flatirons to use the money to directly help people in need and that plays a large part in why I hadn't given before.

4. Read more books. I love movies. I watch them daily. I feel like I hardly have a good cinematic education so the need to continually feed this has almost become a habit. However, I want to try to break that habit and read more. I absolutely love reading but I just get lazy and want to watch something at the end of the day. This will change.

5. Revel in the silence. I am a person that loves to be busy. However, I have found when I have done yoga or had a massage my mind is busy loving the silence and it almost recalibrates my body to function better. I want to respect the quietness during the day, and not become restless because of the silence.

A New Chapter

After my step away from Professional golf, I have been musing in other ideas to keep my sanity. Mainly ideas about my job. Professional golf is basically a dream job. You work when you want, you workout when you want, but you only get paid if you do well. It can pose a lot of pressure, stress and take a lot of time away from anything else you care about if you aren't careful. However, God has a different plan for me. After much prayer and journaling, I have dug through some hard self-truths. Maybe golf isn't my purpose on Earth? God has something amazing planned out of for me, but it hasn't quite been revealed yet; or has it?