Happy Sunday :)
It's been quite the weekend!
Early Friday morning, my team made its way to Portland for the Adidas classic.
Long charter bus rides are pretty much a weekly occurrence!!!
Portland was, well... rainy.
But I came to race. And I wasn't going to let rain - or anything else - stop me.
And after what has seemed to be a hopelessly terrible season, I finally broke out of my slump!
I ran this course last year, too, and it is incredibly beautiful and fast. I knew I had the opportunity to have a good race, but I also knew I had to get rid of all the negativity I had been carrying around. So I prayed. A lot. And I really felt a weight lifted off of me. And, following my mom's advice, I took a "vacation" from complaining for a couple days (still doing so).
And honestly, it made all the difference.
My dad gave me some fantastic pre-race advice too. He was on his way back from a work retreat on the Oregon coast, and he stopped by Portland to cheer me on! It was so fun to have him there.
Before my race, he told me: "The people up in front love to race and love to win. Really, Susanna, that's all you have to do. Love to run and love to win." So simple, but so true!!!!
I also clung to a piece of advice that I read in Ryan Hall's book
Running With Joy.
"You have to race as if it were impossible to fail."
With perfect, cool fall weather and a level of joy I can't even express, I walked up to the starting line. The gun went off. And I held on to my confidence, sticking right away into the lead pack. I felt so much more intense that I have this whole year. I was actually racing.
I ended up finishing 13th, just outside of the top ten.
My time was almost 20 seconds slower than last year, but tons faster than my times have been this year.
Truth be told, I have way more in me than I gave.
It's all so mental, and you have to really convince yourself to push through the pain.
I think I could have gotten 5th. I really do.
But at least I fought. It was a huge step up from every other race this season.
The other WONDERFUL thing about this weekend was getting to see my best friend Christi!! She lives in Portland, so she came to hang out with me in my hotel Friday night and cheered me on Saturday. I can't explain how happy it made me to see her- even for a few hours.
I also ended up winning a cool Adidas bag for top 20.
So cool and such a blessing!!!
Refueling with Voodoo Donuts? Yes please.
Although, I'll be honest. I didn't end up getting one. I wanted to. I have been so excited about voodoo donuts for so long, and when I got there I just got stressed out. The line was so long and there were way too many choices and the workers were not happy to see a line of 28 hungry collegiate runners. Plus, they were like four bucks a piece. So I ended up empty handed. But I got some cute pictures of this "famous" establishment and pretended :)
Today has been church, homework, and errands. I did a little baking, too. Food prep for the week. Things like that. But I'm so content. So thankful.
And something to leave you smiling. I miss my little nephew :)
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