And Cross Country Begins!

I'm feeling all kinds of sentimental tonight. Today was my last, first cross country race ever. The first race of my senior year of college. And even though I have an entire year's worth of running ahead of me, I am increasingly aware that I need to cling tightly to every moment. 

It is wild to think that, when I started this blog, my collegiate running career was nothing more than a dream in the distance. I was living in the 6e in Paris and running through the French countryside every morning in the hopes of becoming fast enough to get a scholarship on my return to the United States. As I write this, I realize how silly it must seem to many people that I was thinking about cross country while I was living in a city that most people only ever dream about, but I suppose it shows 

just how passionate I am about this sport. 

I love my team. 

I love bonding over ice baths and long runs and very challenging workouts. 

I love racing. Though I admittedly do much better in workouts than in races, 

I am working on getting the mentality down and becoming more competitive. 

I love that I have the opportunity every day to work 

on bettering myself and growing personally. 

I have learned so much about identity and my weaknesses and strengths.

 And I love that I get to be a leader and encourager on my team. 

Basically, I feel so incredibly blessed. 

I am so grateful for this season of my life. 

So my first race today. The first of many. I am pleased with it, but I still have much improvement to do and big goals to work toward. I am stronger than ever this year due to a summer of heavy lifting, quality seventy mile weeks, 

lots of healthy calories and a lot of stretching and plymo. 

Far from being the end, this is just the beginning. I'm ready.  

Reasons I'm Thankful

I have so much to be thankful for today. 

I feel overwhelmed and blessed. 

And I need to pour my heart out. 

So here goes a long post.  

Things I feel thankful for today: 

1. I made it through an entire running work out (12x 200s) without any pain in my achilles. After a month of cross training, this is such a good feeling. 

2. Thus far, winter term is going SO well. I think I like my classes. I love the girls I live with. I have made so many new friends and am having a blast talking to people. I have gotten into conversations with at least thirty strangers in the last few days. I love it. 

3. I have gotten to start every morning reading the Bible and just chilling in the presence of God. And it's made all the difference. 

4. I have SUCH a good student government team. As president, I have a lot on my shoulders, and I'm honestly not cut out for the job. Though everything is working out, and I definitely filled a position that needed to be filled (someone was needed that could speak well at board meetings and could mend relationships with the Administration, and I like that kind of thing).... But I still get insecure about being in the position. Luckily, I have killer teammates who do hard work and get me by. We just spent a couple hours at Denny's hashing out ways to make our campus better. So great. 

5. I have a great coach. He has been so understanding of my injury. So helpful in helping me gain strength and be the best I can be. And today he pleasantly surprised me because.....

6. I get to go to Reno this weekend with my dad!!! He is going there to preach at a church, and I really wanted to go. But I would have to miss Monday's practice. I asked my coach very nicely, and he said "You NEED to go. You won't get that many opportunities to do something like that with your dad." I was so happy. He knows I would give my right arm for the sport, and the fact that he is relaxed in the off season helps me relax. 

7. I have learned so much this year about life. About balance. About taking care of myself. About what's important. Today, in my workout, I could have been stressed because I'm not speed oriented and therefore don't compare well to some of the other 200 girls... but I let it go. I just did my best. I could have worked out for hours in the weight room after until my body was exhausted. But instead I dead lifted, did some planks, rolled out my muscles, and felt great. I could have come home and gotten too busy to eat more than a protein drink and a banana, but instead I made sure I had that plus tons of other food. I could have spent all day thinking about my workout, but instead I thought about God and I hung out with friends and I focused on government and school and how beautiful life was. Balance. 

8. Everything I have learned has not only helped me, but I'm able to pour into girls who are younger than me that are struggling with some of the things I have struggled with. 

And I love being a mentor in that way.  

9. I have been given so many wonderful compliments lately, and I don't deserve them. But I definitely appreciate it more than the people who compliment me know. This morning, a very nice girl sent me a very encouraging text, and it made my whole day. 

I could go on and on, but I'll stop there. 

Life is so wonderful, and even though I know that this term will bring difficulties and sorrows along with the victories, I want to always remain thankful. 

Because I really am beyond blessed. 

A Good Day

I must admit, I have been in kind of a funk lately. 

Maybe it's the cold. 

Maybe it's that I have a nagging achilles problem.

Maybe it's because it's dead week. 

I don't know. 

Whatever it is, though, I have spent my week counting down the days until Christmas break instead of enjoying the moments and living in the present. 

But today - today was a good day. 

Today I had the last science lab that I will ever have. 

And today I sat through the last Biology lecture I will ever sit through. 

And I took the half hour I had between classes to go treat myself an extra hot latte, just because.

And I did a killer work on the stationary bike and with weights. 

And I got together with new some friends for a worship session

 in a room we rented out on our campus. And it was wonderful.

And I am just pretty blessed. 

So, funk or not, I'm grateful for today. 

Focus on the Positives

This morning when I woke up, I felt 100 times better than I have been feeling lately.

I have been  pretty melancholic the last few days about Saturday's race and the way my season has gone and just some other complications in life... And I tend to over think everything, so I just have been dwelling on all of these negative thoughts.

And I realized that I was allowing myself to become hopeless, which I never usually do.

But this blog is called running on hope, right? 

So here are some things that give me hope. And some wonderful things that happened the last couple of days that I should have been focusing on instead of my doubts. 

1. I have some truly amazing people in my life that have been so encouraging to me over the last couple of days. I'm blown away by how loved I am.

2. I never, ever want to forget how blessed I am. I have been through a lot with running, and the fact that I am even here able to run for a collegiate cross country team is such a blessing!!!

3. Yesterday, at practice, my coach had us all make posters and cut out quotes from magazines and do goal setting. It sounds cheesy, but I'm so glad he did it. It really helped us all to refocus our goals for this season... for championships. And he gave me a magazine article on the mental aspect of running that he saved just for me. He's such a great coach. 

4. Despite Saturday's bad race, it truly was a wonderful day. My mom and dad and my brother and his wife all came to cheer me on (it was a local meet, finally!) My brother and his wife had never seen me run before. 

Then I got to go home for the first time since school started, and we spent the rest of the day together. 

Getting Pumpkin Spiced Lattes... the first one of the season!!!

And going to the movies....

And eating crepes at this delicious crepe restaurant. It made me miss France!!!

5. I get to see my best friend this weekend when I race in Portland!!!

6. Someone gave me a coffee gift card yesterday. Someone else sent me $50 in the mail just to bless me. And my brother and sister in law gave me money and treated me to lunch this weekend (they are wonderful). 

7. Last night I got to drink tea and eat dark chocolate and watch the Gossip Girl season premiere with a friend. And it was much needed. 

8. The King of the Universe loves me. I never want to forget that... or take it for granted. How amazing is it that he wants to talk to us all day long and is interested in every detail of our lives and truly cares and wants to bless us? 

You guys… life really is wonderful. There are so many beautiful, positive things that we miss if we dwell on the negatives.And I’m excited to race this weekend. Because I love running. And I love life. And I’m not about to give up hope. 

Perfect Day

Yesterday was a nearly perfect day. 

Everything I needed to get me ready for the craziness to come these next few weeks!

And because I know you all want to know every detail of my life... I'm going to tell you all about it! :)

I started off the day with a hill repeat workout (still getting ready for xc!) followed by a short, but intense lifting session at the gym. 

You want to hear a secret? I love lifting weights. More than running sometimes! And I love the gym. Everyone their is just, super jazzed about fitness. It's great. 

You want to hear another secret? I used my sister's gym card to get in.... :) 

I'm the only person in my family without a membership, because usually I can just use my school's gym. But as I am home for now, I couldn't. 

I feel bad, but they don't use theirs' that often, so just once, it seems ok. 

Then I made protein pancakes (my favorite days always start with pancakes!), did some journaling, caught up on my new favorite Netflix tv show, Dance Academy (its all the cheesy drama of ABC family with an Australian twist), and got ready. 

Around noon, my little sister, Liberty, and I, went with another friend to go get TCBY frozen yogurt (their hard-serve froyo is my favorite dessert of all times) and brought it back to the house for a day of movie watching and art projects. 

It was the perfect, relaxing day. 

The day continued to get better when my sister and I decided to go on a date at the Cheesecake Factory before church. 

 Hanging out with her is always a good time... :)

I love her so much. It is unreal how much she has grown up the last couple of years. I look up to her in so many ways... she is not my "little" sister anymore!!!

Then church was great, as always, and I am sad that the school year is starting, because I won't be able to go as often on Thursday nights anymore. I have so many great friends there, and I keep meeting new people each week. 

I'm ready for this new season, though. At least... 

I'm trying to be. 

And I was so encouraged by Colossians 1:11-14 today (Message version)

As you learn more and more how God works, you will learn how to do your work. We pray that you'll have the strength to stick it out over the long haul—not the grim strength of gritting your teeth but the glory-strength God gives. It is strength that endures the unendurable and spills over into joy, thanking the Father who makes us strong enough to take part in everything bright and beautiful that he has for us.

 God rescued us from dead-end alleys and dark dungeons. He's set us up in the kingdom of the Son he loves so much, the Son who got us out of the pit we were in, got rid of the sins we were doomed to keep repeating.

Its amazing how a little time reading the 
Bible can encourage me so much!!!

Weekend Recap

It was another busy but amazing weekend. As my cross country season and school draws nearer, I'm taking advantage of every moment I have to see my friends in Boise. I only go to school an hour away, but I'll be so busy I do not know how often I'll be back!

Friday night I had to say goodbye to one of my best friends, Christi... again. 

She left to go back to school Saturday morning, so a few of us went to her house for pizza and swimming. Swimming didn't actually happen, but it was really fun. We all talked and helped her pack.

I already miss her!!

We haven't lived in the same city the last two years, but we are still close as ever. 

I left at around 11:30 and headed to my church for midnight prayer. It's a thing the college kids do in August on friday night. Why not pray at midnight? 

Well, because I'm an old person and like my sleep :) But seriously, so worth it!

I got in bed at around 2:30 a.m and had to get up at 8:00 a.m. for a ten miler!!!

When I got back I dug in to this baby. I laughed out loud when I realized... I have almost single handedly eaten this whole thing by myself. 

That on top of the pb and almond butter I had with me at school. I can't get enough of it!

Then I went shopping with my mom. All day. It was so fun, but exhausting!!! I wasn't feeling like doing anything too crazy, but a dollar movie sounded nice. So I texted my lovely friend Ally, and we met up for dinner, a movie, and dessert (frozen yogurt!!!). 

She made me this CD for my long drives back in forth from here to school. How sweet!!! :)

Then church on Sunday. It was so good. I'll have to recap the message on a later blog. 

Stripes and Starbucks!!!!!

I spent the rest of the day completely relaxing, other than this art project I tackled.

Sometimes, you just have to create stuff. 

Practice starts one week from today!!! Ahhh.