Day 27...

Unbelievable. Totally God at work. . .

So, last night, in preparation for this long run, I did the normal things of making sure I had Sport Beans, looking at the hourly weather predictions to see what was the best time to go out, and, of course, checking to see if the Garmin was charged. Everything was a go, and it looked like by 10:00 a.m. it would be above freezing.

So, I went to bed planning to run around 10, but I was totally nervous about the sidewalks not being cleared and whether or not the temperatures would actually rise enough for it not to be icy. But by the time I had fought that mental battle for about an hour, the Lord finally got ahold of my heart and helped me to surrender it all to Him and just trust Him. It took a while, but He finally broke through my stubborn, questioning heart. I went to bed at peace with what today would bring.

My alarm went off at 8, but I, of course, slept until 8:45. haha! :) That meant I wouldn't hit the road until 11 with breakfast and all. But no biggie. More time for the weather to warm up. But when I stepped outside at get my paper at 9, I noticed that it was already thawing again! I checked the temperature, and it was already 37!!! Hallelujah!!! :) :) :) I just about flipped!

So, I ate and read the paper and drank tons of coffee, then I got started prepping for the run. First thing? Turn on the Garmin and let it sync up with the satellites. But when I hit the power button nothing happened. What?? I did it again. Nothing. Garmin = dead. :( hahaha!

Well, here's the funny thing. I had just finished writing the intro for my upcoming book "Sharing the Victory: Being Your Best for God" and I had JUST written about how God had allowed me to be consumed by the idol of running and the Boston qualification in order to get my attention about how concerned I was with pleasing the world instead of Him. One way was through running performance. I had JUST written about how I had been freed from that. Now, God was seeming to say, "For real? Let's find out."

So, no Garmin, huh? No pace. No time. No mileage. What on earth would I do?

Enjoy the run, that's what!

I tell you what. . . This was one of the most amazing long runs I've had. No time ticking away. No checking my watch every 30 seconds to see if I was on pace. I just ran because it felt good and because I could. It was so peaceful! It was like God was confirming in my heart that He had, in fact, brought me a long way from where I'd been.

Though, the tough part of the run came with about 6 miles left. I think it was the fact that I was returning to outdoor running and hills, but I am pretty sure I strained a muscle in my left quad. It was a pretty painful last few miles, and I'm sitting with ice bags on now. :( If you read this and have time to pray for me, that would be awesome!

Anyway, good lesson today. This was one of those days when you know that the Lord is moving in your heart and life. Thank You, Father. I've got a long way to go, but I've come a long way.

:)
-Jill