This is a happy day!

Hi Friends,
It's been a while; I know!  I have missed you and hope that this post finds all of you happy, well and running!

I just could not let this day slip away without comment.  It is a special day for several reasons.

For starters, it is my dad's 67th birthday.  Happy Birthday, Dad!  I hope that you have felt loved and special today! ;-)

Also, today, I ran the farthest that I have run to date - 8.96 miles!  I ran for exactly 90 minutes.  My mile splits were right around 10.04 minutes.  Although I am not turbo jazzed about that number, I am happy to report that I had a lot left in my tank at the end and know that I will be able to go much faster come race day! ;-)  I am planning on running a half-marathon this fall!

And last, but not least, this day is special because I am typing this message with an almost completely healed right ring finger.  If you will recall, I SEVERELY injured that finger on April 30th, when it got crushed between two logs in a freak wood-stacking incident!  Today serves as the 5-month anniversary of that incident! 

Friends, God has performed a miracle on my finger, and I am not even kidding!  The gaping wounds that were sewn up on the underside of my finger are almost invisible.  I  have also regained complete sensation in that area and have a perfectly formed fingernail.  The top part of the finger, however, sports a pretty serious scar, with a knob of scar tissue underneath that is currently preventing me from full flexion.  Other than that, the casual observer would not know that I had split open that finger, severed the extensor tendon and broken a knuckle just a few short months ago.  I am currently undergoing occupational therapy to help strengthen the tip and loosen the scar tissue so that my finger will be straight!  So far, so good!

The following picture reveals just how far the healing has progressed:

Pretty amazing isn't it!

Throughout this day, and on several occasions during these 5 months, I have thought about the fact that I am so grateful that I did not wake up on April 30th, knowing that this injury would happen!  Sure, in my lifetime, I have done things, knowing that there would be great discomfort involved . . . having babies, vein surgery, my legs waxed or running 400 meters as fast as I can!  None of those things involved mutilation, though, and that is the difference.  If I had known that was coming, I would not have gotten up!

I say that to say this:  Jesus DID know, at the beginning of the day when He sacrificed His life for our sins, that He would endure indescribable pain, suffering and even death!  But he got up anyway.  He got up anyway, and that is amazing, beautiful, pure and strong.  Thank you, Jesus, for your example!

Until next time,

Missi

Post 10K Update - 3

Well, we are undergoing a transfer of old computer data to the new computer, so I have not been able to access my blog until today.  Sorry for the delay!

Okay, so we left off with my describing to you how my physique is going through another change, for the better!

Now, I would like to address how my running has gone (or, rather, is going through) another change as well.  If you'll remember, I started out this "thing" on March 14th, hoping that I would like "jogging" enough to make it my easy, thirty-minutes-a-day exercise routine.  Well, it has become so much more than that.  In fact, I don't even think you could call it "jogging" anymore.

Ever since I posted that 56-min 10K time in July, something snapped.  I remembered that I am (and always have been) an athlete.  You don't just give up your innate talents just because you're over 40!  You can, however, forget about them!  That's what I did.  I kept thinking that it was too hard; I might break a hip; what if I hate it!  Friends, those doubts and fears are from the Deceiver.  They are not from God.  And I refused to let that "Monkey" on my back to slow me down.  Do I get an "Amen?!"

So, for the month of August, I (and my hubby as well) embarked on reclaiming our athleticism.  We did speed training and interval work, which culminated in a full-speed MILE run on the last day of the program.

When the day of the race arrived, I have to tell you that I was a little nauseous at the starting line, but it had to be done, and I am not a quitter!  Hubby gave me a good pep talk before the race and told me to concentrate on Nicole C. Mullen's song, "When I Call on Jesus," when I got in a bind.  Turns out, that was what I needed!  I ended up running the "Miracle Mile" in 7 minutes and 13 seconds.  My hubby did it in 6:51 (which is awesome!) 

We both felt great that day and are currently researching what we want to tackle next.  I am leaning very heavily towards training for a 1/2 marathon this fall and a marathon in the spring.

I'll keep you posted.
;-) Missi