When Friendship Trumps the Watch

by Jodi

Saturday was race day for Devon, Carissa and me.  I, unlike Carissa and Devon, was in great health but still uncertain about how my race would play out.  With three smooth and fast training runs in a row I was due for a hard run soon.  Would I make it through race day unscathed?

Pre-race smiles

The weather was gorgeous with deep blue skies, bright sunshine and crisp cool temps.  It was a perfect day to race.  Ironically, none of us raced well. Every time I run a half marathon I have a renewed respect for the distance - it's a long way to run fast without the wheels falling off the bus.

Devon and I trying to intimidate the competition.  Too bad the girl behind us beat us.

There were several small factors that led to me feeling discombobulated when I was racing.

Motivation: My Mind Said No

By Carissa

~I started this post two weeks ago but didn't have the "motivation" to finish it until now...

We’ve all been there - that place in your training when you lose your drive.  You don’t care anymore and you have a long list of reasons not to carry on.  Somewhere between last week and this week I lost my motivation.  

On Monday morning the alarm went off.  I got up and groggily made my way through my routine to get out the door.  On the drive to the gym I let my negative thoughts simmer. "I don't want to be up at 4:45 a.m. to battle through an hour of spin and 45 minutes in the pool.  I don't want to work out.  I don't want to work hard for a triathlon I am confident I can complete today.  I should be in bed right now."  It was my third morning commute to the gym feeling this way and I knew it was a red flag.  

Once at the gym I checked in and put my bag in a locker.  All I had to do was walk through the door to class and sit on a bike.  If I did that I would be assured of a commitment to the next 60 minutes and following through with my workout.  But I didn’t.  I chose to listen to the voice that reassured me that every fiber of me did not want to work out.  I passed several regulars on their way in as I did the walk of shame out and back home to bed.

Queen of the High Road Race Recap

by Carissa

When we first learned of the race put on by our Wilsonville Sole Sisters, Tanya, Jodi and I knew it was an event we wanted to support.  Queen of the High Road is an annual half marathon held the weekend before Memorial Day in Wilsonville.  The event is open to runners and walkers and has two start times: 8am and 9am.

For weeks before the event women met on Saturday mornings in Wilsonville, Sherwood and Tigard.  They built up stamina and made friendships.  Though I didn’t attend a Saturday training run/walk, I could tell the race was a celebration of all of those weeks spent preparing.  This race was not about who crossed the finish line first.

Right about the time I was starting to wrap my head around getting ready to race a half marathon my running buddy encouraged me to throw my race ambitions aside.  Becky is a Queen of the High Road veteran and one of the women who headed up the Tigard training team.  She has a huge smile and a gift for encouraging others.  She told me the race would have no clock, no timing chip, and no bib.  What!?  I wasn’t used to this kind of a race!  I embraced the spirit of the day and committed to running with my friends Becky and Anne-Marie.

Sole Sister Stories from the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Portland - Part Two of Two

by Jodi with some help from Kathleen and Kristen

Yesterday we heard from Sky and Courtney.  Today Kathleen and Kristen share their stories with us.  I know you will be blessed.

Kathleen Joffer
Kathleen and I went on a missions trip to Haiti together.  It's amazing how quickly you bond when eight women share one flush toilet and a shower (when the water is working) for an entire week.  Kathleen had the bed across from mine and we giggled, served, worshipped, cried, prayed, and sweat profusely together for seven days.  Kathleen has a HUGE heart and serves quietly and consistently without anyone knowing she's working.  I started calling her my Getter Doner because that's what she does.  She gets things done.  Our friendship has grown sweeter over the past two years since we've been back from Haiti and I think the world of her.  Here's her story.

Kathleen and John on race morning

How six small words can change the way you run a race is beyond me but that is exactly what happened to me Sunday. Here's my 2013 Portland Rock and Roll half marathon story in a nutshell:    I barely beat my time from last year.  The difference was a mere 47 seconds, but I did it!

Sole Sister Stories from the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Portland - Part One of Two

by Jodi with help from Sky and Courtney

This weekend was the second annual running of the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in Portland. Many of our friends and Sole Sisters participated in the event.  As we circled back post-race to get their stories, we knew we had to share them with you.  It's fascinating to hear from other runners why they run, what motivates them, and celebrate their victories with them.

Sky Stephens

I met Sky almost four years ago and was immediately drawn to her.  Our friendship was formed fast and cemented by walking through some life changing events together.  Sky is smart, funny, efficient, determined and resilient.  She is an amazing mom to her twin toddlers and is growing more and more into the image of Jesus every day.  Sky was born to run and is already impressively fast and smooth in her stride.  Here's her story.

Sky and her twins

After failures, exhaustion from twin toddlers, heart break, and single motherhood, a dear friend invited me on a run longer than I had conquered in about ten years. After we finished, I was so pumped up that I had gone the distance yet still filled with self doubt, fear, and a debilatating lack of faith. I concluded that if I wanted to not just "limp along" through life, but finish strong (live well, make a difference, and please the Lord) -  I had to stop letting life happen to me, and letting external influences toss me like waves in the sea (see James 1:6 about doubt).  I needed to be an active player in my own life. 

Keizer Iris Festival Half Marathon - Guest Post by Amy Bentz

intro by Jodi

This past weekend was full of races:  the Queen of the High Road Half in Wilsonville, the Keizer Iris Festival Half, and the Rock and Roll Half in Portland.  Many of our Sole Sisters ran in these events and came back with inspiring stories too good to not share.  We're going to run their stories over the next few days so you can be encouraged like we are.

Today's post is a guest post from Amy Bentz.  Amy and I have been friends since she was in junior high and I was in high school.  We reconnected a few years ago and I think she's incredible.  Amy is hard working, loving, and SO creative.  She can take anything and transform it into something beautiful.  Amy loves Jesus, her husband, and her kids.  Their family has been walking the road to adoption for almost two years.  We're all waiting with baited breath for their family to finally get their referral number and travel to Africa to meet their children waiting there.  You can learn more about their story and Amy's crafty creations at her blog:  Living a Radical Life.  I'm blessed to know her and call her friend.

Here's her story of her half marathon on Sunday and what made it special, aside from setting a new Personal Record!

Q&A: How Can I Know I'll Have Enough Stamina to Run 13.1 Miles?

by Jodi

Racing season is warming up.  Sole Sisters across the country have been training hard and are getting close to race day.  The deeper into race season we get, the more frequently we get questions from our readers and friends.  

You girls have GOOD questions!  They're so good we wanted to share them with everyone by doing an occasional Q&A blog post.  We are not EXPERTS or medical professionals.  But we are happy to pull from our collective running experiences and share with you the good and the bad.  Feel free to send your questions to solesistersrunning@gmail.com.

Today's question is from my friend Tina.  We've been friends for more than ten years and had the privilege of living close to each other when we were in the thick of raising babies.  She is a loyal friend, loving mom, adoring wife, and INCREDIBLY talented in gardening.  She can make anything grow and transform an ugly patch of dirt into a beautiful place of refuge.  She is training to run her first half marathon in early June.  It's on her bucket list and I'm so proud of her!