He gives us help in our time of need

Alot has been going on.  I have run 3 races since the last weekend of April and all have gone well.

200 million flowers 5k for the Fatherless: 1st overall female 
      This race was super hot and also my first race in a while since I have been focusing on my training/base building.  I ran the first mile in 6:13 which was under my goal pace for the day.  Then, I saw that there was not another female in sight, and I just cruised into my tempo pace for the rest of the race.  Ever since my dehydration episode exactly 1 year ago from this race, I have erred on the side of caution in really hot races and workouts.  Thus, I was just racing to win, and it was a good workout. I seriously don't even know my time:)  Won $200, and we are so thankful to the Lord as we need this for some extra expenses this month.

Quite a few workouts and training were missed in the next 3 weeks due to tornadoes hitting Mississippi and having meetings and other functions during my usually running time.  I was not happy about this and even felt like I was stupid for trying to still do this when I do not have the time or the motivation.  Luckily, my Coach, Stephanie Bruce, gave me a pep talk and one thing that stood out was "you are still doing this because deep down you have a love and a desire for running and still want to see what you are capable of."  It's definitely true.

I am really praying that the Lord will help me to be able to wake up EARLY before so that I can run when there are no other distractions.  My first priority is to serve Christ and that means spending intimate time with Him in the morning through prayer and the Word and meditation on it that continues throughout the day. In addition to that, I desire to spend free time sharing His Gospel with the lost and teaching His Word by inviting people into our home weekly.  I would love to freely focus on these things after work while also being able to serve my husband and manage our home.  Thus, Early A.M. runs should be a must !!! And with this heat now, I should Want to ! I still need so much of the Lord's help though.  My flesh wants to stay in bed until time to leave for work and nap immediately after when I could be out sharing with others! Side note: Joy fills my heart when I find out runners (or any athletes) are Christians, especially pro runners with a huge opportunity to influence as many people follow and watch them.  I loved this Oiselle elite, Amanda Winslow's, latest blog on the priority of Jesus over her running career.

Greenville, MS Cotton Classic 10k: 1st American female
     It's always a good thing for American runners to note their place as an American when there are numerous Kenyans that are racing against you.  This race was a good tempo--wasn't ready to really race one yet--as I had one of my past male teammates pace me at 6:40 pace (humbling as my PR pace is 6:15).  It truly was enjoyable having him there and just running a steady tempo. This also was a confidence booster to ensure that I should be running my 3-5 mile tempo runs at atleast 6:25 pace, not 6:40.  I HATE tempo runs, but man do they help me get better.  Won $250 and once again the Lord provided this for a specific need.

Crayola Classic 5k: 1st overall female
   This race was last weekend and the first race in which I had stuck to my training plan and had zero sickness or other issues.  Praise God! I wanted to run about 6:20 even splits for this race, and I did just that.  AND.. other than the ab cramping, it felt easy and great!!! This definitely showed me that I can be back in 6:00 pace shape in the fall.  Won a $100 gift card to Stinky feet for some new shoes! It is that time where too much mileage is on my trainers, so I was incredibly thankful to have shoes provided for.

Racing Schedule coming up:
Stephanie has really helped me figure out my training schedule for the next year.  I am doing two Triathlon relays this summer with my former college coach and a past teammate/fave running partner.  These will be a fun way to get in a good tempo and enjoy the team atmosphere.  One of my legs is a 10k and the other is a 7 mile.  I am not really looking to PR in these since it will be super hot and humid, but I am wanting to see progress from my training and to see our team win!! Here are the possibilities coming up:

Half marathon in Aug. : Possibly Tupelo, MS

Another Half in Nov. or Dec. : Possibly Memphis, TN St. Jude or Meridian, MS

Another Half at the end of January : RnR Nola

*Hoping to PR and run sub 1:29 for one of these

Then, I will shift gears and develop more speed for a 5,000m PR of sub 18:30 on the track and a 5k & 10 road PR somehwhere in the spring to summer as well.

Here are my new favorite running shorts that I have EVER owned----from Oiselle

Black Mac Roga. These are perfect for racing and track workouts.  If you like to race in spandex but aren't too comfortable with the tight fit, then these are for you.

Fresh Green Distance Short. I am hoping to get these in brill blue and fast red as soon as my size is back in stock! 

She did what??!!

ALOT has gone on in the running world the last few weeks, and I need to update.

First, Kara signed with Oiselle!!!!! My husband is my witness that I called this one from the day she announced she was looking for a sponsor.  I have been following Oiselle for a year now with the anticipation to apply for the team.  Last year, when applications were available, I did not know enough about them, so I decided to wait.  However, after only a few months I knew I wanted to be a part of this unique group of running women.  Hopefully, I will have an opportunity to soon.

Back to Kara, I knew she would join Oiselle because I have heard Kara speak and have read many articles of how she wants to one day impact and lead a running group, and Oiselle is the perfect place for her to do that.  That was my opinion, and turns out she thought so, too.  

This is Kara signing my Nalgene bottle at RnRNola last year

This was an awful angle and lighting for a picture, and it was awfully humid outside, hence, the bad hair day.  I am so thankful for this though! 

I love hearing the athletes' interviews at the Expos.  I wish more people, mainly recreational runners who do not follow elites, were more aware of this when they come.  They would learn a lot. 

Kara Goucher also announced today that she has a sacral stress fracture. I am sad for her but also glad that she has a group like Oiselle behind her during this time.  She is not defined by how well she performs, and she will able to still be herself as she is involved with her teammates and her passion.

I am no Kara Goucher or Lauren Fleshman or Sally, but I have had some great weeks of running since I last updated you.  I am finally feeling like I am not in miserable/pathetic shape, so I am super motivated to really get to work now.  My coach, Stephanie Bruce, has had me at 50-55 miles per week for the last few months to ensure that I am consistently running and consistently without any nagging injuries.  While that seems like it's on the lower side of mileage, she has had me do up to 17 miles for my long runs.  This is a big change from the 10-12 I have always been consistent with, and I ran 60-64 mpw while doing those.  I think it will be fun when we start ramping up the overall mileage, and I think she hinted that that would be soon :)

Here's a look at some of my workouts without all of my training details.  I am finally hitting at familiar paces from college. However, I am not yet hitting the ones I hit during my PR season. That's some confidence, at least. 

3 sets of 300, 200, 100

3 x 2 mile

3,2,1,1,2,3 Fartlek

5-6 mile Tempo runs

10-12 100m on/off

2 sets of (3 min hill, 6 x 30 sec hill)

2 sets of 1000,800,600,400

8-10 400m with 90s rest

Also, we have implemented these form drills about twice a week.  I truly can feel a difference even if I look funny doing this in the neighborhood ( I get some looks ) ! And they feel good, too. These videos are from my coaches' You Tube channel called Running with the Bruces. Check them out: ( I love the music that goes with the moves :) )

Righteousness & Moon Cake

Anna, our Chinese friend, came over again last night. We have finished the gospel of John.  Praise the Lord.  Now we are starting Romans. Praise the Lord! The only chapter we studied last night was chapter 1 because of its depth.  Anna now understands what faith is, and she understands the basics of righteousness according to the Word. If you want to know the background of our friendship with Anna, click here.

Here are some things that Anna communicated:

• She desires to "do good" and even wants to teach others to "do good" by teaching them the Bible.
• She believes in the existence of Jesus--how He lived on Earth and how much He loves us.
• She wants to learn from Christians and sees that they are different because they have the Holy Spirit.
• She may believe that Jesus is "the Christian's God's Son", but she struggles to believe that this God is the God who created the Universe.
• She knows many Chinese people that teach moral standards to live by, therefore, they know not to commit "unrighteous deeds". She understands that Christians only can be made righteous by faith in Jesus.  However, I do not think she likes this idea and chooses to believe that a society that educates well to produce morality in their people is good enough.
• She says the Chinese Christians that she has met in China may not rightly divide the Word (She did not know she was quoting scripture..ha) because the Bible translation is in Old Chinese and not in Modern Chinese. She says it is not a good translation and prefers to read in English.  She also wants to help them to rightly divide it. 

How we can pray after knowing these things:

• Pray that God will help her to understand that all of our righteous deeds are like filthy rags.
• Pray that Jesus will be real to her as someone who is alive now, and not just a historical figure.   Pray that she will not just know that we believe that He now lives at God's right hand, but that this will be a reality of His living and reigning over us and the world.
• Pray that God will give her the faith to believe in Him!
• Pray that He will help her to desire the Holy Spirit that she sees as such a wonderful thing in Christians' lives. Pray that as she is used to us asking the Holy Spirit to help us as we read His Word and try to understand, that He will show her the work of the Holy Spirit.
• Pray that she will see God as Creator as she looks on His creation--as she explores, takes walks, admires the spring flowers--she loves all of these things.
• Pray that she will not see Christianity as an American cultural tradition, and that she will see that many all over the world have believed in Jesus---and that it is not because they adopted it from Americans.
• Pray that God will show her the sin that is within her and that her good works cannot save her.  Pray that she will see the seriousness of sin.
• Praise Him for giving her a desire to share what she has learned in His Word, to do good, and to help others.  Pray that He will continue to do this good work in her and transform her, save her.  Then, that she may teach His Word without falsely holding back the truth of His gospel because she will have believed ! 
• Pray that God will help Chinese Christians rightly divide His Word, and He will provide a way to have a better translation published.

Just for Fun:

 

We were excited that they brought us some Chinese treats to try! 

 This is called a Moon Cake. That yellow thing in the middle, yea, it's an egg yolk--a dried candied yucky egg yolk.  The one on the right had more of spicy taste.  I thought Paige was going to vomit. ha.

Indwelling What???..

Shane and I ate dinner at our pastor and his wife's house last night. He encouraged us to think on indwelling sin and righteous anger vs. sinful anger while walking us through many scriptures.  So today, I am definitely thinking about it.....

Charles Spurgeon put it this way:

"When a man is saved by divine grace, he is not wholly cleansed from the corruption of his heart."

This makes so much sense because all of us Christians know that once we believe, it doesn't become easier, and we still have to deal with this "indwelling sin." 

Here are some more Spurgeon quotes that really helped me:

"Even the righteous have in them evil natures."

"In your best and happiest moments, sin dwells in you."

"The truly loving child of God, though he knows sin is there, hates that sin; it is a pain and misery to him, and he never makes the corruption of his heart as an excuse for the corruption of his life."

"When you desire to be most alive to God--you will generally find sin most alive to repel you. Sin exerts a checking power on every good thing."

"Indwelling sin makes the assault on us. I would not expect victory from one in which I am doing to the attacking."

"The evil nature is always evil. The new nature must always wrestle and fight with it. When they are not in conflict, they are still foes."

"Nothing shows blackness like exposure to light. If I would see the blackness of my own character, I must put it side by side with spotless purity."

"Self-sufficiency is Satan's net, wherein he catcheth men, like poor silly fish, and doth destroy them. Think yourselves nothing, for ye are nothing, and live by God's help."

For the full text click here.

John Piper says these things about indwelling sin from Rom. 7:14-25:

"Paul is not saying that Christians live in continual defeat, but that no Christian lives in continual victory over sin."

The normal way a healthy Christian should respond: 
1. I love the Law of God. Rom. 7:22
2. I hate what I just did. Rom. 7:15

"The Christian admits that there is in all of us Christians, as long as this fallen age lasts and we live on the earth, the reality of indwelling sin." Rom. 7:17,20

"Do not get off balance with either extreme to say there is no holiness necessary or that perfection is possible in this age."

Piper says that when dealing with indwelling sin, the question is not whether we are a Christian or not.  I have gone through times where I have read through the works of the flesh in Galatians 5 and thought surely I am not saved when I know through many assurances that I received the Holy Spirit when I believed many years ago.  Or... I have struggled with my attitude and failed time after time to think surely I am not saved because I cannot "do what I will to do" which is live for God as Paul says.  Instead, if we are born again Christians having received the Holy Spirit as our guarantee and deal with indwelling sin (and we will), according to Piper, the test is this:
               

"Do we love the law? Do we hate our failure? Do we cry out in dismay over our sinful condition? Do we look to Christ and His righteousness? Do we fly to the cross? Do we confess and repent and renounce Satan and set our faces to go forward with Jesus on the Calvary road?"

I believe there are 6 parts to John Piper's sermon on Rom. 7.  You can find them here.

Of course, Shane and I had a lot more personal encouragement and applications learned in fellowship with our pastor.  I hope this encourages you to think on this as well. How does it affect your personal relationship with Christ and your relationships with others?

Running through Sickness

I haven't talked about running in a while since I have been off and on with some sort of sickness lately:(  The rule of thumb is if it's the neck and above, you can still run.  If it's below the neck, you should probably take off.  I have had some of both, but this is how it has been going:

My endurance has definitely improved now that I am doing longer long runs than I ever have consistently.  When I say endurance, I mainly mean my legs are making it for more and more miles at one time.  My breathing is never a problem.  Cardiovascularly, I can run allllllll day.  My legs, however, get to a point where they cannot go any more.  I have seen major improvements in this in which where they normally wind down, they don't until a mile or two later. Also, we have added more speed to my workouts which I am very excited about.  I hate lacking speed! It's an awful feeling. Hopefully, this will keep improving as well. Here is what I have been doing lately when it comes down to long runs and workouts:

Long Run:  3 mile W/U. 5k Race. 8 mile Run.  Total: 14

Workouts: 

15 min w.u. 3 sets of 300, 200, 100 @ 5k effort with 200 jog between reps, 2 mins between sets. 10 min c.d.

15 min w.u. 5-6 x mile @MP with 1 min rest 10 min c.d.

15 min w.u. 10-12 x 100m on, 100m off @5k effort 15 min c.d.

15 min w.u. 3 x 2 mile @MP effort with 3 mins rest 10 min c.d.

Long Run: 15 miles with the middle 4 miles at Tempo pace

For normal runs, I have been doing a set of drills and some strides. My coach Stephanie Bruce sent me their YouTube channel with some basic form drills. Here is the link if you would like to check it out: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTk5e72YGF9s6Danc0otJCQ/about

As much as we try, our running form cannot be corrected each day when we run, no matter how much we are thinking about correcting that foot strike or having our body in alignment.  Form drills are what will correct our form over time.  I am really excited to implement these into my training a few times a week.  I have done a few of these in the past, but the ones that I think will really help, I have never done before.  I think my running form changes every season that I run, so I hope this will help me be more consistent in the proper way.

Happy Running!

My favorite part of the week

One day out of the week is spent with one of my sisters in Christ and two Chinese friends that we have met.  I will say that their names are Anna and Joe for their safety, and I will not post any pictures of them.  Yes, I say that because there is still a lot of persecution against Christians in China.  Although there are churches that are allowed there, they are government controlled. If any Chinese person exercises their Christianity outside of it, it is illegal, and they will be severely punished.  Non-Chinese Christians who lead church gatherings outside of these government churches, and a Chinese citizen attends, then the leader may be punished. An example of a punishment consists of an arrest and possible torture in what is called a "tiger bench." Read more about persecution in China here. Even though they are free to study the Bible here in America, if it was found out once they returned to China, anything could happen.  If God graciously saves our friends before they return, we plan to teach them to hold fast, pray, study the Bible, and share His Truth with others no matter the cost...just as we do and all believers should.  However,  it must be done with wisdom, and in no way will I be guilty of leaking who they are.

Anyways, me and my friend, Paige, meet with Anna and sometimes Joe once a week.  Once my husband comes home from work, he, too, joins.  Paige and I met Anna one night at Mississippi College as she came to another of our friend's apartments for a night of girls' fellowship. We ate taco soup, talked about the Lord, and watched the Through Gates of Splendor by Elisabeth Elliot.  Watch here.  It's only 39 minutes.  After the movie, a group of us girls began talking with Anna and sharing the gospel.  She was so excited to learn and eager to hear.  By the end of the night, I figured out that she worked at a university near my home (She's a brain!).  I had already invited Paige to come over that next week, so we asked if she wanted to join if we picked her up when she got off work (she did not drive at the time).  She was so excited and gave us all of her contact information. We drove to the university, which is known for crime in a worse part of town then my home, not knowing where we were going, and as it was nearing dark, we finally picked her up.  She came running to the car! (Now I realize she runs--or shuffles with quick feet-- every where she goes, even inside the house) We had dinner and started teaching the gospel of John.  We simply go verse by verse, alternating readers, and pause when clarification is needed.  This is often (If you ever read John and go through how you would explain it--which we all should be able to through the Holy Spirit and need to to equip others--it's pretty weighty), but it is SO good because we have to explain the gospel over and over, every single detailed piece.  Anna left by saying, "We will do this every week." Ha. We love how assertive she is at times.  Of course, Paige and I agreed.  That was the first week of November, and we are still meeting every week! 

Neither Anna nor Joe are believers in Jesus.  They have shared with us many things that "their culture" believes.  It was confusing at first because Anna's excitement and eagerness to learn made it seem like she had believed.  Then she made it pretty clear one night.  I respect her so much that she will not be naive to believe something she has heard for the first time, and she is truly seeking God for the truth. She is like the Bereans who search the Scriptures daily to see if what we are teaching is true (Acts 17:11).  If I have never truly grasped how it is nothing of us but is the Lord who changes hearts and brings salvation, I do now.  It will be Him who works miraculously in her and draws her to Himself.  She truly is in the Word every day and hangs out with Christians multiple times a week.  We pray that during those times that He will reveal Himself to her and save her soul.  Our labor is not in vain as we pour our lives into her and love her (1Cor. 15:58).  His Word tells us that.  We plant the seed, and He grows it (1 Cor. 3:6).  Nothing is impossible with Him (Mark 10:27), and He can melt the heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26).

Joe does not speak English as well as Anna.  I do not think he cares too much about learning the Bible either.  I think he just enjoys to come with Anna.  Praise the Lord though! He does listen and ask questions at times, but his heart is very hard and confused.  This is still not too difficult for our Almighty God though!

Some things that Anna has said that gives us hope:

"One day maybe my soul will be made alive, too."
"We say 'oh my God' in China." After explaining to her through Exodus 20 why we do not say this she said, "Ohhhh..... I will not do this anymore." She fears Him !
"You are the planters, and I am the one you are planting seeds into."
Paige: "Excited to see you tonight!" Anna: "Yes. I thank the Almighty God for bringing us together."
"Why did everyone want to kill Jesus? He was perfect."
When we gave her a new Bible she said, "Thank you! I can take this back with me to China."
"I realized the difference in romantic love and Christian love. I love you."

And man do we LOVE her, too! So much.

Those are just the main ones I can think of right now.  Paige, Shane, and I learn so much during this time as well.  There is nothing like being constantly reminded of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and teaching someone the Bible who has never heard it before is a rewarding and satisfying feeling. We labor to preach with internationals living in this area with the hope that God will save them.  Once they return to their own country, we pray that they may spread the gospel there, and He will multiply His church.  I praise God for her and Joe daily and beg for Him to save their souls. I pray that the Lord is preparing Paige, Shane, and me for the people we will invest our lives in in the future He has planned for us. Please join us in prayer for these things.

"And thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation, but as it is written, 'Those who have never been told of Him will see, and those who have never heard will understand.' "
                           Romans 15:20-21

Anna gave Shane and me each a Chinese Mandarin Duck Bookmark.  It represents love and happiness in our marriage. I need to post a picture of Paige's because hers is a little Chinese girl that is SO CUTE. Anna said it reminded her of Paige which if you know her--little, bubbly cute Paige--it is so true!

These are "rice sugar sesame seed balls" that Anna brought us for dessert. haha

They look like boiled eggs.

 

This is the inside. The outside texture is extremely mushy and has zero taste, but once you get to the middle, it tastes like peanut butter.  It was not bad, but I cannot say I would desire to eat another one. Ha. 

This is the Bible we gave Anna. It is the NKJV because she liked it more than the NIV that she had.  Even though she prefers to read the Bible in english, we still got the Bilingual Bible so she could have the opportunity to share it in China, Lord willing, if He saves her. We engraved her name at the bottom which she jumped up and down and screamed as she saw it.  She said, "It is Mine." It was very personal and precious to her:)

Joe's wife and son came to visit him from China for a few weeks, and she brought us these Chinese language books.  Anna says they are very easy. Nope. They are very much not! We will enjoy them though:)

Joe's wife also brought us this giraffe to share.  So sweet.  We gave it to one of our friends who loves giraffes AND just had a baby girl a month ago, so it was perfect. 

My Man's Burger: Avocado, egg, & onions too

The Man Burger

Whenever I think to make my husband a burger, I think of how to make it as big as possible and loaded with as much as possible. This is 80% 20% ground beef from Whole Foods, and he LOVED it! 

Ingredients: Servings for 1

Ground Beef (~1/4 lb)

1 Wheat Bun

BBQ sauce

olive oil

Grilled onions 

Avocado slices

American cheese slices

1 egg

soy sauce

salt

pepper

Directions:

Saute sliced onions in olive oil. Put aside when done.

Season patty with soy sauce and pepper with a sprinkle of salt.  Cook in skillet.

Toast wheat bun with cheese slices and onions on top so that they'll stick. 

Once you remove the bun, slice some avocado and place on bottom half.  

In another skillet, fry one egg. 

When patty is done, place on bottom bun and add BBQ sauce.

Place fried egg on top to complete the burger.

Race Recap: RnRNola Half Marathon

We had a great weekend in Nola for the Rock N Roll Marathon.  Saturday at the Expo, I got to meet my coaches, Stephanie and Ben Bruce , and I learned even more about them while listening to their interviews on stage.  Stephanie spoke a lot about what it is like being a pro runner while being "with child" as the British interviewer, who was hilarious and a fantastic host, kept saying.  Ben spoke a lot on how this was going to be his debut marathon while they both shared what it is like to be married to each other as they are both pro runners. It was all very interesting and so good to see their personalities as well as personally meet them, of course.

Race day:
I was running (since I am not in race shape to race... my pride MUST add), and my former college teammate, Emily, was running the full.  She's all into the long, slow and adventurous races and is training for a 50k trail race in the summer.  We stayed with our other former teammate and best friend, Taylor, and her family like we do every year whether we are racing this race or the Crescent City Classic 10k.  However, this year, they now live on the north shore which is about 50 min's away from the city, so we had to wake up at 4 am !!!  That's fine with Emily and me because we probably would have woken up around that time anyways, but poor Taylor had to, too, since she basically just drove us around and was the most awesome friend ever for the weekend.  It was foggy, humid and misting the hour leading up to the race, but we were ready to just go have fun.  Emily and I reminded each other that this was just a stepping stone in our training and to have fun as we left each other for our separate starting corrals.

Race Recap:
My race strategy was supposed to be: Start out over 7:00 pace for sure since I am so used to going out in 6:45 or so for a half marathon and that meant at least 7:10. I was going to keep a comfortable pace until the turn around at 4.5 miles, then pick it up about 10 seconds per mile pace. The last 5k I was to be going hard and negative splitting even more. This is called a Progression Run.

What really happened was: It was nasty out there, and I kept slipping all over the place.  There's nothing like trying to run fast when you are about to face plant! I kept telling myself to be comfortable and that this is not a race which was TRUE, but that doesn't help you pick it up either.  I was not feeling good though and pretty much positive split the entire way until the last 5k.  This is still O.K. for a training run because it teaches me to push and hang on when I am tired.   I know that if I would've been home and run this pace for a progression run, I would've been pleased.  However, when you are getting passed the entire time, when that normally does not happen, and your glutes hurt so bad you can barely pick up your legs, you don't feel good about it.  This half was slower than my very first half marathon EVER which was before I joined the college team.  Ha... that puts it into perspective.  I am moving on though knowing that I have only been doing workouts for ONE MONTH, and it is not realistic for me to run any faster right now--race or progression run or whatever.  The difference is, I never entered a race this early into my training, so I have never experienced such public shame to what shape I am in and how far I have to go to improve.  The only reason I did this was because I had free entry, and it was a weekend to take with the girls. I am Moving on.... !!! :) Big things will come with hard work.

Ben won the Marathon, of course! It was great to cheer him on while I was cooling down. The good thing is, the wind and humidity won't get much worse for his marathons in the future.

Sorry we didn't take any pictures.  Emily and I have only run in a thousand races, so we don't think to document them all. :)

Why I still Run

Yesterday was my last workout before the RnRNola half marathon this Sunday.

Non-runners, hang in there and keep reading. :)

It consisted of  2x2mile tempo and 1x800m at 10k pace. I felt great and negative split until I was done.  Every workout this month has had a short recovery time which enables my body to keep working during that time.  I basically never feel like I get a break which is very different from the workouts I did in college.  Not to say that there isn't a time for full recovery to run shorter and faster intervals, but it is definitely not my focus right now.  It is humbling to run workouts at half marathon pace instead of 5k pace. I have to remember that there is a different goal , and we are working to improve in a different way.  After a few months to a year, I believe I will see big improvements.  However, right now I am working my way up there.

As of January, I have a new coach, Stephanie Rothstein Bruce.  She is an elite marathoner for Adidas and NAZ elite as well as her husband, Ben Bruce, who is about to be a pro at almost every distance given he is debuting in the marathon this weekend in Nola. Stephanie is also the co-founder of Picky Bars along with Lauren Fleshman , who was 7th in the World in the 5000m in 2011.  I have truly enjoyed how each workout has been different and the communication that we have been able to have.  I am excited to cheer Ben on this weekend and especially to meet them in person for the first time. Also, Deena Kastor will be there! Deena is one of two American women who have won an Olympic Marathon medal. She holds the American marathon record of 2:19:36 and half marathon record of 1:07:34. Kara Goucher's 1:06 was not on a record breaking approved course.  She's kind of a BIG DEAL. I hope the running community is not clueless to who she is like they were with Mo Farah, who won TWO Gold Medals, one in the 5000m and one in the 10,000m, at the London Olympics in 2012. Watch here: Nola news crews asks Mo if he has ever run before

I have run the half marathon in Nola 3 times, and it is always one of my favorites.  I have spent a lot of time in the city of New Orleans over the years and fell in love with its culture and Saints' Football. I actually have my PR of 1:29 there.  Unfortunately, this year I am not racing it but doing a long progression run in which I will start out conservatively and negative split every 5k or so.  We shall see.  I know that I am capable to run sub 1:29, and my 5k and 10k times suggest that.  I just need to have the perfect training and the perfect race conditions to do so one day. One day... Lord, please.

That is only ONE of my many goals. I find it has been difficult in my life to decide how dedicated I should be to running while being completely sold out living for Jesus.  I tend to make this more complicated than it truly is. Chariots of Fire's Eric Liddell, the 400m Olympic Gold Medalist in the 1924 Olympics and a martyr for Jesus Christ, said it best:

"I believe God made me for a purpose, and that is for China. But He also made me fast, and when I run I feel His pleasure.  To not do so would be to hold Him in contempt."

Now, in no way did God create me as fast as Eric Liddell, but He did create me to believe in Jesus, live for Him, and to bring Him glory while also making me somewhat of a talented runner, above average as a whole. I do believe that God made me for a purpose, to be a missionary (literally meaning-one who is sent. Yes, I know the gospel needs to be preached here in American, and believe me, Shane and I and the people of Grace Community Church, by the grace of God, are doing that) somewhere (wherever He sends Shane and me) and to be willing to die for Him as Eric did. It is true that He made me a runner and that I feel His pleasure when I run.  Some runs have been my most intimate times with Him filled with prayer or singing or in awe of His creation.  I do believe that He can receive glory in it. That is, if I give Him the glory in which He is due."He who glories let him glory in the Lord." 1 Cor. 1:31

It can be done. Did any of you see Kevin Durant thanking God ? When asked why he was on a roll and playing well lately he said, "Jesus Christ." The interviewer laughed and asked, "So you had nothing to do with it?" And he did not claim to.  Amen!!! I am praying for him today, as he is persecuted for giving God credit, that he will stay strong in the Lord and know that all who are godly will suffer persecution (2 Tim. 3:12), and I am thanking God for the glory He was shown through the boldness of Kevin Durant.

That is why I still run.  The Lord has taught me so much through running.  And you know what? I believe he created us as humans with the ability to run for that reason (Heb.12:1-2, 1 Cor. 9:24,-27, 1 Tim. 4:8)! He created marriage to be a portrait of the gospel (Eph 5), palm trees and the cedars of Lebanon to show growth and unity in Christ (Ps. 92:12), fig trees to bear fruit like we should bear fruit (Mark 11, James 3:12, Matt. 7:17-19, John 15), our body to need water and bread to show us our dependency on Him (Deut.8:3).... and so much more! None of these are coincidences that we brilliantly find in our life on earth and turn to a metaphor in the Bible. Don't you see that God made it that way to glorify HIM? He is in ALL things (Col. 1:17).  We CAN run and glorify Him at the same time, and if we, as believers, ran and did not, then we should no longer do it. Look at Ryan and Sara Hall. I thank the Lord often for the way they serve Him.

Recipes for 2: One with a BIG appetite and One with a Healthy appetite

So my husband used to be a thin, lean,  mid-distance running machine but since our collegiate careers were done, he moved on to body building. What??! Yea, so I have been learning a lot, and cooking is more of a challenge. However, I think I am getting the hang of it, and it's fun! This, also, can be helpful for anyone cooking for their man who simply just wants to eat more and less healthier than you. If you know anything about body building--I only know via Shane--most go through a Bulk/Cut phase in which they spend months working out hard and eating an extra amount of calories per day for the Bulk Phase.  For the cut phase, they still work out hard but eat extremely healthy and clean (that's what I am talking about!).  Supposedly, more gains will be made for the long term using this method than trying to gain lean muscle from the start.  Therefore, my goal is to make him MORE FOOD and by more I mean more than I initially think is a lot of food for one person.  Most of the time, I make him a full meal while I have something small like a salad or a protein smoothie if I just finished a run.  The following recipes are ones that I made for both of us at the same time for both of our individual tastes. Here is what I mean:

My half of the pizza = veggie pizza in the leftover container for my lunch the next day :)

Veggie Pizza 1/2 + Bacon Pepperoni pizza 1/2

Ingredients:

One can of Pillsbury Wheat Pizza Dough

One can of Pizza Snack Sauce (I used Kroger brand)

Desired amount of pepperonis 

Raw Kale leaves--- maybe 3 stems

Chopped 1/2 green bell pepper

Chopped 1/4 white onion

Shredded Parmesan Cheese

Shredded Mexican cheese

2 Pieces of lightly cooked bacon

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375.  Roll out dough to desired thickness.  Place on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the dough rises a bit in the middle. 

2. Chop bell pepper and onions. Wash kale and chop leaves to thin strips.

3. Cook bacon in microwave for two minutes with a paper towel underneath and on top.  This saves the mess in the skillet and keeps it from getting too well done before going into the oven. Chop into bite pieces. ( I actually chopped them before I cooked them )

4.  Spread pizza sauce over entire pizza. To one half, add onions, kale, bell pepper, and top with Parmesan cheese. I added a few pepperonis as well.

5. To the other half, add bacon and cheddar cheese with pepperonis on top.

6. Bake the additional time as explained on the Pillsbury can or until golden brown.

Shane and I loved our halves ! The kale tasted just like spinach and was yummy! I did try to make the dough from scratch in the past, but it made our stomach hurts. The Pillsbury wheat is just too easy and good, so we will stick to that. I had leftovers for the next day while Shane's was just enough for his dinner.  

Cinnamon-Sugar Pancakes + Almond Chia Pancakes:

We make breakfast for dinner a lot usually when my creativity level is LOW. You can easily guess whose was whose. Obviously, I could not make these at the same exact time, but it did have similar ingredients and tools in the kitchen.  Thus, it helped save double the mess and time. I literally made up the almond chia recipe and expected it to be just O.K. I was surprised at how delicious it was, and Shane even tasted them and liked them (not usual).  I have had chia gel in my fridge which I have been using every day in something such as smoothies or oatmeal. Here's how:  http://eatingwithpurpose.com/2011/10/how-to-make-chia-gel/

Ingredients for Cinnamon-Sugar Pancakes:

Bisquick pancake mix: according to the box to make 8-11 pancakes

-milk

-1 egg

-vegetable oil

Cinnamon

Sugar

Butter

Powdered Sugar

Hungry Jack's Butter syrup

Directions: 

Every thing is according to the box. Just make cinnamon-sugar in a small pinch bowl. I kept adding until I got the mix to a neutral color.  For Shane, the sweeter the better. I spread butter on top of each pancake and sprinkled powdered sugar on top of the snack.  The amount of syrup was in his reign!

Here's the Challenge..

Ingredients for Almond Chia Pancakes:

1/3 c of Almond Meal/Flour

2/3 c of all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 egg

9 tbsp. of chia gel

2/3 c of milk

1 tbsp of oil

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients.

2. Add egg, chia gel, milk, and oil and mix until consistent.

3. Add to the skillet and done ! 

I did use the same syrup instead of making my own. (Sometimes I do this with honey orange juice and salt) It was great.  The pancakes look like little potato cakes, but once you add the syrup, it's hard to tell the difference.   I am interested to try this recipe without the egg and the oil and with more chia gel.  It seems, from what I have read about them, that you can substitute them and make it even more healthier! I am sure it would not taste as good, if you're standard of good is to taste like a normal unhealthy pancake.  I wish I had pictures of these, but we ate them too fast!! Mine were enough to have leftovers for the next day-- it also made about 8-11 cakes depending on size.  Shane ate all of his at one sitting though. Yes, I made him enough ! 

My first Blog Entry = Our Love Story

My name is Jennifer Brogdon, and on October 5th, 2013, I married my college sweetheart and  track & field/cross country teammate--Mr. Shane Brogdon.  So, yes, we are still thriving on being Newlyweds, discovering through trial and error how to keep the house clean and cook good (meaning BOTH of us like it) meals while loving each other more and more only through the grace given to us by God.  He is a Birmingham, AL boy who came to run at Mississippi College as did this hometown girl.  Shane came in as a freshman when I was a junior (oops) and was crazy good-looking and fast. One day, my senior year during track season--meaning I am about to graduate--he decides to sit by me on the bus to a far far away (as usual) track meet.  In the past, I was so wrapped up with my studies-- pre-dental/med biological sciences major who did not use it to go to either of those careers-- that I rarely did much outside of practice, studying, and the group of girl friends I had already made before I decided to join the team my sophomore year. Needless to say, this was my first REAL conversation with the guy and turns out he was good-looking, fast, and LOVED JESUS! Can we say perfect match? And, hello, he told me he desired to be a missionary. I have only desired to be a missionary since I was five years old! Yea, so, I began falling in love after that night and thanked the Lord so much for bus trips and all of the good conversations we had. 

4 months into our relationship, I took off and moved to Switzerland!! Ofcourse, it had nothing to do with him, ha, I had been planning this for a year before our first REAL conversation. So why Switzerland??? God led me as a missionary through YWAM to the base in Lausanne, Switzerland  ( http://www.ywamlausanne.com/ ) Then, I moved to Burkina Faso and Mali in West Africa and traveled to Italy as well. So..... I was gone for a total of 6 months.  There will be more details about this journey in further blog posts. Even though it has now been 2 years (wow), I cannot NOT share this time in my life.  I kept running, too, and DUH. Here's a glimpse:

Our first Swiss event! Culture shock.. but a good, fun shock.

This was the home of us and ~80 more YWAMers. A 5 story building full of love and people from all over the world.

After YWAM, I decided to come back to Mississippi and use my last year of cross country and track eligibility-- since I did not join the team until my sophomore year.  And... Shane was now a senior on the team, so I enrolled as a graduate student and got TESOL certified ( http://www.tesol.org/ ). Together, Shane and I both ended up having the best collegiate running seasons ever.  I could not have done it without him.  He definitely could have done it without me because he is just good like that, but I never EVER could have done it without him yelling my splits and pushing me to my limits.  Shane went to NCAA Div. III track nationals that year.  I went to nationals in cross country my junior year.  However, my last cross country and track seasons were the best, hitting PR's in every distance, but the national level was in better shape as well (figures).  Here are recaps of both:

 My sweet teammates threw me a party before I left for Nationals. This really makes me feel old.. 2009..wow.

It was filled with goodies and encouragement!

A full dinner and... Ice Cream Cake. I cannot say I ate much of it since it was Race Week, but it sure was pretty !

My thoughts: "I actually feel like a college runner and not just a small DIII school runner. NCAA logos everywhere!"

We felt pretty welcome getting off the plane. Thanks Cleveland! 

And the finish.... Let's just say I finished.  I am the one in the navy and white--the farthest in the pic.

Coach and I freezing before the race.  I have yet to find those black Asics' pants--my fave. I hope you're enjoying them Cleveland. 

I was blessed to accompany Shane to his National track meet. 

The most beautiful track we had ever personally been to! UW-La Crosse

And.. we visited Chicago on the way home. We called Coach our Chauffeur.