Friday Five: Scripture for the What-Ifs

Running is full of the exhilarating unknown. Hanging over every race are questions of whether we trained enough, fueled correctly, rested adequately. And each time we step up to the starting line, we have the chance to outdo our expectations, to run a personal record, to place in our age group.

The unknowns of everyday life are somewhat harder for me to handle, and nothing has made me more aware of this than jumping into motherhood. If I let it, worry over all the things I can't know and can't control about my pregnancy and delivery will cripple me. And pregnancy worries are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the unknown, uncontrollable, and unexpected in parenting.

A Facebook friend linked to this blog post last week. It was just what I needed to read, a reminder of truth I know but all too often cast aside in fear.

And it reminded me God's word is overflowing with promises and reminders to combat every kind of fear and worry. Here are five of my favorite:

1. Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

My absolute favorite; the words I repeat when I catch myself caught up in worry. Every time, I am astounded anew by the phrase "in every situation." That means even the small things, and to me, that means so much.

2. Philippians 4:19

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

3. Psalm 91

The entire Psalm describes the Lord's protection, but my favorite verses are 11 and 12: For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

4. Jeremiah 29:11-12

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.

5. Matthew 6: 25-27

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

Share your favorite scriptures for dealing with worry in the comments!

Friday Five: Pregnancy Cravings

People keep asking if I've had any cravings yet. And the answer is...sort of, I guess.

Before I was pregnant, I thought a pregnancy craving was a sudden, urgent need to eat a strange combination of foods. Like pickles and ice cream. Maybe it is that way for some, but for me, so far, it's been things that I just want to eat more often than normal.

1. Pizza. I've talked myself out of ordering delivery almost every night this week. I'm not telling my craving no, I'm just holding out as long as possible. I know I'll give in eventually, and it will be delicious. (Also I've been holding out for a day that I go for a longish run, because sometimes cinnamon sticks find their way into my order. I have no idea how this happens).

2. Cheeseburgers. If I'm driving home from church or anywhere, really, and I'm hungry, it's almost always for cheeseburgers. Mmmmm, cheeseburgers.
Which reminds me of this:

Oh, Veggie Tales. You take me back.

3. Quiche. Finally, a more healthy craving. A friend recently had me over for quiche and  sent me home with two slices. I ate them both for dinner and I have no regrets. And then I had to make one for myself because I just wanted more.

4. Bagels with cream cheese. We live near a bagel shop. Specifically, one of El Paso's The Bagel Shop locations. Their bagels are perfect. And they have so many bagel varieties! Before the pregnancy, bagels were a weekend treat. Now I keep them in my fridge and try not to eat them every single day.

5. Whatever my neighbors are grilling. Seriously neighbors: hungry pregnant lady nearby! Please invite me to your house to eat whatever smells so delicious when I'm walking my dogs in the evenings. I'll even bring dessert!

I noticed none of my cravings are for sweets--odd, since non-pregnant me has not one sweet tooth, but a mouthful of sweet teeth. Pregnancy is weird.

Friday Five: Books I'm Looking Forward to Reading

Not all of these are brand-new or coming out soon, but they're all new to me!

1) Eat Move Sleep: How Small Choices Lead to Big Changes by Tom Rath

This came out October 8th, and I just got on the waiting list for it at the library. It's a look at how eating, moving, and sleeping affect our health, along with practical, research-based ideas for maximizing the ways we benefit from them.

2) The Essential Sheehan: A Lifetime of Running Wisdom from the Legendary Dr. George Sheehan 

If you're a runner, there's a good chance you've heard of George Sheehan. A past medical editor of Runner's World magazine and the author of several books on running, he has no doubt had a profound impact on the sport. This new collection of his best running articles comes out October 29th.

3) The Sports Gene: Inside the Science of Extraordinary Athletic Performance by David Epstein 

Out since August, this is one I'm really excited about! It's a discussion of genetics and sports performance and the questions we have all wondered about as athletes: What makes someone great at their sport? How much of an athlete's ability is nature, and how much nurture? Why can two athletes complete the same training and respond differently?

4) Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation by Michael Pollan
Pollan's new book came out in April, but I hadn't heard of it until yesterday. Having enjoyed his earlier books on food, I'm interested in his take on cooking. In Cooked, he writes of his experiences learning from masters of a wide variety of culinary techniques, and comments on our modern removal from food preparation by relying on the food industry to do much of it for us.

5) David and Goliath: Underdogs, Misfits, and the Art of Battling Giants by Malcolm Gladwell
I always learn something when I read Malcolm Gladwell, and I expect his new book to be no exception. His exploration of the history and science of underdogs was published October 1.

Bonus: The Pioneer Woman Cooks: A Year of Holidays: 140 Step-by-Step Recipes for Simple, Scrumptious Celebrations by Ree Drummond
I didn't include this in the five, because it's a cookbook and not technically a book you read (though I have been known to actually read my cookbooks). If you don't read The Pioneer Woman, you really should. Her writing is hilarious, her recipes are delicious, and her photos are gorgeous. I'm sure her new holiday cookbook will be more of the same! Look for it October 29.

Friday Five: Running Things I Love that I Didn't Know I'd Need A Few Years Ago

Long title, but I couldn't think of a better way to phrase it. I ran my first marathon in 2008, and realized that since then, I've somehow become more pro-gear.

1. Hydration Pack. For hiking? Yes. Biking? It could be handy. But running? Honestly, just a few years ago, I would have laughed at the runner who purchased a pack just for running. Gear snob, I would have scoffed, feeling smug in my running-purist status. But then, I signed up for a marathon. And found myself trying to line up water stops on my long runs--a manageable feat in College Station, where I lived at the time. I could hit parks with water fountains and campus buildings that I knew would be open on the weekends or early in the mornings. After a while though, the same routes got old, and I resorted to a hand-me-down Camelback that slid and slapped around on my back. When I got myself a Nathan hydration pack designed for runners last year, I learned what I had been missing. It's perfect for long trail runs and non-runner-friendly cities. And I even carry it on shorter runs sometimes because it's perfect for carrying my...

2. iPhone. One thing I always said I would never run with is headphones. And strictly speaking, I still do not run with headphones. For one thing, I think they can be dangerous whether you run on trails or on the road. But because the iPhone plays things aloud, sans headphones, and because my Nathan has a nifty little pocket perfectly sized for the iPhone, I can take the tunes or a book along and still be able to hear my surroundings. Carrying it also makes me feel safer on solitary runs in isolated places.

3. Gels and chews. Same as the hydration pack--until I was doing long enough runs, I thought they were just an expensive gimmick. I still think they're overpriced, and, using some recipes I've found online, I'm going to experiment with making my own for those times I just can't stomach whole foods on a run. More to come on this later!

4. Expensive socks. This has more to do with being cheap thrifty than anything, but I buy my socks in packs at places like Walmart and wear them until they are visibly done. I currently own and wear socks purchased at least five years ago. But...last year, Runner's World sent me a pair of Thorlo Experia socks to try out (if you sign up to take their surveys, occasionally Runner's World will mail you things to test). I loved them. When I went to buy some more, I found out they cost fifteen dollars! Who pays that much for socks?? Many runners, apparently. I have two pairs for long runs, races, or blister control, because they're great, but for shorter runs I stick to my cheap socks.

5. Running hat. Possibly, this is more of an El Paso thing than a running thing, because I happily ran for many years without a hat. Without sunglasses most of the time, too. But the sun seems to be 8 million percent brighter here, and most of the time there is no shade. Now I wear the hat no matter where I'm running, unless it's going to be dark the whole time.

There are probably some other things that make my running life easier that I didn't know about a few years ago. I love improvements in running technology and trying out new gear, but often it's fun to leave it all behind and run without even a watch.

Friday Five: Favorite Running Books

I love running. And I love reading. So reading about running--yes, please! Sometimes a good running book is just what I need to boost my motivation.

1. Once A Runner (and Again to Carthage) by John L. Parker, Jr.

The only fiction on this list (why don't we have more fiction about running?), Once a Runner and its sequel chronicle the adventures of Quenton Cassidy, a college miler and later an Olympic marathon hopeful. I picked up a copy at a used book store after reading about the author in Runner's World. It sat on my bookshelf for a few years, until I discovered the new sequel, purchased it, and determined to read them both. The fictional Cassidy's dedication is so inspiring that for a few weeks after reading the books, I tried to run two-a-days.

 2. Born to Run by Christopher McDougall

Part adventure story, part scientific query, Born to Run began as the author's quest to run without pain, a journey that took him to the Tarahumara Indians in the Copper Canyons of Mexico. It's a fascinating read, and taught me more about running than I've ever learned from a single book.

3. Bowerman and the Men of Oregon by Kenny Moore

I tend to buy books and let them sit on my shelf indefinitely, and this was one of those. When I finally picked it up, I couldn't believe I'd waited so long. It's lengthy, but worth it--Bill Bowerman's story deserves this many words. From his coaching career to his revolutionary running shoe creation, there are no dull moments. It made me miss track, running fast, and having a coach and a team.

4. What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by Haruki Murakami

The Japanese novelist Murakami started running when he started writing full-time, and here he recounts highlights from his running life and muses about the intersection of running and writing in his life. So many running memoirs are written by the best-of-the-best, front-of-the-packers, and, while inspiring, aren't very relatable. This is a refreshing change, written by a runner who runs not to win, but to enjoy running.

5. Eat and Run by Scott Jurek

There are a lot of elite-runner-memoirs out there, and I've read several and liked a few. This is the only one I liked enough to put on this list. One reason is that while Jurek is decidedly elite, he also comes across as real. As in, he's honest about the work he puts in and how hard it is, and that maybe he doesn't enjoy every excruciating bit of what it takes to be a standout ultrarunner, but that, to quote him, "Sometimes you just do things." Another reason is that he's vegan, and while I'm not vegan or even vegetarian, veganism fascinates me, and I've lately been trying to eat fewer animal products. So I like that there are recipes in this book--his chili recipe is the only one I use anymore!

Introducing: The Friday Five

Let’s face it: I’m not the greatest at keeping up with this blog. There is a large pile of reasons for that, but I won’t go into them all now. Instead, I decided to add a couple of weekly features that will give me something to write about consistently. And in between, I’ll try to get back to regular posting!

The first of these features is The Friday Five. I love lists! How hard is making a list? So every Friday, look for a new list—running-related or not, they will always be fun!

Top Five Races on my “Running Bucket List”

1. Leadville 100: My husband and I got engaged on top of a mountain, Huron Peak, elevation 14,003 feet. It was awesome. (As he would say, "Go big or go home.") It was our first trip to Colorado together. Upon arriving at our campsite in the dark, we encountered an extremely friendly runner who had just spent the entire day running in preparation for the Leadville 100. On that trip, we also visited the city of Leadville, the highest city in the United States, which has a certain gritty charm.

Me, almost exactly four years ago.

Look at those mountains. I want to live here!

These encounters, along with everything I have since read about the race, in books like Born to Run and in race reports online, has only made me more eager to someday toe the starting line at Leadville.

2. Hardrock 100: I didn't know how much I loved southwestern Colorado's San Juan range until a camping trip with my friends took me there last summer. It's truly beautiful. The Hardrock course starts and finishes in Silverton, gaining and losing over 33,000 feet in elevation, and topping out at the 14,048 foot summit of Handies Peak. It sounds brutal.

3. Palo Duro Canyon Ultra: One of my favorite Texas State Parks, Palo Duro Canyon was a stop on many family camping trips growing up. I can't wait to run here again.

4. The Boston Marathon: Even though I've concluded I enjoy trail running more than road racing, I would race a road marathon again if it meant qualifying for Boston. I don't love huge, crowded races, but this is one I want to run once in my life.

5. Western States 100: For someone who has never run 100 miles, I feel like I have a lot of 100-milers in my top five. Aiming high, I guess! Western States is the world’s oldest 100-mile trail race, started in 1974 in California, and has a reputation for being one of the toughest.

What's on your running bucket list? Share in the comments!