Lindsey's Marathon

Our teammate Lindsey ran the Chicago marathon this past weekend. Please read how Lindsey put Philippians 4:13 in action! I couldn't be more excited to serve alongside someone with a spirit and faith like Lindsey's! Beth
Here's what she wrote us:

Hello All,

I just wanted to send you guys an email to say thanks so much for all the support and encouragement with my marathon in Chicago this past weekend. It was truly the best race I have ever ran despite the 82 degree weather. I finished in 3:45:20, nearly 2 minutes faster than my first marathon at Disney back in January of this year. I ran sub 8 minutes miles for the first 8 miles and then paced with the 3:40 team (3:40 means the group was on pace to finish the marathon in 3 hours, 40 minutes). 3:40 is a special time because that is the qualifying time for women to get entry into the Boston marathon, the most prestigious marathon in the world in my opinion. After about 2 miles with the 3:40 group, I pushed on ahead of them. At mile 19, I had to stop and walk because my hip was killing me. The 3:40 group passed me and so did my dreams of qualifying for Boston at this race. No worries. There are many many races to come to achieve this dream.

I want you all to know God did some amazing things during this race. Specifically, I was under trained for this race. I had experienced some problems with my calf during training and had topped out at 15 miles even though every runner should at least go for 18-20 miles as their longest run before a marathon. Bottom line, I was under prepared and very nervous about my calf. But God provided. I met a wonderful Puerto Rican guy at the start line who I paced with for 8 miles. It was comforting that I did not start the race without someone beside me. In addition, during mile 5 my calf started cramping and I thought I would not be able to keep going. I prayed about it and God removed the pain. My calf didn't bother me the rest of the race!!!! In addition, there was a guy waving the South African flag at mile 9 and I bumped into a guy wearing a t-shirt with South Africa written on the back at mile 19. I also want y'all to know that I dedicated my miles to all my friends and family. It helps me get through them easier. See below for the mile I ran for you. God revealed Himself in so many other ways during the race but this email is already pretty long. Thanks again and I can't wait to see y'all this weekend for dinner.

Lindsey

Mile 1 - God
Mile 2 - my mom Carol
Mile 3 - my dad Chester
Mile 4 - my brother David
Mile 5 - my boyfriend Michael
Mile 6 - Melissa
Mile 7 - my friend Kristen who was also running a marathon in North Carolina that day
Mile 8 - my friend Kallie who is also a marathoner and couldn't be there with me
Mile 9 - Angie
Mile 10 - Vironetta and her brother
Mile 11 - Katie D
Mile 12 - Katie R
Mile 13 - Jodi
Mile 14 - Julie
Mile 15 - JoAnna
Mile 16 - Kim
Mile 17 - Beth
Mile 18 - Jennifer
Mile 19 - Jeff
Mile 20 - Ben
Mile 21 - David
Mile 22 - Justin
Mile 23 - Tremain
Mile 24 - Allison
Mile 25 - South Africa
Mile 26.2 - God