My Testimony

Hello Beautiful people,

I hope everyone is enjoying their Friday! Today I wanted to take some time and discuss how I came to my faith. In high school my friends would always share their testimony on how they found Jesus. I was always too scared because I felt like my testimony was not “profound” enough.  I finally learned that as long as you found Jesus that is profound enough. Well here is my testimony and I hope you enjoy it!

Have a blessed weekend!

Jamie

You Are What You Eat Pt 1

Happy hump day!

            I hope everyone is having a wonderful Wednesday! I love food and I have always struggled with deciding what to eat before a workout or meet. After four years of being an avid runner, I have come up with these helpful tips and I hope they benefit all of my fellow athletes:

·      Eat carbs: This was a major food group that was stressed to athletes in my sport’s teams. In cross-country we would always have spaghetti dinners the night before a meet. Eating carbs the night before creates and stores energy that is beneficial for a quick and fast workout. The best foods for this group would include whole wheat noodles, bread, rice, oats and even potatoes.

·      Light meals: In the summer I highly enjoy running in the early morning. The down side of running in the morning is you usually don’t have food in your system. I have tried many different choices on what to eat before a workout but my greatest piece of advice has been small meals.

Normally in the morning I am not hungry but I usually force myself to eat. My pre-workout meal normally consists of one plain toasted Eggo waffle and a half of a banana. This meal is just heavy enough for me to get some substance to gain energy and not vomit during the workout.

·      Water: Water is a runner’s best friend. Every since I have become a runner/athlete, water has been an essential part of my life. Some people believe that if you just drink water slightly before and after a workout you will stay hydrated. That is not true. The best way to stay hydrated is to drink water constantly though out the day. My coach used to always say “if you don’t have water on you, you aren’t a true athlete”, and I now take that very seriously.

The best rule of thumb on drinking water is that you should drink fluid ounces of water according to a specific formula.  Women should drink their body weight * .31.  Men should drink their body weight * .35.  (This is according to Runners World). It is totally acceptable to drink more but try to drink no less than this amount.  The benefits of drinking water are less cramps and just an all around better workout.

Since I have been in college and I don’t get to enjoy meals with my family I seem to miss out on praying before a meal. The verse that my family would reference during our prayers was Luke 22:19-20 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and break [it], and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me.”

Praying before you eat may seem like a hassle and awkward at times but it is humbling to take a step back and be thankful for what we are blessed with. I challenge you this week to when you are grabbing a quick snack in between classes or eating food in the union to just take 30 seconds and say a quick prayer thanking Jesus for the food you are receiving.

Have a blessed rest of the week!

Jamie

Night Runner

Happy Monday!

I hope everyone is enjoying this wonderful and rainy day! On my last post I discussed generic running safety, but today I am going to be discussing night-time running safety!

1. The most important thing to remember is to wear bright and/or reflective clothing. When I am driving around after dark it amazes me how many people are walking and running in all black! I understand black is a popular color for running tights and quarter zips, but it’s not safe.

My suggestion is to wear bright colored clothing. I know for a fact that Under Armour and Nike make very cute neon running apparel. They are bright and it makes it easier for you to be seen.

2. I would also suggest wearing some type of reflective garment. The handy thing about reflective is that they are on most running apparel. Most of the time they are on running shoes, quarter zips and some tights. But your best bet is to wear an arm band with a reflective strip. Wearing this allows cars to see where you are running.

3. The most important tip, though, is running in well lit areas. Especially at night, make sure you are running on public streets, neighborhood sidewalks or anywhere there are street lights. But in general, just use your best judgment!

The Bible verse that I chose today is Psalm 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”. I have had to make a lot of career changing choices recently due to college class enrollment and it has been stressing me out. It has nothing to do with working out, but it is always helpful to remember he is always there and looking out for you.

Have a blessed rest of your week,

Jamie

Safely yours

Hello!

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I want to talk about some running safety tips. There are many important tips but here are two important tips:

1.     I know I have already mentioned it, but make sure you run with a buddy. There have been numerous accounts of people being abducted while running alone. It doesn’t even matter if it is in the early morning, middle of the day, or late at night, you should always run with a buddy. I am very guilty at running alone, but I am working on it. If you insist on running alone just make sure you run in broad daylight on open streets.

2.     I have a very hard time doing this, but don’t run with headphones in. The danger of running with headphones is that you aren’t aware of your surroundings. When running with music you are unaware of the honking, the jibber-jabber, and the pain. If you aren’t aware of honking, you could possibly cross the street and not be aware of a car coming towards you.  Also by not hearing people, you could become startled when people are behind you. Most importantly you could miss hearing your friends say hello as they drive past.

Safety may be annoying at times, but remember it can be life-saving.

The bible verse that I chose this week is 2 Corinthians 4:9: “We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed.” It has been a very difficult few weeks for me. I have been through failure, disappointment and sadness. Sadly at times I felt like I had nothing left. But God is always there to pick us up no matter what situation we encounter.

Have a blessed day,

Jamie

OMG shoes

Greetings,

The week is over, finally. This week I wanted to take time to discuss my favorite topic about running…shoes. I love shoes. I love heels, flats, boots and especially running shoes.

Out of all of the running gear you can own, shoes are the most important. For good running shoes you need to have ones that have good support, are comfortable and most importantly fit your feet. In my running experience I have used many different brands of shoes. But my two favorites are Asics and Saucony. They all have good and bad qualities but they are both fantastic shoes.

Asics: Asics shoes are wonderful. They come in bright colors, are comfortable, and make running more fun. Asics are known for many qualities. But their most well-known trait is balance.

Some shoes can make you unbalanced and mess up your form. With added balance support, your form is improved and you will probably have a lower chance of injury. The only caveat is that most Asics shoes “run” over $100. At first glance this could seem like an overpriced pair of shoes.  But to be honest they are worth the money.

Saucony: Saucony is my all-time favorite shoe brand. My favorite thing about this brand is the fact that they fit my feet. I have tiny feet, very tiny feet. Sometimes it’s hard to find shoes that fit correctly. But I always have good luck with Saucony running shoes.

 I also love them because they are reasonably priced. Some of them are very expensive, just like Asics, but a lot of them are reasonably priced. The “all-purpose running shoes” are priced from $55-$150.

One thing my coaches drilled into my mind was when to get new shoes. Most people get new shoes when they just start to look dirty. That is not always the case. With running shoes it is important to change shoes every season (winter, fall…etc.) in order to avoid shin splints. 

This week I chose to discuss Psalm 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path”. This is one of my all-time favorite verses because it perfectly describes my view on running shoes as well as Jesus Christ.  Running shoes are the most important part in a running sport.  Without them, you would be in pain and not a cheerful person. The same goes for Jesus! Without him in your life, you will be lost.

Shoes are the window to a girl’s soul and the same goes for Jesus. Without him you will not know your potential and won’t know how blessed you actually are.

Have a great week,

Jamie

Shunga Trail

Salutations,

            Kansas sure has been blessing us with some beautiful yet confusing weather. Some days it is cold and rainy and others it is sunny and beautiful. No matter what the weather it is always a beautiful day for a run!

I recently got a request from a fellow blogger to discuss different running trails and routes around the lovely city of Topeka.

I haven’t explored much of Topeka for trails but the trail that I have explored is the “Shunga Trail”.

I adore the “Shunga Trail” for several reasons…

1     1. It is close to the Washburn campus. One habit that people frequently get into is driving somewhere to run. In some situations, it is necessary but I absolutely love doing something that is close by and absolutely free.

With a trail so close you can either do an easy warm up jog or walk on your way to the trail. Once you get to the trail you can stretch and begin your relaxing trail run.

2  2. It is aesthetically appealing. Some running trails may be “run down”, covered in trash and just down right ugly. The “Shunga Trail” is just the opposite.  It is cute, quaint and goes through a little park.  One can’t help but relax while they run on this trail.

3  3.  It shows you how far you have run. Some running trails might have mile markers placed on the side. One unique trait of this trail is that there are red stripes painted on the trail. The red stripes indicate a fourth of a mile. For example, if a runner passes four red stripes, they have run a mile.

One important thing to always remember while running is being safe.  Running in groups of two or more is safer than running solo.  

At times it may be inconvenient but it is crucial.  Some people may not be social runners but if you run on a trail it is always in your best interest to run with a buddy or two. Having a buddy will even make the run more exciting.

Running with a buddy is important. But even if you can’t find someone to run with just remember that Jesus is always with you. The Bible states “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of age” Matthew 28:20. God is always there for you, no matter if you are on a run, at the grocery store, or even in class. He is and will always be there with you until the end of time.

God Bless!

Jamie