I hadn’t planned to write any blog updates while training for the 2026 Tuscaloosa Half Marathon. After writing one blog update a week for almost 12 weeks last year, I thought I needed a break from it just as much as anyone who might be reading them. You know - my husband who provides the grammar checks (and yes I have updated this current blog four more times since he corrected it), my mom who reads them because she’s my mom, and my friend Allison who makes me feel like the updates might provide a little bit of encouragement.

Allison, before you texted me on Wednesday morning this blog was already in it’s first draft – you’ve been on my mind so much this half marathon season and I am so grateful for your friendship and proud of you for having the courage to take on your first half marathon!

Over the last three months since running the Rocket City Marathon in 20-degree weather with a windchill of 14 degrees (#neverforget), I stopped “blogging.” Writing the blog updates sort of became a stressor because I personally couldn’t just write and post, maybe professional bloggers are able to do this quickly?

I personally was writing three or more drafts before posting as I was trying to tightly knit each of my thoughts together neatly and sensibly for someone who might be reading—something I don’t feel obligated to do when I am journaling privately. As a recovering perfectionist, I often must remind myself that done is better than perfect in many areas of my life. As I sit here updating this blog for the fourth or fifth time since Wednesday I think, I’ll do better next time lol!

I have literally been writing things down and journaling since I could hold a writing utensil and write sort of legibly. I enjoy going back and reading old journal entries because for me this is sort of like documentation of God’s work in my life. I love reading my old prayers and knowing how God delivered on the other side of things. While he didn’t always open the door I wanted (in fact he closed many), answer me in the way I thought was best, or respond on my timeline— God has always been faithful to his promises. It’s always a nice reminder to look back on challenging seasons and see how God used those times to ultimately draw me closer to him and further his kingdom.

LOL - I recently found old journal entries from 2002 where my biggest life goals at the time were to be a professional basketball player and meet Allen Iverson. While I would still be elated to meet “The Answer”, I am thankful the Lord had other things in store for me.

I have probably journaled more days than not during this 12-week training cycle for the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon. To the point that journaling has sort of become a warm-up for my entire day.  Here’s are some of my personal pearls I have picked up on in the last 3 months—trying to use some alliteration to make this blog a little more exciting. 

I have found running in this season of life to be cathartic as it helps me to purge some of my subconscious thoughts and deepest emotions. If that’s not the most millennial thing you’ve read today just wait!

Writing seems to help me process those feelings that seem to surface in my voluntary distress I like to call running.

I have found that going to therapy integrates my purging and processing well, as it helps me integrate those two actions and perceive my emotions in a way that leads to personal growth.  Now, that might be the most millennial thing you’ve read today.

All jokes aside, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again and again. Therapy is not for the weak minded. You go to your doctor when your physical health takes a blow. You go to the dentist to take care of your dental health. You go to your physical therapist to work on your muscle and bone health. Why not go to counseling/therapy to work on your mental health? While the stigma around mental health does seem to be decreasing, I still find that a lot of people don’t want to talk about it.

I’m here to say that counseling has helped me deal with postpartum anxiety that lasted well beyond life in the newborn trenches, workaholism, and perfectionistic tendencies tremendously over the last two years.

Last, but not least - prayer helps me to find something to praise in all of this.

Purge, process, perceive, praise.
Purge, process, perceive, praise.
Can you say that 10 times fast?

I saw my therapist after finishing the Rocket City Marathon and she asked me what I learned after running 26.2 miles in below freezing temperatures. My answer included three layers of lessons, consistent with the layers of clothing I wore on race day. After running her question threw my purge, process, perceive, praise method—here is what I came up with.

First layer:

I learned how to follow a 16-week training plan to run walk a marathon injury free. I learned how to dress for an Arctic race and not get frostbite. I learned how to keep my face from getting chapped and how to keep my Raynaud’s fingers warm for 4 hours 10 minutes and 18 seconds.

Second layer:

I learned I can do hard things. Less than 1% of the world’s population has completed a marathon. I have wondered what that percent is for running marathons in subfreezing temps, but that’s beside the point.

Heyward Gould is a local running celebrity (no better way to say it - sorry Heyward) in Tuscaloosa that has qualified and run in the Boston Marathon and the NYC Marathon. Occasionally on my Saturday long runs I would cross paths with Heyward on the River Walk. He literally ran so fast that I could feel a gust of wind go by with him when he passed me. On a hot humid day this was a nice breeze.

Heyward gave me great advice before the Rocket City Marathon that I continue to share with people who are starting their running journey. It doesn’t get easier; you just get faster.

I saw Heyward after I crossed the finish line at the Rocket City Marathon. We did not cross at the same time or even close as he had wrapped his race up about an hour before me. He had already finished the race, showered, changed, probably had a post-race meal, and time to walk back to the finish line and support the running community like he hadn’t just run 26.2 miles in the same conditions.

Heyward told me those were some of the worst conditions he had run in on race day and encouraged me to try another marathon in areas where the climate would be more favorable. I am not sure about another marathon, but hearing Heyward (the man, the myth, and the legend) say that confirmed that everyone who crossed the finish line that day could do hard things.

Third layer:

I learned I have a little voice inside of me called the “inner critic.” To me, my inner critic is one internalized voice representing only a few people of great impact (positive and negative) in my adolescence.

Until training for the marathon, I had always interpreted my inner critic as a source of positive influence only. After all, the voice was usually telling me to do better. Make better grades, score more points, jump higher, throw farther, be thinner, work harder etc.

What I have learned about the “little voice” once I purged, processed, and perceived – is that my inner critic is simply never satisfied. Therefore, whatever it is I’m striving for, it’s never enough.

My inner critic demands flawless performance in all aspects of my life: motherhood, career, and running/performance just to name a few. My inner critic is a taskmaster, calling me lazy for resting and pushing me to burn the candle at both ends to be able to “get it all done.” My inner critic tells me the more control I have, the less I have to fear. My inner critic tells me I’m good, but I’m not good enough.

During this Tuscaloosa Half Marathon training season, I’ve been practicing purge, process, perceive, and praise a good bit. While I rinse and repeat this method, I have learned that self-compassion is my greatest defense against the ugly side of my inner critic.

At first, I didn’t like the idea of practicing self-compassion. It seemed selfish and prideful to think about caring for myself when I have a lot of other people in my life that I need to care for. Self-compassion, at first, seemed like the antonym of humility to me.

Then we did this art exercise in therapy where I drew myself on a piece of paper and I had to write what I liked and didn’t like about myself. This sort of felt like a civil war where my inner critic attempted to annihilate me once and for all. Probably TMI, but it was a bit overwhelming to see how unkind I was to myself – so much so that I cried. I had zero self-compassion for myself, only harsh self-judgment and condemnation. Thankfully, in this same exercise I learned how to combat these negative thoughts with positive truth about myself, my first steps in self-compassion.

My inner critic says you can do better. Self-compassion says I’m doing my best.
My inner critic says you look out-of-shape. Self-compassion says I can lift heavy and run far, I can carry both of my girls shoeless from the playground to the car—I’m in great shape.
My inner critic says why you? Self-compassion says, why not me?
My inner critic says you must control everything. Self-compassion sings in an Elsa voice, “Let it go!”
My inner critic says you are not good enough. Self-compassion says I am enough.

Purge, process, perceive, and praise. What do I have to praise in this exercise?
I praise God for showing me more about his character.

During this inner critic journey, I have since learned that self-compassion is not self-seeking— it’s really an extension of God’s grace, love, and forgiveness to oneself. Bryan Duggan said, “How crucial it is to recognize that the voice of condemnation is not the voice of God. God’s voice is gentle, kind, encouraging, and invitational: He always brings us to growth through love, not through fear or shame.”

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful; I know that full well. - Psalm 139:14

I opened this document to write tips for those running not only the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon, but also their first Half Marathon…Allison, I am talking to you girl! As usual, I went off the beaten path a bit—but  I do promise I will come full circle in the end.

13.1 Tips to Unlock Your First Half Marathon

1. Taper your mileage – I learned this from Claire Golding, and it seems counterintuitive for newer runners, but it allows your body to rest and prepare for the big day. This was extremely helpful for my marathon!
2. Prepare to carb load – usually 2-3 days before race day, there is a lot of good material on the internet. Check out our instagram for specifics from Claire Golding, the running guru as I like to call her! It’s important to understand that carb loading is not just eating an entire pizza the night before race day.
3. Hydrate, but don’t overhydrate – again, there are good materials online about how, when, and what. Electrolytes are really important for these long-distance races, especially in warm and humid conditions.
4. Make sure you have your Race Day Fit ready – not just your clothes, but all the things you will have on your body. Watches, phone, headphones, nutrition, and running gear just to name a few. Think about this early in the week in case you need to grab something from your favorite local running store.
5. Check the weather – you may think you have the perfect outfit picked out (just like I did for the Rocket City Marathon), but find you need to make some changes depending on temperatures, precipitation, and humidity. We’ve had blistering sun, tornadoes, and snow in Alabama during a 48-hour period last week so understand that your outfit could be completely different than what you had originally imagined.
6. Look at the route ahead of time on google maps and drive it if you can – the Tuscaloosa Half Marathon is usually dreadful the first 6-8 miles as you are battling a slow grueling elevation. If you know your route ahead of time it won’t be such a shock to your system.
7. Get to the race in time to use the bathroom – Sure it’s important to get to the race for your warmup, but IMO getting there in time to use the bathroom once or twice is also of high importance. I get the nervous pees, I guess. Sometimes the lines are very long and the last thing you want to be worried about is if you’ll make it to the potty before the gun goes off.
8. Make sure your running applications are updated and your electronics are charged – nothing makes me more frantic than trying to set all this up before the race starts.
9. Pace yourself – if you’ve been training, you know what you are capable of on average. On race day there is certainly a window for peak performance but try to suppress the excitement and adrenaline rush at the beginning of the race to stay on pace.
10. Don’t try anything new on race day – take that for what it’s worth, but literally from your clothes to your running cadence, to the food you ingest – just stay the course.
11. Practice your race day smile – I am half kidding here but try to smile when you cross the finish line. If you don’t, the photographer will without a doubt capture your worst self to remain as your friend’s caller ID photo for eternity.  See below picture of me in pink LOL.
12. Have fun – remember at the end of the day, it’s just a race.
13. Remember to have gratitude and praise not just for crossing the finish line, but for the journey you’ve been on to get to race day – Crossing the finish line is an incredible feat, but the tough hours you have put in to get to race day are of equal (if not more) importance to your personal growth physically and mentally.Oh yeah and reason 13.1... Don’t forget you still have 0.1 miles to go when you see the 13-mile marker – if you don’t remember this, the last 0.1 miles will feel like the longest.

Purge, process, perceive, praise.
Rinse and repeat.

Psalms 139

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

1You have searched me, Lord,

and you know me.

2You know when I sit and when I rise;

you perceive my thoughts from afar.

3You discern my going out and my lying down;

you are familiar with all my ways.

4Before a word is on my tongue

you, Lord, know it completely.

5You hem me in behind and before,

and you lay your hand upon me.

6Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,

too lofty for me to attain.

7Where can I go from your Spirit?

Where can I flee from your presence?

8If I go up to the heavens, you are there;

if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.

9If I rise on the wings of the dawn,

if I settle on the far side of the sea,

10even there your hand will guide me,

your right hand will hold me fast.

11If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me

and the light become night around me,”

12even the darkness will not be dark to you;

the night will shine like the day,

for darkness is as light to you.

13For you created my inmost being;

you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

14I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

your works are wonderful,

I know that full well.

15My frame was not hidden from you

when I was made in the secret place,

when I was woven together in the depths of the earth.

16Your eyes saw my unformed body;

all the days ordained for me were written in your book

before one of them came to be.

17How precious to me are your thoughts, God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18Were I to count them,

they would outnumber the grains of sand—

when I awake, I am still with you.

19If only you, God, would slay the wicked!

Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!

20They speak of you with evil intent;

your adversaries misuse your name.

21Do I not hate those who hate you, Lord,

and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?

22I have nothing but hatred for them;

I count them my enemies.

23Search me, God, and know my heart;

test me and know my anxious thoughts.

24See if there is any offensive way in me,

and lead me in the way everlasting.