10!

In my last post I wrote about not having motivation and wondering if my running days were numbered.  I was just running mechanically but not enjoying it. 

Now I’m happy to say the times they are a changin’! 

I had to ramp up my 3.1-mile runs to 6.2 to prepare for the midnight race I’ve run on July 3 the last few years and then I didn’t want to lose that fitness by dropping back to 3.1, so I held steady at 6.2 for most of my runs although the summer heat and humidity were ridiculous even before dawn.

After contemplating if I should attempt a half-marathon in December, two months ago I took the plunge and signed up for one!  It was exciting and scary at the same time, but there’s a saying that if your dreams don’t scare you they aren’t big enough.  This one scared me so it’s just the right size - big enough to require work to achieve, but still manageable. 

I have a good plan of increasing my distance by a mile every 2 weeks.  Having a goal race to train for has given me back my motivation!  The summer months are just so hot and humid in Florida and I didn’t take that into account when I was feeling so discouraged.  I was going through a dry spell and I’m glad I persevered. 

Last Saturday was scheduled to be 10 miles, the longest distance I’ve ever run.  I ran it and lived to tell about it!

I ran 10 miles, y’all!  10!

I also run on Tuesdays and Thursdays but don’t have the time for long runs then.  They’re less than 4 miles but they keep me in shape so that I don’t become a weekend warrior and risk injury. 

This past Saturday was also scheduled to be a 10-mile run.  When I got to our meeting point I immediately realized I’d forgotten my fuel belt.  It holds four 8-ounce bottles in which I usually have water, juice, smoothie, or protein drink.  It also has a pouch where I keep honey for quick energy.  My heart dropped.  I would have to do 10 miles with only water and I immediately began trying to remember where on the course water fountains were.  Also, I usually bring a hamburger patty (protein) and chocolate protein drink for after my run and I had remembered neither.  I’m going to have to set my fuel belt on my purse the night before these long runs so I don’t forget it.  Or set an alarm on my phone to remember it.  Or both.

 

 

Then I remembered that when I mapped out our route the night before, our turnaround point would be right at a convenience store.  I tucked away my debit card so I could buy something there and decided to make the best of it.  I had previously been fueling every 30 minutes on long runs and over the last month or so had stretched it to 45 minutes.  I’d really be stretching it now!  It would be well over an hour before I refueled.  Well, what could I do?  We started running and I drank water at the first fountain we came to, about 3 miles in.  That wasn’t so bad.  I do almost 4 miles on Tuesdays and Thursdays with no water or any other fuel. 

We’d had to add about half a mile early on due to unforeseen circumstances so our turnaround point came sooner than I had planned.  We hit 5 miles but the convenience store was still about a mile ahead.  If we turned back at 5 miles there would be no fuel at all except more water.  If we continued on we’d add a mile there and a mile back and make our total distance 12 miles instead of 10.  “Oops!  We accidentally ran 12 miles,” we’d have to say.  J

We decided to go on to the store and get some fuel.  I chose coconut water with pineapple and a banana except that they were 2 for $1 so I got two.  I ate one right away and drank some coconut water.  Then I was left with carrying the bag, the other banana, and the carton of coconut water, which was a little awkward but I had to make it work.  I hoped I could find someone struggling and offer him or her my banana.  Or a homeless person.  I found neither and ended up carrying both items all the way back to the car.  Amanda folded up the bag and put it in her fuel belt.  She hadn’t forgotten hers.  J

It wasn’t until we were about 1-1/2 miles into our return trip that I realized I hadn’t restarted my music.  So God was orchestrating it that I ran so long without fuel *and* without music.  What was going on???

Here’s what was going on.  In the Bible is the story of Gideon, a man who was not great in his family, his community, or his country.  Nothing distinguished him.  In fact, he seemed rather puny and even cowardly.  One day an angel greeted him and called him a mighty warrior.  That certainly wasn’t how Gideon saw himself!  Later on, Gideon became an army leader.  He had gathered 32,000 soldiers to fight their oppressing enemies.  God said that was too many and that if they won the soldiers would boast that they had done it themselves and not give credit to God.  Gideon told the soldiers that if anyone was scared he could go home.  Then 22,000 took him up on the offer!  God said even 10,000 was too many and to conduct a test.  Only 300 men passed the test and the rest were sent home.  With 300 soldiers Gideon stood still and watched the enemy soldiers destroy themselves in chaos and confusion!  God had taught him that he could get by on and be victorious with much less than he had thought.

That’s what God was showing me.  Having and using a fuel belt isn’t wrong; in fact, it’s a very good idea, but I can’t trust in it.  I need to trust in God and His ability to sustain me. 

Later Amanda and I decided we could cut out a loop we did earlier and not make the run 12 miles.  Then we would decide at 10 what to do.  Ten miles came and we decided to go to 10-1/2.  At 10-1/2 we were so close to where we started that we decided to just run to that spot and then stop.  We ended up running a total of 10.67 miles!  More than half a mile farther than we had planned.  And we’re both still alive to tell about it!

I had the thought the day before this run to get breakfast afterward and now I *seriously* needed some nutrition!  There’s a nearby diner I’d gone to before and is good so I had checked their menu and found steak and eggs on the breakfast part.  Oh yeah!  Protein and protein!  Just what I need after a big workout!  I went there but the waitress said they’ve never had steak and eggs and she would have to look at their website and find out why that was on the menu posted there.  Sigh.  I settled for a 3-egg omelet, home fries, and a biscuit.  My running app said I had burned over 2000 calories on that 10.67-mile run so I should’ve been ravenous to replenish some of them.  I ate my biscuit, a few bites of home fries, and only half the omelet.  What?!  How can that be?  I don’t understand, but I’ve learned enough over the past 6 years to know to stop when my hunger is satisfied, not when I’m stuffed. 

The next two Saturdays are scheduled to be 11-mile days.  We’ll see God has in store and what He wants to teach me.  This is exciting!

To Run Or Not To Run?

I haven’t wanted to run for MONTHS but I’m still doing so, mostly mechanically.  Just running because I know it’s good for me.  In April I ran the Iron Girl 5K for a friend who was unable to run it after registering. 

I thought maybe racing instead of just training would be a shot in the arm, but it wasn’t.  There’s a long, high bridge in that race that I’ve run dozens of times but not in a couple years.  On my usual training runs there are no bridges or overpasses so I hadn’t trained for that.  I ran all the way up and down

 

but on the way back I had to walk part of the way up.  That was not a proud moment.  It was only a 5K, for goodness’ sake!  I shouldn't have to walk!  I did get a medal for finishing that run,

 

but it didn’t motivate me to get faster or to sign up for another race.

At Fitness Club last night we were doing a warmup - run the width of the half-basketball court,

run the walkway equal to the half-basketball court,

 

 

run up and then back down the stairs,

 

return to the court and do 2 laps of kneeups, then repeat.  We did this inside rather than our usual outside warmup because there had been a storm earlier and the sky still looked unstable.  After the second-time-around running portion, I was hoping for a storm in the morning so I didn’t have to run.  Oh, wait a minute.  Oops.  I was supposed to be doing kneeups and what was I doing instead?  I was…running.  While I was hoping I didn’t have to…run…in the morning.  Yet I was…running, not trying to get out of running.   

When the others let me know I was supposed to be doing kneeups I told them a little about how strange it was that I haven’t wanted to run for so long yet I keep running.  I’ve even wondered if I should really commit to running a half-marathon late this year.  Am I just wasting my time?  Has running run its course in my life?  Honestly, if I stopped running I would miss it at first but after a couple weeks of not running I would just look back fondly on this season of my life and be grateful for it but know that sometimes things come for a season and then leave and that’s okay.  The more I said things like this the more the others told me I should keep running (not instead of doing kneeups but in general).  They said I would regret stopping.  That’s true; I probably would.  The only workout or run I regret is the one I decide not to do.  If I decide not to do a half, the day will come for the one I have in mind and I won’t be prepared and I won’t be running, and I’ll regret it.  I’ll be disappointed in myself, others will be disappointed in me, and most of all I’ll miss out on showing people what God can do with someone who lets Him have His way with her.  My body doesn’t belong to just me.  It also belongs to God who made it, and He has shown me over and over the last few years that He wants me to be an example of what He can do, so stopping running now would deprive the people He wants to reach of a visible example of His power. 

That certainly doesn’t mean I think I’m the ultimate human specimen.  Far…haa haa…far from…hee hee…far from it!  Oh my goodness, I am SO not putting myself out as having a perfect body. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!  Yes, I’ve lost a lot of weight, but I still have a lot more I’d like to lose.  I still have the evidence (loose skin on my tummy, bingo wings) of those excess pounds, and even though I’m technically running, it’s very slow.  I have practically 0 chance of ever placing in the top 3 of my age group in a race, much less winning one outright.  Even though I’m turning back the clock big time as someone once told me, the clock is still ticking.  I’m getting older.  My times are getting slower, I hate to admit.  I’m still moving, though, and that’s a big accomplishment from where I was before.  If I hadn’t begun walking and then running and had kept eating the way I used to I may have exploded by now.  I would certainly be much heavier than I was, more miserable, and of no help to anyone.   

So even though my body feels the effects of each run or workout I do, I’ll keep doing them.  I’ll keep moving this body as long as God allows me to and not let a dry period stop me.  I’ll run with perseverance the race God has set before me.  He hasn’t told me to stop running; that’s been my own inertia wanting to take over again. 

Thank you to Shane, Patty, Troy, and Frank for encouraging me at Fitness Club to not give up!  If you need some encouragement, join us on Monday nights from 7-8 at Calvary Chapel’s rec room and move your body for God’s glory.  All fitness levels are welcome and encouraged!  Shane will show you how to modify exercises to fit where you are now and encourage you to accept that but also push yourself to what you didn’t think you could do.  And it’s free!

Calvary Chapel Fitness Club 

I did run this morning.  There was no sign of a storm and no reason not to run.  There was no beautiful sunrise pic to show you of today’s run, though.  Some days there is and some days there isn’t.  That’s the way the cookie crumbles (pun intended).  Thankfully, I don’t let sunrises be the deciding factor in whether I run or not.

Cereal and Tomatoes

A couple weeks ago I did my usual Monday night fitness class then ran on the beach the next morning with a lady from class.  I wanted to try running in the sand with no shoes on for a short distance, but I underestimated how close we were to the end.  I ended up running at least half a mile barefoot carrying my shoes.  Not fun.  I won’t be doing that again and I definitely won’t be getting any of those minimalist shoes!   

At the end of the run I was HUNGRY!  I was determined to not get McDonald’s or any other fast food, so I was trying to think of what was available on my way home.  Ah, a grocery store!  I didn’t expect there to be too many cars in the parking lot at 7:00 a.m., but the reason there were hardly any is because they don’t open until 7:30.  :-(  

The only other place on the way home was Walmart.  The one I pass is not a Supercenter so the selection of groceries was limited.  I walked down a couple aisles not knowing what I wanted but quickly ruled out crackers, granola candy bars, and stuff like that.  There was no fresh food.  On the cereal aisle I saw

Chocolate strawberry cereal?!?!?!?!  Oh yeah!  And it’s Special K?  That’s better than Chocolate Frosted Sugar Bombs!  Moderation, of course.  I didn’t plan to nor did I eat the whole box.  I saw it as God having something special just for me because I honored Him by not putting junk in my body.  I ate some straight out of the box on the way home but didn’t pig out.  

 

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Yesterday I went tomato picking. 

 

Some of the tomatoes were riper than others and some looked good until I turned them over and saw a rotten spot on the bottom or back.  What was interesting is that even if the tomato was on the ground,

which would seem like a not-very-ideal spot for it to grow resting on the plastic (fake) tarp and surrounded by weeds, if it was still attached to the vine it was usually good with no bad spots.  The bad tomatoes I left on the ground or even smooshed with my foot.  I threw one at my daughter after she threw one at me!  (just at each other’s feet)  They were useless for me to put in my bag, pay for, and bring home to use for their intended purpose. 

John 15:4-8  ⁴Remain in me, and I will remain in you.  For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.

⁵ “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches.  Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit.  For apart from me you can do nothing.  ⁶ Anyone who does not remain in me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers.  Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned.  ⁷ But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!  ⁸ When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples.  This brings great glory to my Father.

Even in undesirable circumstances, if we stay connected to the Vine we can be fruitful.  :-)

Three Years and Counting

Today is three years since I started The Lord’s Table, the online Bible study that has helped me lose 81 pounds and was the biggest catalyst in changing the way I think about food. 

I had already started losing weight without realizing it.  One day I just became aware of the fact that for a couple months I hadn’t been eating as much food and had lost some weight.  I was clueless as to why I wasn’t eating as much but happy to have the loss, of course!  Later that year, I was boasting to a friend about my self-control in having McDonald’s for breakfast only 2 days out of 3. 

He told me about The Lord’s Table at www.SettingCaptivesFree.com.  I looked at it for a few days, decided to sign up, and the rest is history!  Except that it’s not only history; it was just the beginning and even three years later it’s the present.  I’m not doing that specific study any longer, but the truths about God I learned in that course still figure prominently in my decisions today and will for the rest of my life. 

In a nutshell, I was fat and didn’t want to be but thought it was inevitable and linked to genetics.  Surely the effort I was making should count for something.  Not eating the last bite of a sandwich…once…a month…should result in weight loss.  I’M TRYYYYYIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!!!!!!

Ahem.  I think that red backpack was full of snacks and drinks in case we got lost in the corn maze. 

No, I wasn’t really trying, I discovered.  Through The Lord’s Table I learned that overeating is sin (which I repented of) and that I hadn’t been trusting God to give me what I need when I need it.  I had been getting it for myself.  Way too much of it (which I also repented of).   I’m typing this blog and eating lunch at the same time.  An hour and 15 minutes ago I had some leftover Smoked Mozzarella Chicken from Olive Garden, but I'm feeling hungry again.  I went to the fridge and got the leftover salad from Olive Garden.  I started to walk back into my office and heard God say, “You don’t need all of that.”  I went back into the kitchen, got a small bowl, and put about a third of the salad into it.  That’s what I’m eating now.  I call this feeling like Gideon.  In Judges 7, Gideon starts out with 32,000 warriors under his command, but God starts whittling his army down until he gets to 300 and then God says He will give Gideon victory over his enemies with just the 300 soldiers. 

Ummm…God?  I had 32,000 calories at my disposal.  [Figuratively, of course.  Stay with me; it’ll make sense in a minute.]  You’re telling me to eat just 300?  How can I possibly sustain myself on just 300 calories???  God answers, “You won’t.  I’ll sustain you.  I’ll cause your enemies to fight among themselves and I’ll give you the victory.”  My enemies, the world’s wisdom when it comes to weight loss, often contradict themselves.  A study comes out claiming that this food is the key to permanent weight loss.  Soon another study comes out debunking the previous one and claiming that this rare supplement found only in a 1-square mile area of the Andes Mountains is the key to permanent weight loss.  You know how it goes.  Situps are the key to a flat tummy!  No, planks are the key to a flat tummy!  No, lift weights so that you build muscle and burn fat even when you’re resting!  Sure, there’s a little bit of truth in all those claims, but do you see how they’re fighting against each other?  Some foods are good for weight loss when they’re substituted in place of another food, planks are fine (I do them regularly), and strength training does build muscle so that I burn fat even when resting.  That’s why men generally lose weight faster than women; they have more muscle that’s constantly burning fat.  Sometimes I start thinking that a new revelation (or an old one packaged in a new way) will be my key, so I start researching it, but then I find contradictory information.  I start researching that and find something that contradicts them both.  It’s ridiculous! 

So how do I make sense of it all?  This past Sunday I re-read one of my favorite weight loss Scriptures, Colossians 2:20-23.  “You have died with Christ and He has set you free from…this world.  So why do you keep on following rules of the world such as, ‘Don’t handle, don’t eat, don’t touch!’  Such rules are mere human teaching…These rules may seem wise because they require strong devotion, humility, and severe bodily discipline, but they have no effect when it comes to conquering a person’s evil thoughts and desires.”  The world's methods work only on the outside, or rather, only on the body.  God's method gets to the heart of the matter.  "Are you going to trust Me, the One who made you, about what's best for you?  Are you going to obey Me when I tell you to do something?"

So the end of chapter 2 tells us what NOT to do, but are we TO do?  Keep reading in chapter 3.  “…set your sights on the realities of Heaven…let Heaven fill your thoughts.  Don’t think only about things here on Earth.” 

That’s what I did 35 minutes ago when I heard God tell me to eat only part of the salad and I obeyed. 

In the three years since starting The Lord’s Table, I’ve lost 81 pounds. 

I had lost 90 by this past January, but I’ve gained back 9.  I’d like to skip that part and just let you think it’s been all loss with no gains or plateaus but that would be deceiving you.  There have been a couple gains, this 9 pounds being the biggest one, and plenty of plateaus.  It’s been slow going, but that’s okay.  I recently realized why the weight loss has slowed.  For the past 1-1/2 years I’ve been concentrating on fitness, not just weight loss.  I started running (yes, running!) and love it!  You’d think that would help me lose more weight, but actually the days I run I’m VERY hungry.  I don’t overeat or gorge myself, but I do eat more on those days than on nonrunning days.  I’m trying to curb that.  (See Colossians 3:1-3 above.)  I think that if I stopped running I could consistently eat less and possibly lose weight faster, but I don’t want to stop running.  I enjoy it too much to stop!  I enjoy the increased fitness and challenging my body and my mind.  I’m constantly learning new things and tweaking what I do, though, so we’ll see.  I am conscious of the tendency to eat more on running days and am reining it in. 

So, to summarize, three years ago GOD, the past 1095 days GOD, today GOD, and tomorrow GOD. 

Simple as that.

God Is Working

About a month ago, when I was still on the fast, I started getting sharp pain in my knee and ankle when I walked. I tried to just walk through it and sometimes even tried to run through it but could never run more than 3 or 4 steps before I had to stop. I didn't like that! I talked to my trainer about it and started icing the areas a couple times a day and cutting back on activity. That was very hard! Physical activity has become so much a part of my life now that cutting back on it is difficult.

Wow! Did I really just type that???!!!

I took a week off from running and boot camp but kept walking and did some stretching and strengthening exercises. Then I tried running again and had a very good day. I ran all but 1/4 of a mile on a 3.1-mile course! Yay! But I paid for it later that day and for a couple days afterward. I don't usually pay for running. My body is used to it. Sigh. More time off. I went to boot camp and was able to do most of the exercises without modification but while doing mountain climbers on a little bit of a slope in dewy grass, my foot slipped and I went down on my knee. It was only a couple inches that my knee went down before it hit the ground, and it wasn't excruciating pain, but it was enough to make me say "ow" loud enough for everyone to hear. So I'm out of boot camp again this coming Saturday and taking another week off running.

The Gasparilla 5K is March 3, 1-1/2 weeks away, and I don't think I'll be doing it. I went to Tampa last week to get familiar with the course and was able to run 2 miles of it. It is possible to walk it, but that would be a let down for me because I KNOW I'm capable of running 3.1 miles easily. I do (did) it 5 days a week and have done two official races. But I don't want to injure myself permanently. These legs have to last me for the rest of my life. I can register for Gasparilla as late as the morning of, so I haven't counted it out completely yet, but it's very likely that I won't be doing it. That was a very hard mental and emotional judgment to make. It was while observing Gasparilla last year, the first race I ever even attended, that tears were streaming down my face like a faucet had been turned on (and here they come now) as I realized there was no physical reason I couldn't run that distance. I went home and drew up a plan to increase my running distance and accomplished it after 6 months.

***I just had a thought. I began something big (running), did well, and was progressing and learning when BOOM! it's pulled out from under me through no fault of my own. Just like my marriage so many years ago. We started and were going along and progressing (as far as I knew) when BOOM! my Christian husband decided to tell me he was sleeping with other men and didn't even want to try to overcome it. Here's a similar circumstance. God, what are You doing in my life???

Now it looks like my running days may be over after just a short time, like my marriage. I'm taking another week off, doing stretching exercises, continuing to ice my knee (no more ankle pain) a few times a day, and walking. I'll try running again next Wednesday and see how I do. No boot camp this week.

Yesterday I told God I want to run again. He asked me why. I said because it's a picture of my life with Him. Any weight loss or increased fitness is an extra benefit but not why I do it. He was pleased with that, but He didn't assure me that I would run again.

Two of my life verses have been Psalms 46:10, Be still and know that I am God, and John 3:30, He must increase and I must decrease. I saw John 3:30 on Pinterest yesterday. Last night I saw a post with BOTH verses on it. They were framed in yellow and hung on a yellow wall. Yellow is my current favorite color! Can God get any more personal than that?!!!



I don't know why He's allowing this to happen. I haven't been selfish in my running, and I've always given God glory for giving me the ability to do it. I don't think this is a punishment, but I still don't like it and don't understand it. I don't know if He'll ever give running back to me. I hope so, but I have no guarantees.

God knows best.  I'll pray that I'll submit and allow Him to do whatever it is He's doing. I don't know what it is, I don't like it, and I don't understand it. But I trust God.