Music Helps Me Run Faster!

Last night Brianne got all the songs I wanted put onto my MP3 player that she got me for Christmas.  Thank you, my dear!  Mwha! 

My pattern had gotten to the point of running 23 minutes, walking 2, then running the rest of the way for a total of 42-43 minutes.  This morning I ran the entire time, hit 1 mile at 12:42 (at least a minute, maybe more, faster than I’d been doing) and got to 2 miles at 26:18 (a little slow.  I would’ve liked to be less than 25:30.).  I must’ve picked up speed on the last mile because I finished the whole 3.1 miles in 41:25, about 2 minutes faster than I’d been doing lately!  Thank You, God! 

I even extended my cool-down walk because my absolute favorite song came on and I couldn’t stop in the middle of that! 

My mile times were 12:42 for the first mile, 13:36 for the second mile, and 15:07 for the last 1.1 miles.  

I want to do some song tweaking because I didn’t even get to hear some of the songs.  The Veggie Tales song “Keep Walking” that I personalized is on there but it’s hard to sing my version in my head when their version is going into my ears. 

Regardless, I’m grateful to God, my daughter, NeedtoBreathe, Mandisa, TobyMac, Tenth Avenue North, Newsboys, DC Talk, Me in Motion, The Afters, etc. for fueling my solo runs.  J

Thoughts After My First Midnight Run

It’s my normal pattern to run early in the morning as soon as it gets light, about 6:00.  My first official race was at 7:00 a.m., my second race was in the evening after dark, my next two races were on the beach at sunset, and now I can say I’ve run at midnight!  I ran under a full moon last night from 11:25 p.m.-12:08 a.m. 

This was a growing race and not just because they had a record number of people register.  It was a growing and stretching race for me.  With my first race I wanted to know the course well in advance so I could run it and be very familiar with it.  I don’t like surprises.  With my second race, some of the course was the same as my first one, but I still had to find out the exact start, route, turnaround, and finish.  My beach races were in straight line, but I still observed one last year without running it and didn’t run until this year.  With this midnight run I saw where the course started and finished and that was all.  Really, it’s not like I’m going to be leading the pack and need to know for that reason!  So for me to not bother trying to learn ahead of time the exact route was a step up from having to know everything possible about a situation.  It was…faith?  It was going with the flow, which can be a problem for me.   

We started off and had a very slight incline over some water after, I’m guessing, 2/10 of a mile.  Hardly noticeable.  We ran some more and as I looked ahead I could see the crowd like they were higher than I was.  Were they on a bridge or a hill?  We’re in Florida and on the coast so hills are an extremely slim possibility.   It was a bridge, the Dunedin Causeway. 

About a mile into the run was the beginning of the bridge.  I’d never run a bridge before, but I have now!  It really wasn’t very hard, but then it wasn’t a very steep bridge.  I liked running over the metal grate at the top and seeing the water below.  It was such a gradual decline that I hardly noticed it on the way down.  Oh, I just remembered that I’ve run the incline on part of the Pinellas Trail to an overpass.  I forgot about that. 

Anyway, the run continued toward Honeymoon Island.  I worshipped as I looked at God’s creation under a full moon with a minimum of human influence (lights).  It was almost the way He intended it to be.  The only sounds were feet pounding the pavement, lungs breathing heavily, and the occasional very breathy word or two.  After reaching the turn-around point at 20 minutes (good time), I saw the bridge again.  I wanted to run it up and down both ways, so if I was going to walk at all, the time to do it was before I got to it.  I walked for two minutes then began running again.  I easily climbed the bridge running, ran over the metal grate again, and then ran down the other side.  One bridge up and down up and down conquered!  Bring on another! 

I had passed up the first water station, which was ridiculously close to the start line in my opinion, because drinking water while I run upsets my stomach and I don’t need to for just a 5K.  On the way back, though, I decided to get water and pour it on my face.  Why had I never thought of that before?  Oh well, live and learn and improve.  I got a cup, poured it on my face, and man did that feel good!  (Why did I not take up swimming instead of running?)  The end was in sight after that, and I kept running. 

This had been my most spiritual official run in that I had been praying frequently thanking God for giving me the ability to run at all, protecting my knee that had been giving me very brief twinges of pain earlier in the evening, giving me this beautiful creation to enjoy, good-functioning lungs, a full moon, water, breeze,...  I had to sing my “Keep Running” song only a handful of times. 

As I turned from the road into the parking lot where the finish line was I started to pick up speed.  I always do that in official runs but struggle to do it in practice.  I crossed the finish line after 43 minutes and 11 seconds,

a little slower than I had run the last few times in practice but this run included a bridge both ways so I wasn’t too disappointed.  I’m happy and look forward to shaving more minutes off my time and running more bridges!

I came in 81st out of 99 in my age group.  I'm moving up!  I had a per-mile pace of 13:54.  These numbers are a little different from what I reported on Facebook, but I got them from the official results.  The FB numbers were just what I saw last night immediately after the race. 

Thoughts Before My First Midnight Run

Tomorrow night is my next race, the Midnight Run.  Yes, I’ll really be running at midnight.  That’ll be something new!  The 5K starts at 11:25 p.m. and ends at 12:10 a.m. so they can start the 10K.  They allot only 45 minutes for the 5K, and I ran 41:48 this morning.  I’ll really be racing the clock this time!  I’ll try to take a nap in the late afternoon and have a little bit of caffeine so I won’t be tired.  I’ve been trying to go to bed early the last month or so and was asleep by 7:00 last night (!) so my late nights are a thing of the past. 

I'd love to see you at the race.  Festivities begin at 9:30 p.m.  My race starts and ends in the Causeway Plaza Shopping Center parking lot in Dunedin.  2602 Bayshore Blvd.  That's at the corner of Bayshore Blvd and Causeway Blvd. 

Now, for two new things.  It has happened.  I put a piece of Dove dark chocolate in my mouth and let it melt and was not transported to my happy place.  It tasted fine, but it didn’t do for me what it used to.  I haven’t had any Dove dark chocolate in a week or two, so it’s not like I’m chocolated out or anything.  I guess God is changing my tastes again.  He did it with Dr Pepper; now I can hardly take more than one drink of Dr Pepper because it’s just too sweet.  Looks like he’s doing it with Dove dark chocolate too.  And you know what?  That’s okay.  God’s in control of my life, including my taste buds, and He can add or take away whatever He wants to.  J

I wrote this June 24, a little more than a week ago:

The scale isn’t moving but clothes are getting looser.  I want the scale to go down AND clothes to get looser.  Why won’t the scale go down? 

Why am I so concerned about a number no one will ever know?  Why not be happier about what people can see?  Why can’t I just be happy about looser clothes? 

People may not know the actual number, but I can report weight loss when the scale goes down.  That’s the reason - so I can have good news to share.  But I already have good news to share, and it’s not about me.  It’s about Jesus, and what He did doesn’t necessarily show in people’s physical bodies.  Many times it does, but that’s not the point.  Jesus paid the penalty for my sin by dying on the cross and then defeated death and hell forever by rising from the dead.  His victory for me was primarily for my spirit, not my body.  If it results in me shedding pounds because I’m not nearly as selfish, greedy, and indulgent as before, then great.  If it doesn’t result in that, am I still thankful and will I keep showing my thankfulness by being obedient even when the results of my obedience aren’t visible?

My Second Race on the Beach

Today’s post is colorful.  Red words are my negative thoughts and green ones are my positive thoughts.

I ran the 5K on the beach last night, but I didn’t want to.  Yes, I did.  No, I would’ve been fine if they had canceled it because of the weather.  I’m glad I ran it.  I had a stinky attitude just before.  Let me start at the beginning. 

I don’t know if it’s because these races are in the evening after I’ve had a full day (even if that full day included a nap) or what, but I really was not feeling racy (ha!) as we headed up there.  I love to run in the rain and it was sprinkling as we drove to the beach.  I hoped it would start raining harder because it’s hard rain I like to run in.  For some reason I took the route that had us on Gulf Blvd., not the fastest way to get to Clearwater Beach.  I was just driving, not thinking.  The closer we got the more my feelings bounced back and forth between positive and negative. 

I felt sluggish and fat but happy to be running again but I hoped they would cancel it but I was happy that there was a good chance I could run in rain but there was also a strong wind coming off the water so it would be blowing into me sideways as I ran out and back, not against me one direction and with me the other, but I was just glad to be running, period, and should quit complaining. 

We got there and the race was still scheduled to start.  The mist (not even sprinkle) had stopped and the wind was up.  I didn’t want to waste the trip, so I paid $10 (didn’t get a shirt this time because it’s the same one for the whole series), and proceeded to warm up.  I saw no one I knew who was running, but it was okay.  Only my mom went with me and I didn’t even see any spectators I knew, but it was okay this time for some reason. 

A few weeks ago at this race, I pushed myself by running 7 minutes and walking 2 for a final time of 44:52.  Since then I’ve been adding 1 minute per week.  When I ran on Tuesday I ran 10 minutes and walked 2, so last night I challenged myself to run 11 and walk 2.  I did it!  My final time was 43:50, 1 minute and 2 seconds faster than previous!    

My negative thoughts were mostly before the start of this race, not while I was racing like they were last time.  I sang my “Keep Running” song MANY times, like I always do.  I’ve decided that the water station at the halfway/turnaround point doesn’t benefit me.  For a 5K, I don’t need to hydrate during the race and it upsets my stomach.  So no more getting water there.  I don’t drink during runs at home and I don’t need to during official races. 

After I turned around at the halfway point I noticed that the wind had shifted and instead of coming at me from the side, it was now coming at me straight on.  Great.  Not only was I running in sand, which absorbed my impacts and didn’t bounce me back so consequently made me run slower, now I was running into the wind so was slowed down even more.  Really, Michele?  You’re complaining about running on a God-made surface that is better for your knee, the knee that forced you to stop running for MONTHS this past winter and spring???  You’re complaining about a God-sent breeze to cool you off during this race?  You’re complaining, period?  Philippians 2:14 says to do everything without complaining.  Plain and simple. 

The running pants I wore last night will be downgraded to sleeping pants.  So will the T-shirt.  Comfortably loose is one thing; sloppily big is quite another. 

At one point near the end I saw a woman who was rounder than I am and she was walking with a man.  They were having a good time just being with each other and picking up and looking at shells.  I said, “Really, God?  Look how fat she is and her husband or boyfriend isn’t hideous.  How come she gets to have one and I don’t?”  Siiiiiiigh.  Here we go again.  I’ve asked that question countless times for YEARS and gotten no answer.  These song lyrics from Building 429 came to mind then: 

I won’t keep searching for answers that aren’t here to find

All I know is I’m not home yet

This is not where I belong

Take this world and give me Jesus

This is not where I belong. 

Apparently that question of mine doesn’t have an answer to find, at least not now, and I need to stop searching for it.  I need to focus on where I DO belong, which is Heaven, and on what I DO have, a desire and the ability to honor God with my food and activity choices. 

Another Race On The Sand

I run another 5K on the sand this evening.  This week I’ve been running 10 minutes and walking 2, but I’m going to make it my goal to run 11 and walk 2 during the race.  I’m constantly tweaking my strategy and pushing myself.  When I decided to run 11 and walk 2 a little voice inside said, “Why not just try to run the whole thing?”  Ummmm…I didn’t have an answer for that.  Running is as much mental and spiritual as it is physical, if not more so.  My body can do this.  It has many times before.  Maybe my training schedule is a little slow and I could run the full distance again now, not several weeks or months from now after I work my way up by adding a minute each week.  We’ll see. 

I'm drinking a smoothie today of banana, cottage cheese (protein), strawberries, milk, water, and ginger.  I'll eat a bowl of steel-cut oats two hours before race time. 

I’d love to see y’all at the start/finish line or along the course at Pier 60 at Clearwater Beach this evening.  The race starts at 7.  It’s free to watch, but you’ll have to pay for parking.  I’ll let you know tomorrow how things went. 

Oh, and if you want to run, just show up tonight, pay $10 ($15 if you want a shirt), and do it!  :-)   

No Salty Food

Last evening I was headed to a book discussion/dinner that I’m a part of.  It’s held at a restaurant where the food is okay but the last few times has just been too salty for my taste.  I was thinking of where else I could eat and that I’ve not been eating many veggies lately.  I’ve been eating too many processed meats, bread (not from grain I ground myself), and crackers.  I needed some real food!  There’s a restaurant across the street from the one I was headed to that has a very good salad so I thought about going there.  I knew the one place wouldn’t want me bringing in food from somewhere else (restaurants frown on that J), so I would have to eat at the salad place and possibly get to my meeting late.  While all this was going through my head, I found myself moving over into the lane I’d need to be in to go to the salad restaurant.  Okay then!  Salad it is! 

Mmmmmmmm!!!  I’m glad I made that decision!  Those veggies tasted so good and were just what my body needed.  And I couldn’t eat the whole thing!  I ended up having to get a take-out box for about 1/3 of my salad!  How cool is that?!

I was a little late to my meeting, but it was okay. 

I’m very happy with my decision - much happier than I’d be if I had just taken the easier road and eaten the salty food. 

Thoughts

It’s hot here in Florida, but technically it’s still springtime.  Not even summer yet.  It doesn’t matter what the calendar says, though, the heat says it’s summertime. 

We run the air conditioner pretty much all the time now.  About a week ago we had to start running it at night.  It struck me the other day that God hasn’t changed the climate in Florida or anywhere.  It’s always been hot here in the summer.  He did give someone the brains and talent to invent air conditioning, though, so now we have a way of being comfortable inside even when it’s hot and humid outside.  He didn’t take the heat away, He just gave us an escape from it.  He doesn’t always take our cravings away, either.  He just gives us an escape from them.  Himself.  When I desire God more than I desire whatever I crave at the moment, He gives me an escape from it. 

The next beach run is Friday night June 22.  I’m going to do it!  At the last one I ran 7 minutes and walked 2.  This week I’m up to running 9 minutes and walking 2, so next week will be running 10 minutes and walking 2.  That means my time should be a lot better than 44:52. 

I found out about a midnight run on July 3.  The 5K starts at 11:25 p.m. and there’s a full moon that night.  Sounds fun!  I’m going to do that one too.  http://www.kiwanismidnightrun.com/

I just made a connection.  All my life I’ve had oily skin and oily hair.  In the last couple years both have started to get drier.  Now that could be just due to age, or it could be due to the fact that I’m not eating fast food several times a week (or day).  Or it could be a combination of both.  Regardless, it showed me how far-reaching what and how much I eat is.  It doesn’t affect just my stomach and waistline.