Tips for Spectators

This is a blog I follow, Prior Fat Girl.  If you're planning on coming to my race, please read this.  I never thought much about these things, but Jen's words are so true.  I especially like #3!  The only difference is #5 where she says to just make noise.  That would be distracting to me.  Please don't bring a cowbell and especially don't bring those extremely irritating airhorns!  Other than that, cheer on!

 

Tips for spectators, from a PriorFatGirl’s point-of-view.

by Jen, a priorfatgirl on October 4, 2011

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I thrive on spectators at a race. I know I’m running the race but spectators can change the feel of the entire race. No matter if it is a marathon, half-marathon, 10 mile, 10k or 5k, spectators are treasured. Just your presence is appreciated but here are some additional thoughts from my point of view on spectators:

1. Your presence is very appreciated: It means a lot. As much as I say “Oh, no worries, don’t worry about it,” it really does mean a lot when you take the time out of your morning to come and cheer for me. No matter how many races I may do, each one, especially each of the long runs are hard. They never get easier, I just get crazier. I won’t ever be mad at someone for not coming but will be overwhelmingly appreciative of those who actually do come.
2. Scream, cheer, shout, yell and make noise! I think some people are embarrassed to be loud but as a runner, the louder you scream the better. When I run, I am fighting through all the noise in my head so whatever you can do to distract me is appreciated. I need YOU as a spectator to be louder than the noise in my head.
3. Scream when you see a runner you know: Running is hard. When you see me coming, be LOUD. Yep, it is nice to hear “ohgoodjob” but lemme tell you it is so much more fun to hear “OH HERE SHE COMES, JEN JEN JEN, OVER HERE! WAHOO!!!! KEEP RUNNING, OH MY GOSH YOU ARE DOING IT! WAHOOOOOOOO!!! JEN KEEP RUNNING!!! I LOVE YOU!” No lie. Go all out. Your 30 seconds of screaming will carry me an entire mile. I will float on your cheers, puff my chest out and let your cheers be my fuel.
4. Cheer for others: Again, running is hard. You don’t have to know me to cheer for me. Cheer for me and let me know how proud you are. Tell me to keep going and remind me I’m running. Tell me I can do it, I will do it, I AM doing it. Cheering for me when don’t know me is like an extra amp. Don’t just stand there staring. First, you look silly just standing there. Second, your cheers are my fuel. I suck it in and turn it into amped up power. It is an adrenaline rush hearing cheers and even more exciting when people I don’t know are cheering for me.
5. If you just aren’t a cheerer, just make noise! You know those loud annoying cow-bells? DO IT! Cowbells, thunder sticks, hand clappers and stadium horns are very inexpensive but they can annoy some people so pay attention to those around you. If you see people who seem to be disturbed, tell them you are cheering for the runners and to get a life… or maybe just walk 20 feet away from them
6. Bring signs: Use humor. Or be serious. Reading simple signs distracts me and gives me something to do while I’m struggling to fight through all the noise in my head. I may think about a sign for 5-10 minutes so trust me, your sign helps! Here are some sign quotes I love:
   • “Your feet hurt because you are kicking so much butt!”
   • “Your legs will forgive you…eventually.”
   • “Don’t stop — people are watching.
   • “Today, you’re my hero.”
   • “Pain is temporary, pride is forever.”
   • “Remember the reasons you are running.”
   • “If it was easy, everyone would do it.”
   • “One foot in front of the other. That’s all.”
   • “You are no longer training, you are RUNNING THE RACE!”
7. Be okay if I am distant after the race: I am probably in pain. I am probably ready to collapse. I am thinking about what I just accomplished. I am emotional and coming down from an intense adrenaline rush. I’m covered in an inch of sweat which is layered with the dirt from the wind I just busted through. All I want is a hot shower. And food. And a nap.
8. I will never be able to thank you with words: There are no words I can, as a runner, say to you, as a spectator, to thank you for coming to cheer me on. Running is hard. It is emotional. It is fighting through all the voices in my head to achieve a goal I set for myself. Having you there means the world to me and there are no words I can use to thank you appropriately. In place of the absence of the perfect thank you, please know your support helped me achieve my goal.

Being a spectator can be such a simple act. It may not feel like a big deal but spectators help more than we as runners can ever describe. We don’t run for your cheers, we run to achieve goals we’ve set for ourselves but your cheers, your support, your presence helps us to achieve our goals.

Getting Excited for My Race!

Before she moved out of state, a friend gave me two moisture-wicking T-shirts as a gift so I could wear them for my race.  I decided to write Bible verses and other things that inspire me on them.  They're finally finished! 

I'll wear the top one (it's really teal blue) for the race and then probably change into the purple one afterward when I'm sweaty. 

While I was working on the first one, I had it laid out on the ironing board so I could have a smooth, hard surface to write on.  Even though the shirt was an XL, it still looked very wide and I got a little discouraged.  

Then I decided to go get one of my old 3X shirts for comparison. Oh! Quite a difference!

BIG difference! 

Okay.  The teal one isn't so bad compared to my old one!

My race is this Saturday.  THIS SATURDAY!  I hope you all can make it to cheer Jesus and me on. 

Sunrise Run

He's the reason I'm doing this at all.  Sure, I could've lost 80 pounds and started walking and running in my own strength.  People do it.  But why would I have wanted to if Jesus hadn't shown me that I was sinning and changed my heart so that now I WANT to please Him in this area?

Led by God

It's raining very heavily right now and I just saw an ad on a website for Wells Fargo bank. The ad showed a mug of frothy hot chocolate. 

For a second I thought how good a mug of hot chocolate would taste. Maybe up north where rain equals cold this ad would make sense. In Florida we rarely have rainy days. We have rainy 20 minutes. Even now, near the end of September, it's still not cold. This rain will just make the air sticky and humid.

As soon as I had that thought I also thought how ridiculous it was. I wasn't desiring hot chocolate or any chocolate at all before that, and I don't need any. I've already had some chocolate today and it was plenty.

As ads go, I suppose it was successful. Well, almost. It almost made me want to get a mug of hot chocolate. But it failed in that if I had, I would've made it from what I already have at home, not gone out and used my Wells Fargo debit card to buy some and pad my savings account by taking an additional $1 from checking and adding it to savings.

See, in just the time it took me to compose this email, the rain has stopped. And I've had no hot chocolate, my own or store bought. 

What's the point of this post? That I've overcome garbage like this? Maybe. Most times. That advertising and images are powerful and suggestive? They definitely are, or at least can be. Sex sells. So does food. Two of our most basic needs/wants.

 

Romans 8:12-14 -Dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. ¹³ If you keep on following it, you will die, but if through the power of the Holy Spirit you turn from it and its evil deeds you will live. ¹⁴ All who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.

My sinful nature urged me to do something, but through the power of the Holy Spirit [Really, I did nothing. I just let God take care of it.] I turned from it. I was led by the Spirit of God, which is proof that I am a child of God.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh!!!

I don't like to run. I like to HAVE run. :-)

Thanks to my friend and encourager, Brandice of www.fitnessinfusiononline.com for the title of this entry.  :-)

Okay, I did it.  I got out and jogged anyway.  (I've noticed that when I'm excited I use the word run.  When I'm not or when I'm discouraged I use the word jog.)  At least I'm not just walking anymore.  ;-)

So I set out thinking I would have to take it step by step, which was going to be fine.  I noticed right away that I felt slower.  At least I was moving at more than a walking pace.  I felt sluggish but I kept pushing through.  I got to 1/2 mile and checked my time - about 7 minutes, which would put me at 14 minutes for the first mile.  Yuck!  I've been doing mile 1 in 10 minutes.  Well, at least I was moving at more than a walking pace.  Mile 1 ended up being 13 minutes and 15 seconds!  Woohoo!  I must've picked up some speed in the second 1/2 mile! 

Slogging through mile 2.  At one point I actually thought about lying down on the living room floor when I was done and having a temper tantrum.  Yeah, I can't picture it either.  I don't have tantrums.  I've never behaved like that.  Sure, I get frustrated sometimes but I don't throw myself down kicking and screaming.  This turned into a conversation with God.  He confirmed that, no, I don't behave like that, but I still have pity parties.  He pointed out that I was having one right then.  I cried out for help.  I didn't want to have a pity party.  Or maybe I did.  Sigh. 

Then I turned a corner, literally and figuratively. 

As I turned a corner and headed west, I ran smack into the full moon, still shining brightly even though the sun was coming up and the sky around the moon wasn't dark anymore so there was much less contrast between the moon and its surroundings. 



I already knew but was reminded that the moon has no light of its own.  The light it appears to have [here come the tears as I type] is only what is reflected from the sun (Son).   I stared at the moon and contemplated that until the 1-1/2-mile mark when I had to turn another corner.  I continued that mile, occasionally adding sprints, and finished it in 12:38, 37 seconds faster than I had anticipated based on my 1-mile time! 

Okay, into the 3rd mile and happy.  Y'know, I'm not taking it step by step.  I'm not telling myself I just have to make it to the next tree or to the end of this section then I can stop.  I'm just running.  Or jogging.  Or slogging.  At least I'm not just walking.  Or home sitting.  Or home sleeping. 

I finished the 3 miles in 39:15, averaging 13:05 per mile.  More importantly, though, I finished the 3 miles.  And I finished it with some wisdom from God to ponder and incorporate into my heart and to share with you.

I just plain don't want to

I'm waiting for it to get light enough for me to go out jogging by myself.  It's 6:34 a.m. and still completely dark out.  I don't want to.  I want to go back to bed.  I want to get some work done (not really) so I can earn some money.  I want to...that's about it, actually. 

What I don't want to do is jog.  But 3-1/2 weeks away from my debut race I can't afford not to.  And I took off this past Saturday and Sunday.  I NEVER take off two days in a row.  So I can't afford to take another day off after only one day back. 

I thought that maybe if I re-read some of my first posts it would inspire me to get out there and run.  Here's an excerpt from the first one:

"My reason for taking up this blog again, which I set up 1-1/2 years ago but never did anything with, is to encourage you to allow God to dream big within you so that together you and He can do amazing things, hard things, things that you'd never be able to do on your own. And to encourage you to give Him the glory and credit for them."

I really don't think God's going to do anything amazing with me if I go back to sleep.  Work will still be here when I get back.  I need to just go.  I may need to make each tree I pass a marker.  "Just go to the next tree."  "Just go to the end of this section." 

God, You're going to have dream big within me this morning.

5K Times

Wednesday
Mile 1=10 minutes
Mile 2=14 minutes
Mile 3=16 minutes
Total 40 minutes
Actual course and without 3-pound weights

Thursday
Mile 1=13:10
Mile 2=13:18
Mile 3=13:08
Total 39:36
Course near my house with 3-pound weights

So I did better WITH weights and feeling slow, like I was moving through water.  I don't get it!  I'll take it, but I don't get it. 

Friday
Mile 1=12:?
Mile 2=about 14
Total 26:16
Came home because of lightning
Course near my house without weights

Also, this evening I went to supper with my mom and my daughter.  My Philly cheese steak wrap came with soup and fries. I asked if I could have a salad instead and got it. When the food came, though, there were fries on my plate.  The wrap was VERY hot, so I started munching on the fries while it cooled.  After a few I realized I should stop, so I put the fries on a napkin and the pickle slices on top of them (pickles=yuck). I poured sugar on top of that and slid the napkin away from me so I wouldn't be tempted to eat any more. I thank God that I can start over any time, even after eating a little bit of something. I didn't need to just go ahead and eat them all.

I RAN 3.1 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING!

I RAN 3.1 MILES WITHOUT STOPPING!!!!!!!!! 

When my friend and I met up last Friday to run the race course, I suggested we see if we could run the whole distance.  If we couldn't that would be fine; we still have more than a month before the race to work up to it.  She agreed to try, so we did.  I had already found the 1- and 2-mile marks in my car.  When we hit the 1-mile mark, we were happy.  :-)  When we hit the 2-mile mark we were almost delirious!  :-D  When we finished, we were ecstatic!  :-DD

On Saturday I had time to do only 2 miles, but I did them nonstop and with a 3-pound weight in each hand, which I didn't have on Friday.  On Sunday I did 2 miles at a park with a friend.  It was 2:30 in the afternoon and much hotter than at 6:00 in the morning when I usually go.  Monday I did 3.1 miles with weights near my house then went to fitness class with http://www.fitnessinfusiononline.com/ and did a 45-minute workout.  Today I did 3.5 miles with weights near my house.  I forgot the last few days that I was going for 3.5 miles to overtrain just a little bit so the actual race would be easier. 

Tomorrow we should be back downtown on the course and I'll time us.  I posted some times on Facebook yesterday but now realize they were inaccurate.  I'll post correct times tomorrow. 

I'm gathering scriptures to decide which ones I want to write on the Tshirt I'll be wearing for the race.  This is getting exciting!  October 8 will be here soon!