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!

Be Still and Know That I Am God

Since Friday’s run when I ran the entire 10K distance, the soles of my feet have been hurting.  I’ve never had this happen before; it just came on all of a sudden.  I’ve been using a wooden roller,

 

standing on ice packs,

and resting my feet.

I cancelled yesterday’s long run and rested instead.  I was going to run the whole course again.  This means that by the time Saturday comes I will have run the entire thing only once.  That makes me wonder if I’ll be able to do it then.  I know I said there’s no shame in walking part of it, but I really don’t want to. 

I was planning to run just 3.1 like usual with my running partner this morning and Thursday but she texted me last night and said she’s going out of town in the morning and can’t run.  I could run on my own but I took that as a sign from God that I need to rest. 

Psalms 46:10 – Be still and know that I am God. 

For a couple years God has been sending me this verse every once in a while.  Yeah, yeah, God, I’m trying to be still and know that You are God, but it’s really hard for a single, homeschooling, working mom to be still.  I’m TRYYYYYIIIIIING!!! 

This is about Me, not you, Michele.  You stand back, be still, and let Me shine. 

Okay, God.  I know You’ll be using my legs and my lungs on Saturday, but I want people to see You, not me. 

We’ll see if I run 3.1 on Thursday.  If God again tells me to rest - to be still and know that He is God - I will.  Then it’ll really be Him showing Himself when I run the race because I will have run the full distance only once and will not have run for 8 days since then.  I won’t feel prepared.  I’ll wonder if I can do it.  I’ll have to depend on God to see me through and be the strength in my legs.  And that’s what He wants.  I could run the race in my own strength.  Many people will.  But then God wouldn’t get the glory.  And He won’t share His glory with anyone.  If I could say I did this race on my own, my whole purpose for running would be lost.  I’m doing this to show what God can do with an obese, middle-aged woman who lets Him have His way. 

Come Run The Hidden Pine Trails Of The Forest

I was on vacation last week for Thanksgiving.  My family has gone camping the week of Thanksgiving since 1962.  Wait a minute.  Whoa.  That’s 50 years.  I’m going to let that sink in for a minute. 

It’s nice to sit in a camp chair and know my hips don’t exceed the sides of it.  J

It also helps that the chair has an hourglass shape built right in. I know, I know – I don’t have an hourglass shape yet, but a girl can dream, right?

Okay, back to my blog.  I wasn’t about to blow off running just because I was on vacation, so Monday morning I laced up my shoes, left camp, and ran for 55 minutes, keeping up my schedule of 5 minutes longer each time two days a week.  I ran 4.4 miles at a pace of 12:36, a minute faster per mile than I‘ve been running!  Woohoo!  Thank You, God, for giving me the ability and the desire to run that far! 

On Wednesday I did an exercise DVD with my cousin.  We exercised our bodies and entertained our teenage daughters.  J  For a  minute we were afraid they were going to put pictures or videos of us on Facebook or YouTube.  (Thank you for not doing that, Brianne and Katie!) 

On Friday it was time to run again and it was time to do 60 minutes.  A whole hour of running.  A milestone.  I also wanted to run on a trail since we were in the woods, so I went to Manatee Springs State Park, very near our camp.  I was armed with my MP3 player for music, my heart rate monitor watch,

 

and my phone just in case I needed it.  I walked a little bit to the first trailhead to warm up, started the music, and began running.  About 30 seconds into it I realized that instead of listening to music I needed to concentrate on not twisting my ankle and falling, so I stopped and put that away.  I started again and just ran.  The trails weren’t marked for distance so I have no idea how far I went.  I know I ran some trails twice and looking at the map now I think I may have missed some.  Oh well.  The objective was to run for 60 minutes straight and I did that.

I ran under a fallen tree. 

 

I ran on sand trails/roads.   

 

Sometimes the trail ended with no warning, but I kept running. Do you see a trail here? 

 

Me neither, but do you think that kept me from running?  Nope! 

 

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

It's a little bit hard to see, but there's a trail that goes off to the left in that picture.  That's the way I went. 

Trail running is different from road running.  On the trail I can’t get the speed I have on the road, but the dirt/sand is easier on my joints.  In trail running I need to concentrate on not falling so it works my mind and body in a different way than road running.  I really enjoyed going off the trail and want to do more running like that.  I know of two parks where I can – Sawgrass Lake and Weedon Island.  Trails, here I come!

Finally I had been running for one hour straight!  I stopped my watch at exactly one hour! 

 

Whew!

 

I walked to the spring and took my shoes off.  I waded up to my knees in the icy water to help any inflammation the run may have caused.  Up to my knees was all I could stand and even that was hard to get used to.  I don’t like cold water! 

So I hit a milestone a few days ago.  One whole hour of running!  I'm well on my way to running the entire 10K in a couple weeks!

I'm Getting There!

At the end of my last blog post I asked if you thought that next time I’d go 35 minutes in one direction before turning around. 

Raise your hand if you thought I would.  You win, because I did! 

I took the same course except for a little correction to start on the right street, on the north side of the park and not the south side.  Oops.  I think I still need to correct another part.  I run on the same side of the bridge out and back, but I think the actual course comes back on the other side.  My way takes safety into account but with vehicle traffic banned from the course they can do things a little differently on race day.  In my last post I had two pictures of the bridge that I couldn’t get side by side so you could see how big it is.  My friend Doug melded the two together for me so you can get a better idea of the length and height of this bridge I run twice two days a week.  Thanks, Doug!

I ran for 35 minutes, almost to the turnaround point for the actual race, then turned around and went back.  I ran for a total of 40 minutes, which is my usual running time, and then walked for 4 minutes.  I’m a little disappointed about that, but I started the race hungry and battled that all the way through.  I then ran some, walked a few more minutes, ran, walked, etc.  I walked for a total of probably 10 minutes.  I made sure I ran the entire bridge, though!  I have to earn the fun downhill and I do that by running the uphill. 

I traveled 2.7 miles in one direction and then back for a total of 5.4.  I’m getting there!  I know I may have to walk part of the distance on race day, and that’s okay.  I’d like to run the whole thing, but it’s okay if I don’t.  As long as I run the entire bridge both times, that is!  I finished the course in 1:13:54, which is about 13:30 per mile.  A little slower than I’d like but, again, that’s okay.  I’m running.  Period. 

I think I’m going to run the course again on Monday, so I’ll let you know how that goes.  Will I go 40 minutes in one direction?  If I continue to run the course twice a week and increase by 5 minutes each time, I can be running the entire thing by December 7.  When I think about that I get a nail-biting, I-don’t-know-about-this feeling like I probably had when I registered for my very first race without being able to run the whole thing at that time.  And that was an easy 3.1 miles!  Look how far God has brought me!  I did run the full distance about a week before race day, though, just like this will be (I hope). 

I know I need to eat a better meal the night before a long run.  I had a big lunch yesterday and a small supper, which is what I prefer in general (eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and supper like a pauper), but which doesn’t work too well when I’m pushing my body beyond its limits.  Live and learn. 

Okay, I interrupted composing this post to actually register for the race.  Exciting!  I have an exercise jar (actually a piggy bank) into which I put a dollar each time I run or otherwise exercise. 

I took $19 out of it to pay the fee.  I’m committed now! 

One of the songs on my playlist is the Veggie Tales song about knocking down the walls of Jericho that I adapted to my running:  “Keep running…and I will knock down that wall!  Keep running…and I am not gonna fall!  It’s plain to seeeeeee my God is very big, so keep running…I will be knocking down that wall!”  I think for this race I want friends or family members stationed somewhere along the route with a paper banner of a brick wall and the words “I Can’t” on it.  As I run by I’ll break through the banner!  That sounds like fun! 

Once again, my friend Doug came through for me.  I googled pictures of brick walls but don't know how to add words to an image.  I made a brick wall texture background in Word and added "I Can't" to it but it wouldn't copy to this blog.  I asked Doug for help and he sent me this picture.  Um, that's quite a wall, there, Doug.  Thank you. 

I am a runner. I am a distance runner. I endure.

I watched the Olympic men's marathon Sunday morning. Even though they were running about the same pace as the sprinters, they kept it up for more than two hours, not just for a few seconds or a few minutes. And their feet definitely didn't seem to move as fast or as high as the sprinters. I can't figure that out.

Anyway, even though I liked watching the shorter races, I absolutely identified with the marathoners this morning. I don't know if I'll ever run one myself, but it's certainly a possibility. I'll be 43 next month and I'm obese, but I'm running and I enjoy it. That's the important thing. I'm slowly increasing the distance I run and improving my pace at the same time I increase the distance. I am a runner. I am a distance runner. I endure.

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!  :-)   

Back To Running

Wow, I haven't posted in 3 weeks.  In that time I've been able to really increase my running distance.  Thank You, God!  On the other hand, I've scaled back on my running in that I'm not doing it five days a week like I was before the mysterious injury in January.  I'm still doing a 3.4-mile route and walking part of the way, but the walking portions are getting shorter and the running portions are getting longer.  Yesterday I ran 6 to 6-1/2 minutes at a time and walked for 2 to 2-1/2 minutes, a ratio of roughly 3:1.  I've started running on grass when I can to lessen the impact on my ankles and knees.  I haven't been concerned with speed or how I look, just with getting back to running the whole distance.  Yesterday, though, as I ran past a bus stop on 49th Street near the end of my route an older gentleman started clapping for me!  He told me to keep it up but not overdo it.  That was encouraging! 

I walked or ran a total of 12,126 steps yesterday!  That's 5.7 miles!  My latest pattern is to run every other day and so far it's working.  On the days when I don't run I get nowhere near my goal of 10,000 steps, but that's okay.  I'm still moving more than I used to, and on those days I concentrate on working my arms and abs. 

There's a 5K race this Friday evening on Clearwater Beach that I might do.  It's run in the sand, which is something I've done only once.  I know I may have to walk part of the way, but that's okay.  It'll feel good just to do an organized race again.  We'll see.

http://www.clearwaterbeachrun.com/

Two Days In A Row of 10,000+ Steps!

Two days in a row I’ve walked more than 10,000 steps!  Having this pedometer is fun, except when it gets reset without me knowing, like if I take a nap and forget to take it off or when apparently holding my niece resets it. 

I had to go to the bank sometime today so instead of walking/running around my neighborhood on my usual route and then trying to coordinate schedules to borrow my mom’s car to go to the bank, I decided to just walk/run to the bank.  It’s a little bit farther than my usual distance, but that’s okay.  J  I set out just after 6:30 a.m. but could’ve gone a few minutes earlier.  I was a little self-conscious about running next to traffic because I’m kind of starting over and am not too concerned with form right now, just with getting back to running the whole distance.  I overcame that self-consciousness and just did it.  No one pulled over to tell me I wasn’t running properly or to ask why I had slowed to a walk, so it was okay! 

I ended up doing a total of 4.6 miles in 52 minutes, running some and walking some.  My knee made me walk just a couple times.  The rest of the times I walked it was because my mind was slowing me down.  I had to go back to setting goals for myself like, “Keep running until you get to the next cross street; then you can walk.”  I did that many times.  One time I did it and when I got to the cross street I knew I needed to keep running.  There was no physical reason to stop. 

It was so rewarding to put a practical purpose to my exercise! 

In other news, a blogger I follow posted this question on Facebook:

Why do we struggle with food?

She had been talking about this with her counselor and is planning to do a blog post on it, but wanted her readers’ input.  I read a dozen or so responses and almost all of them talked about overeating or unhealthful eating being learned behavior [blame your parents] or lack of self-control.  They were so hopeless!  I had to answer with the hope God has given me in overcoming the sin of overeating.  Here’s my response:

“For me, it's plain and simple indulgence.  I like the taste of food.  I wasn't trusting God to give me what I need when I need it; I was getting it for myself...and lots of it.  Sometimes when working late at night I knew I needed to sleep but I couldn't; I had to keep working.  So I ate food for energy to stay awake.  A bowl of white rice with butter wasn't the best choice, though.  Now that I've learned self-control by denying myself what my body doesn't need, life is so much better.  I still like food, and I still have a little chocolate most days.  Food isn't what consumes me anymore, though.  It's fuel for my body.  Period.  If I can make it taste good AND be healthful, so much the better.  If I have to just eat and move on with my day, no big deal.  Food is no big deal anymore.  It's no big deal!!!  If my current size 16 body had said that to my old size 26 body, it wouldn't have believed it, but it's true!  I love this freedom!”

One person wrote after me that she wished she could just learn to put Jesus in place of food so she wouldn’t have these problems.  I clicked through to her blog and left a comment inviting her to view my blog or email me.  I hope she contacts me so I can share with her what Jesus has done for me!

I RAN AGAIN TODAY!!!

I RAN AGAIN TODAY!!!  For the first time in 3 months!  Thank you, Brandice, for coming over and showing me the dynamic stretches to warm up.  They helped.  We ran about 3 sections and walked 1 for 3 miles!  I felt like this when I was running

but I was running! 

It felt good to push my lungs beyond what they've had to do lately.  It felt good to talk with Brandice the whole way and catch up on what's been happening in our lives.  If I had been by myself, I might not have gone the whole distance.  I haven't even walked 3 miles since January.  Ahhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!! 

I'M BAAAAAAACK!!!!!!!

:-)

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!

2400 Steps!

Oh boy!  What a post this is going to be!  I've registered for The Sunrise Run, my first 5K. http://www.firsttothecross.com/  I still go my usual route near my house and increase the running portion by 10 steps per section per week.  I have about 5 weeks until the race and I was secretly wondering if I would get to the point where I'm running the entire distance and not walking at all right before the race and not really have time to get comfortable at that level.  I asked the race organizer for a map of the route so I could run it now because I don't like surprises.  I like to know what's coming and what I need to do.  She sent it to me, and a friend and I and our children have walked/jogged/rollerbladed it a few times.  The first time, my friend and I warmed up a little, ran 500 steps, walked some, ran 500 steps, walked some, etc. for the length of the course.  Not bad.  Stretching the distance a little for me, but very doable.  The next time we upped it to 600 steps each time we ran.  So far so good. 

Over the weekend I was talking to another friend, the one who challenged me to look into The Lord's Table Bible Study at www.SettingCaptivesFree.com that really jumpstarted my weight loss and through which I allowed God to transform me into a new and different person by changing the way I think (Romans 12:2 in NLT).  He suggested that instead of setting my goal at 500 or 600 steps, I just run until I can't run anymore and see how far I get.  I still needed to count, though, so Monday I suggested to my running friend that since we did 600 steps last week, we go for 1200 this time!  She agreed.  I kept count, calling out every 100 steps, and she kept encouraging us with, "We can do this!  Jesus is the strength in our legs!" and similar phrases.  When we got to 1200 steps we felt like we could continue so we did!  We ended up running 1600 steps that time!  Whew! 

We walked to catch our breath, then decided to go for 1800 steps.  As we hit 1800, neither of us stopped.  She said, "You have 2000 in mind, don't you?!"  I said, "I think I do!"  Then she suggested we run to the bridge we could see in front of us then walk for a while. 



That ended up being 2400 steps!  2400!  A mile is roughly 2000 steps, so we ran for more than a mile without stopping!  We walked a little way then ran to the end of the course, which turned out to be 1250 steps.  Incredible! 

Oh!  And then my daughter and I drove to a park for our fitness class, http://fitnessinfusiononline.com/, and did 45 minutes of that!

Ephesians 3:20 (MSG) - "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, His Spirit deeply and gently within us."

That was Monday.  Today I was back to my usual route near my house.  I made a goal of running the entire first mile.  I did it!  I walked the next section to monitor my heart rate and to catch my breath, then ran the entire second mile (except for that first section)!  I did the same thing for the third mile. 

I ran the entire 3-mile distance except for two short sections!  I can't wait to get together with my friend again tomorrow and see what God can do with us on the race course!