My First Half-Marathon!!!

One morning in training I planned to do a 10-mile run.  I cook hamburger patties and freeze them to eat after my runs for protein.  This particular morning I remembered to take it out of the freezer but left it on the counter.  I went off without water and without my post run chocolate protein drink.  All I had in the car was the hot tea I’d made as part of breakfast. 
Seriously?  God, what are you trying to teach me?  No hamburger patty is one thing, and no protein drink is one thing, but You let me walk out of the house without WATER?  For a 10-mile run???!!! 
Guess what.  My times were faster that day than normal.  I did stop at a store about half way and get some coconut water and a banana, but God was teaching me that I need a lot less than I think I do.

So early in 2015 I made not exactly a resolution, at least I didn't call it that.  I just said and wrote down that this year I would run a half-marathon.  This paper has been on my fridge all year. 

 

A few days before my half-marathon, I saw an item I was interested in on a Facebook sale site but I’d have to drive 12 miles to get it so I decided not to.  Then it hit me that I thought *driving* 12 miles was too far but I’ll be *running* 13.1!

The morning of the race I woke up to nice breezy weather; a little warmer than ideal, but I’ll take it. 
I felt ready.  Prepared.  This sure beats not preparing well and wondering if I’ll make it.  I was more excited than nervous.  At the start I ran about a tenth of a mile before realizing my music wasn’t on!  Then I had to find the beginning song.  I couldn’t believe I didn’t think of getting that ready before the start.  Okay, all set now!  Running well.  I recognize this area I’ve been running for months.  I belong here.  I wonder if I should move from the blocked-off street to the sidewalk I’m familiar with.  Nah, I’ll stay here.  It’ll be some novelty mixed with familiarity. 

My time is great!  A little faster than usual, but not excessively.  It must be adrenaline and the excitement of the race finally happening. 

 

I’m coming to the first refueling point, 45 minutes in.  I didn’t wear my fuel belt because it’s ugly and bulky.  I see Brianne and Nico!  I’m glad she wore an orange T-shirt; that makes it very easy to spot her from far away!  I swallowed some mashed sweet potato.  It provides vitamins and good carbs.  I drank some watermelon juice/coconut water/salt concoction I came up with on my own.  No energy gels or Gatorade for this runner; I’m going as natural as possible!  I walked while it digested and talked with my daughter and son-in-law, but the total walk time was no more than 2 minutes.  See you at the next refueling place! 

I ran across the blocked-off south span of the Park Blvd. bridge, not the north span with a pedestrian lane like I practiced, but I knew that was a possibility.  No problem; I can handle a little bit of unfamiliarity.  Still going strong.  I started 30 minutes early with the walkers and other slow runners, but the fast runners had already caught up with us.  Many as they passed me said, “Good job!”, “Looking good!”, “Keep it up!”, etc.  Ahhhh, positive encouragement!  And from the fast runners!
I met my support crew again at about mile 6.  Yay!  I’m thankful to them for providing me fuel so I didn’t have to carry it myself or rely on what the race provided.

About the halfway point there were lots of people at Seminole City Park to cheer us!  One of them was my running friend Lisa who took the pictures you see here.  Thanks, Lisa, for the encouragement and picture-taking!  I was feeling strong, smiling, and really enjoying the race!

A thought, one of thousands, occurred to me while I was running.  Everyone knows that it’s not wise to cram for a test and that you really should manage your time well and be prepared, but hardly anyone follows that advice.  Let me tell you, FOLLOW IT!  I’m so glad I put in the necessary time training.  It was still work, and I still didn’t end up with a record pace, but I enjoyed it and felt confident.  That was worth all those 4 a.m. alarms to run before the rest of my day started and all the sweat and sore feet I endured for the last 6 months specifically and the last 4+ years generally. 

 

My phone died at mile 10.3.  Grrrr!  I made sure I didn’t unplug it from the charger until right before I left the house and that I had no apps open in the background and it still died on me.  I’ll have to find out why. 
In addition to feeling prepared with the distance, I’m glad I was prepared with this particular course.  The Pinellas Trail is beautiful!

I entered Taylor Park in a different place than I had trained for.  I’m rolling with the flow so it was fine.  I made it to the 1/2-mile-long crushed shell path and my legs didn’t collapse under me.  Back on concrete now and only about half a mile to go!  I can hear the music at the finish line.  I’m coming, I’m coming!  I finished!  I ran my first half-marathon!  I ran 13.1 miles!

 

My time was 3:13:19, which is a 14:45 pace per mile.  That’s slow, but about what I run in training, so it wasn’t a letdown.  I’m happy that I ran and that I finished!  I’m happy that my fitness club friends and others encouraged me to go ahead and do this race and not wait.  I’m happy that God changed my heart and then my mind and my body so that I would even want to run much less actually be able to do it!

My mom and dad were in the park but couldn’t get to the finish line, so  I saw them soon after.  I walked around for a little while drinking water, got some of both kinds of pasta and an orange and a banana.  It’s amazing how good food tastes when you earn it!  I burned about 2600 calories so I needed to replenish some of them.  Wow, recovery is hard.  There was no time to nap in the afternoon because we drove over an hour to meet some family for supper.  I took a pillow and tried to sleep in the car but sleep didn’t come.  I had a post-race massage 3 days after.  Ahhhhh!!!  My body is just TIRED.  I took the whole week after the race off from running and I’m fine with that.

The overlying feeling for this race and much of the training was joy!  I loved the whole race experience and most of the training, especially when the weather cooled down (well, cool for Florida).  I felt joy each time I ran a new distance in the weeks leading up to the race, starting with 10 miles.  The joy of the Lord is my strength!

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.

200-mile Ragnar Relay Race is almost here!

Friday, January 31, 2014

One week from now I will have completed my first and longest Ragnar leg!  It's almost here! 

I had planned to taper off and not run next week after Sunday but still do my usual Tuesday, Thursday, and either Saturday or Sunday runs this week.  However, rain and cold temperatures have changed those plans and I ran only Tuesday.  I hope I can get in a long run tomorrow and possibly a short one Sunday.  I'm glad I have a good base of 8-mile runs built up. 
 

Sunday, February 02, 2014

I ran a little more than 6 miles on the beach with a friend yesterday and then did a yoga class, also on the beach.  Last evening I ran one mile to test out the GPS watch a fellow Ragnar team member is letting me borrow.  Today I ran 40 minutes with a friend and this will be my last run before Ragnar.  My body needs to rest!  Running 3 times in about 24 hours will be very close to what Ragnar will be like.  It's been very hard for me to get two runs a day in, and I like to be prepared, so this is good experience.  I just wish I'd been able to do it a couple months ago and more times.  Oh well.  God is the god of the impossible, and letting people see what He can do through me is the reason I started running in the first place.  Let's go then!

Two-A-Day Runs

Thursday

The Ragnar Relay Race is just over a month away and I'm feeling the self-imposed pressure to get faster and to run more.  I've run 7-8 miles a few times now but I'm not getting faster.  At one point I was telling my running team my whole weight loss/running story and I said that I used to not want to even walk one mile because the weather was too ho-o-o-o-o-t.  Then I started walking and running and now I eat 5Ks (3.1 miles) for breakfast!  Well now I'm starting to eat 10Ks for breakfast! 

According to the suggested training schedule Ragnar puts out, I should've started doing two-a-day runs in November to get used to running on tired legs.  I did walk in the evening about one mile after I had run in the morning but only once or twice.  This morning I ran 7.8 miles and my goal was to walk four miles this evening.  I forgot to start my timer when I started walking so I don't know how fast I did the first mile.  I started the timer at the 1-mile mark and was going to see how fast I could do the second mile and then see if I could beat that time on the third and fourth miles.  However, before I'd reached 1-1/2 miles it started to rain.  I love running or walking in the rain but I had to put my phone in my pocket so it wouldn't get wet and that caused the timer to stop.  It kept raining harder, which I loved, but I didn't want to ruin my phone so I cut it short and walked just over two miles.  Sigh.   

I'm going to run in the morning but only 4 miles.  I don't want to overdo it by trying to run another 7 or 8.  My Ragnar legs are 7-1/2 miles, 4 miles, and 2 miles.  I just want my body to be used to running on tired legs. 

Sunday

I didn't run on Friday like I said I was going to.  Ugh!  Sometimes it's just hard to make myself get out there and do it.  I ran with a friend this morning for 40 minutes, about 3 miles.  I've tried to do two-a-day runs for more than a month but all I can manage the second time out is to walk.  Better than nothing but…disappointing.  Maybe it was hard because the days I'd tried to run a second time I had run 8 miles the first time!  Since I did only 3 this morning I figured it was realistic to do a few more this evening.  I'm getting bored with my usual routes, though, and wanted something different so I went to the beach.  I love that I live in a place where I can go to the beach in January and run!  I determined to do 50 minutes, which would be about 4 miles.  I actually did 4-1/2 miles at a pace of 11:06!  I don't know how I got that pace since lately I've been running between 13 and 14 minutes per mile, but I'll take it!  I'm running again in the morning (in 9 hours) with a friend but I don't know how far.  We'll see what this body can handle after running twice today.  It's tired. 

 

Midnight 10K

I've kept putting this post off because something (like work) always came up that I needed to get done.  No more!  I'm finally writing!  Not that there's anything in this post that's super exceptional that I just have to record, but it keeps hanging over my head.  Unfinished business.  So here goes: 

 

On July 3 at about 9:00 at night a few family members and I headed north about 20 miles to Dunedin to the Kiwanis Midnight Run.  I ran the 5K last year and signed up for the 10K this year.  This was my first 10K since December, which was my first one ever.  I had run 6.2 miles in training a couple times but not a lot.  I felt prepared, though.  I picked up my race packet and shirt and was able to get one that was size large.  Not XL.  Not XXL.  Not XXXL.  Just L.   

 

Do you know how happy that makes me feel?!

The 5K started a little before midnight and the 10K started about 12:30.  I began the course running with my friend Lisa, but she quickly outpaced me.  Go Lisa!  I kept running at my happy pace.  Here comes a drawbridge.  So cool to run over the metal grate and see the water directly below me!  Ahhhhh!  Downhill!  Such fun!  A breeze!  Okay, now it's flat, hot, and humid again.  Blehh!  We headed toward Honeymoon Island State Park and, just like last year, it was nice to leave the city lights behind and run toward moonlight on the water and quietness.  The 5K runners turned around at some point and the 10Kers kept on running.  We entered the park and it got even quieter.  Mmmmmmm!!!  Love it!  There was less of a breeze now, though, because of woods around us.  Still nice.  I wanted to hear the quiet so I turned off my MP3 player.  I heard frogs so I quickly turned the music back on and made sure I stayed near the middle of the road.  I don't like am irrationally terrified of frogs.  They're disgusting, ugly, gross, and creepy, and I have my three younger brothers to thank for this irrational fear.  I know frogs can't hurt me, but I'd hurt myself trying to get away from one!  I moved to the center of the road so that if one was fool enough to jump onto the road from the shoulder, I'd see it (hopefully) and have time to scream and do a funny weird little dance to get out of its way. 

Ahem.  Moving on.  I tried a couple more times to run without music but all I heard was frogs.  At one point I felt a sharp pain in my knee, but I prayed and asked God to heal and strengthen it.  The pain was gone in a few steps.  Thank You, God! 

There were luminaries lining the road since there are no light posts out on the island.  Very pretty.  At the turnaround point there was a van parked sideways with a large American flag displayed on it and they were playing Bruce Springsteen's Born In The USA (since it was July 4th).  Cool!  That gave me a little more momentum. 

 

I finished the 10K in 1:23:09 at a 13:23 pace.  That's almost a minute slower than the one I did in December, but this one was run at midnight after a full day of being awake and working (I got about a 2-hour nap in the afternoon).  I had run the first part of this course in last year's 5K, but otherwise it was unfamiliar.  I ran the December 10K course at least twice a week for a couple months in training, so I'm pleased with my results. 

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.  :-)

My First Trail Run!

I did my first trail run on January 13!  It was the Kiwanis Honeymoon Island Adventure Run.  They had a 5K and a 5-mile run with a combined start.  Everyone ran the 5K and then those who had registered for the 5-mile continued on to the beach and back for a total of 5 miles. 

It was a beautiful but unseasonably warm morning (mid to upper 60s). 

I had run only 3.1 miles with my running partner Melisa three times in the last couple weeks so I wondered if I had the stamina to do a longer run.  I did.  J  My daughter and I drove to the park a week or so before the race to get an idea of the course but it wasn’t well marked on the map and we ran only about 4 minutes.  Unfamiliar territory is unfamiliar territory for me!  I like to know what to expect and I didn’t know what to expect going into this run except that it would be on trails.  I love woods and I’ve walked plenty of trails, but I didn’t know THIS trail.  Now I really wish I had been able to run it because I didn’t expect there to be loose sand on a portion of it. 

By a portion I mean about 1-1/4 miles.  :-O  And not on the beach, either!  The first mile was Florida soil (sand) with a covering of pine needles.  Nice. 

Except for the occasional pile of pine needles that could be slippery. 

Not bad though.  Gotta watch out for exposed roots.

I was at 11:something at the 1-mile marker.  11:something?!  I’m ahead of schedule!  I usually do a 13:something mile!  Mile 2 and a good portion of mile 3 were loose sand.  Ugh.  I ran on the edge as much as I could where there was vegetation and that helped some but not a lot.  I was tempted to walk but I didn’t! 

Some spots had nice green grass to run on.  Ahhhh! 

I got through that and the trail turned to muck and deep ruts.  This isn't a picture of the worst of the ruts.  That was on a part of the course I didn't take the time to get to afterward.  They were much worse than this, covered the entire road, and were very slippery.

It wasn’t really mud because we haven’t had rain in a while, but the ruts in the road still had enough moisture that there was slippery muck.  I ran on the edge there as much as possible too but sometimes had to run right through it.  

Mmmmmmmm…natural Florida!

 

As I was approaching the staging area

and the end of the 5K, I thought, “Okay, Michele, you can stop here if you want to.”  It wasn’t so much a temptation to stop as it was just a thought.  My response was, “Why would I stop now?”  The only part left was the beach portion.  I really enjoy running on the beach and haven’t done it in quite a while so I was looking forward to it.  Oh, somewhere in the first mile a lot of people started passing me.  I’m used to it and it doesn’t bother me.  Farther along, though, I couldn’t hear anyone behind me and I kept thinking I was the very last person.  I wasn’t happy about that, but someone has to be last and at least I was still running. 

I continued on to the beach with almost 2 miles left to go and lots of people were coming BACK from the beach.  Sigh.  Again, I’m not trying to win any of these races and I know lots of people are younger, faster, and fitter than I am.  I’m not competing against them but there’s still a tiny bit of a letdown when I actually SEE them being younger, faster, and fitter than I am.  Oh well.  Keep running.  I expected to have to run through loose sand to get to the packed sand at the beach.  I didn’t expect to have to run through rocks. 

Yes, rocks.  I also didn’t expect to have to run on such a slant. 

It was much more of a slant than I’ve run on at beaches before.  Oh well.  Keep running.  I was sure I was the last one now.  As I FINALLY approached the turn-around point I said to the volunteer, “I may be last, but at least I’m still running.”  She said, “You’re not last.”  After I turned I saw someone behind me.  Then another.  Then two more.  I counted 12 people on the last portion of the run who were behind me.  I wasn’t last!  I made it through all those rocks and gave the other side of my body a workout on the slant.  Almost to the finish line! 

I ran past the clock at 1:08:59,

which gave me a pace of 13:48 per mile.  That’s 30-45 seconds slower than I usually run, but I usually run on familiar flat roads, not unpredictable natural surfaces on an unfamiliar course.  I’m not disappointed at all.  I’m sore, but I’m not disappointed! 

My Farthest Distance Yet!

I ran 4.6 miles of a 6.2-mile (10K) course this morning.  This was in preparation for the 10K I want to do next month.  I’d gone the full 10K distance before but that was running half and walking half.  Today I ran more than half.  And that included going over the Clearwater Causeway bridge out and back! 

I took these as a panoramic shot but I don't know how to get them that way on the page.  You'll just have to imagine them side by side and imagine me running up, across, and down. 

I set a goal of running for 30 minutes, turning around, and running back.  I was only on the second song when I heard myself say, “22?  23?  How about 25?” 

“NO!”  I answered out loud.  “30!  I said 30 minutes!  Run for 30 minutes!”  While Mandisa was singing:

It's a good morning!
Wake up to a brand new day
This morning
I'm stepping, stepping on my way
Good morning
You give me strength
You give me just what I need
And I can feel the hope that's rising up in me.
It's a good morning

I was trying to tell myself to shorten the distance I was going to run.  (Sigh.  Shaking my head.)

I met my competition.  Her name is My Own Thoughts.  My competition is not against any other runner.  It’s not even against the voice in my head telling me to stop because there isn't a voice telling me to stop.  It knows I won’t do that.  It does know that there’s a very real possibility I will shorten the time or distance I’m going to run or that I’ll slow to a walk if it can catch me at the right (wrong) time.  It knows I’ll say that walking is better than doing nothing.  It knows I’ll say that the fact I’m running at all is an accomplishment and I’ve already run some so it’s okay if I walk some. 

This morning was not the right time to catch me in those thoughts!  I not only told myself (more like gasped) out loud that I would run for 30 minutes, I kept telling myself out loud, “Keep running.”  A few yards later, “Keep running.”  (Check my watch.  Only at 15 minutes, halfway to the turnaround point.)  “Keep running.  Look how far you’ve come!  You made it up the HUGE bridge, across the top, and you earned the downhill!  Wasn’t it fun?!  Yeah, the downhill was fun!  Keep running.” 

After 30 minutes I turned around and headed back.  I had maybe ¼ mile to go before I hit the bridge again.  I prayed that God would help me focus on His creation along the way to keep me going and that the sun wouldn’t blind me.  I didn’t want to focus on that!  I hit the bridge and, man, did I feel that incline!  Part way up, though, a cool breeze came from behind to keep me from getting overheated.  It was God pushing me!  No way could I slow to a walk now!  Besides, I knew I had to earn the downhill again.  On the downhill portion I even raised my arms up for a second!  (well, as much as my left arm could go without disconnecting my music) 

At some point on the run I was thanking God for giving me a body that can run.  I thought of the verse that says “You have given me a body to offer.”  Hebrews 10:5.  My running can be an act of worship.  I can offer it to God to be used to give glory and attention to Him.  Hebrews 12:1-2 says, “Dear brothers and sisters…give your bodies to God because of all He has done for you.  Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind He will find acceptable.  This is truly the way to worship Him.  Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think.  Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

By offering my body for God to use as He sees fit, He can change my thinking so that I will know His will.  He can change my thinking from wanting to get by with a shorter distance to running farther than I ever have before!

I finished this run after 1 hour and 2 minutes and then drove it to see the distance I had gone - 2.3 miles in one direction and then back for a total of 4.6, the farthest distance I’ve ever completely run. 

Will I go 35 minutes in one direction the next time I do this course?  What do you think I’ll do?

This evening I got an email from a friend who put the two pictures together so you can get a better idea of the HUGE bridge I ran.  Thanks, Doug!  :-)

 

 

 

 

I Keep Learning

I thought I was hungry, so I took a bowl of beans and rice out of the fridge to heat up.  As I walked to the microwave I took a bite of ham that was sitting on top of the rice.  I immediately knew that what I was feeling was not physical hunger so I put the bowl back in the fridge and am eating nothing. 

I don’t need it.  I thought I did in order to keep working this evening and to fuel my run in the morning, but I guess I don’t.  God is still teaching me how to deny myself. 

I think my lack of progress in increasing my running time is directly related to my weight loss being at a standstill.  If I could lose another good amount of weight, I might get faster.  Over the last couple weeks I noticed that the Olympic runners were almost all super thin.  Don’t get the wrong idea!  I’m not going to starve myself or take any supplements nor am I saying anyone should do that to get a certain look.  It’s just an observation I had.  I hope their leanness is a result of good nutrition and training.  I’m not training for the Olympics.  Maybe realizing that bite of ham was not what I needed is God telling me to trust Him with fueling my body.  Maybe I don’t need to eat as much as I think I do.  Maybe I’ll eat a little bit after I wake up and before I run in the morning.  Maybe not.  We’ll see.  I just know I don’t need anything tonight, and I realized it before I ate the entire bowl of beans and rice.