Do You Want This or 100 Pounds?

I went to a local mall for a stretching-for-runners clinic last week.  The clinic lasted only 30 minutes and my daughter and I were at the mall for a total of about one hour so we weren’t planning to eat there.  I especially wasn’t planning to eat at the food court.  Yuck!  Yet, as I walked past those restaurants I thought about how good (some) of the food would taste.  At the same time the thought occurred to me, “Do you want this or 100 pounds?” [to reach 100 pounds lost]

Do you want this

or 100 pounds?


Do you want this

or 100 pounds?


Do you want this

or 100 pounds?  (Actually, I would've chosen Auntie Anne's pretzels, but that's beside the point.)


Do you want this

or 100 pounds? 


Haagen-Dazs even had labels on the entrance doors

 

Yes, I snapped a pic but I didn't use it to get $1 off.  I used it right here in this blog.  :-)

 

 

We left the mall without buying any food at all.  It IS possible!  When we got home I was faced with

 

Do you want this

 

or 100 pounds?


I didn't have ANY of this food!  And I'm that much closer to 100 pounds lost!  In fact, as of this morning I've lost 97.2 pounds!  Praise God! 

 

Color Me Rad!

Almost 2 weeks ago I did my first color run, Color Me Rad.  It’s a 5K run (3.1 miles) and every kilometer they throw a different colored powder on you. 

http://www.colormerad.com/

So many people sign up that they have to assign you to a wave with waves departing every 20 minutes.  My cousin and I

 

were in the first wave, which started at 9:00.  My daughter and a friend didn’t go until 10:40.  Even though I was in the first wave, 9:00 is very late for me to be running.  I usually run at 6:00.  Oh well.  Can’t have everything go my way, can I?  :-)  They encourage you to wear white clothes so the color shows up better.  

 

We started with 500 other people and were off!  At kilometer 1 we got color thrown on us.  It’s colored cornstarch, which doesn’t taste very good if it gets in your mouth but won’t hurt you.  I don’t remember the order of the colors, but they had different delivery methods.  Sometimes it was thrown on us by hand from bulk boxes.  At one station it was mixed with water and sprayed on us from sprayers like pest control people use.  At another station they were using fire extinguishers to deliver the color!  

This run is just for fun and is not even timed.  I didn’t take my watch so I don’t know what my time was.  I’m sure it was a little slower than usual since I didn’t know the course and it was later in the morning and getting hot.  

This was my daughter’s first race.  Go Brianne!  (She's on the far right in the picture above and in the group one below.)  She didn’t time herself, either, but she did have fun.  The cornstarch messed with her breathing a little bit, but nothing serious.  

So at the beginning we had “ridiculously white shirts,” as the DJ called them, and by the end we had colorful shirts.  And pants, socks, shoes, skin, hair, etc. 

 

We met up with some friends afterward for a group picture. 

This run was fun, which is how they designed it to be, but I don’t think I’ll do another one.  It was more expensive than other 5Ks, it started late in the day, it was on Memorial Day weekend and that’s late to be running in Florida, and…um…I’ve moved beyond 5Ks. 

:-O 

Did I really just say that?  I run a 5K three times a week just in my normal training, I’ve already done one 10K and am training for another in less than a month, and I’m training for Ragnar, the 200-mile relay race.  This would be a good first race but I’m not a beginner anymore.

Here’s a bonus picture of someone’s shirt I saw and liked. 

 

 

 

 

 

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.  

 

********************************************************************************** 

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.  :-)

I'm Going To Run a Ragnar!

I have exciting news!  Next year I’m going to run a Ragnar!  What’s a Ragnar, you ask?  Oh, it’s just a 200-mile relay race from Miami to Key West, that’s all. 

200 miles???!!!  Am I crazy???!!!

Well, notice that I said it’s a relay race, so I won’t be running the whole thing.  Whew!  There are 12 runners on the team, each running three separate legs of varying lengths and difficulties.  I’ll be running a total of 12-14 miles, with the legs ranging between 2 and 7.6 miles each.  It’s February 7-8, 2014.  We’ll run all day and night and maybe day again until our last team member crosses the finish line.  Actually, the other runners join the last runner and the whole team crosses the finish line together.  I like that!    

The captain of our church’s running team mentioned this race as we were on our way to man a water station at a recent half-marathon.  He had mentioned it before but this time the talk was more serious and less than 48 hours later we were signed up and official! 

http://www.ragnarrelay.com/race/floridakeys 

More information will come throughout this year as my training progresses.  I know I need to run faster than 13 minutes per mile, but it’s very difficult and actually unproductive to just say, “I’m going to do my next 3.1-mile run faster.”  It just doesn’t happen for me.  One day last week instead of running like I usually do I ran short sections in the cemetery by my house where I first started walking/jogging.  Each section took about a minute and then I turned around and ran back, trying to do it faster.  Each pass I shaved a few seconds off my time, but man did I feel the difference when I sped up!  Once I ran double the distance and on the return trip I did it in the same amount of time, so I have lots of work to do to get faster.  That’s okay, though.  I have more than 10 months until the race and I have a good foundation of pushing myself and listening to when God is pushing me, too. 
On my run with a few friends yesterday morning I was telling someone about the life lessons I’ve learned as a result of running, one of which is that you can go farther than you think you can.  A few minutes later God clearly spoke (not audibly) and said, "You can go faster than you think you can, too.”  There it is - God pushing me.  I know I can do this!  Actually, I just happened to catch a glimpse of my first post on this blog when I quoted a verse saying that God doesn't push us around.  Rather, He works within us, deeply and gently within us.  Of course I didn't mean He was pushing me around.  What I meant is that He is pushing me to go farther and faster than my own human mind wants to allow me to go. 

I was thinking the other day that I’ve been running for a little more than 2 years.  How did I get here?  Who is this woman I’ve become?  I like her! 

I prayed for God to give me a verse for this race and immediately Hebrews 12:1-3 came to mind.  “Since we are surrounded by such a huge cloud of witnesses to this life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.  Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.  We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.  He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy He knew would be His afterward…Think about all He endured when sinful people did such terrible things to Him so that you don’t become weary and give up.”

I just ran this morning with friends and did 3.1 miles in 39:40.  I haven't been below 40 minutes in almost two months!  I guess that speed work I did the other day helped!  Thank You, God!

 

 

 

Gasparilla 8K

Saturday

So here I am less than 24 hours before my 8K race and I feel like…well, to say I feel like death warmed over would be an exaggeration because…cough…this cold is getting better, but I certainly don’t feel prepared to run 5 miles tomorrow morning.  God, you’re really going to have to come through on this one.  I plan to take advantage…wheeze…of all three water stations and will walk for about a minute after drinking that water to let it settle.  I don’t want to have to walk any other times, but we’ll see how I feel.  Ideally, I would run the entire thing, which I know I can do when my body is at its peak.  Wheeze…Adjusting for feeling the way I do and the fact that I ran for only 7 minutes this morning at the end of 45-minute walk and I ran only 2.4 out of a possible 3.1 miles Tuesday, I’d say walking part of this 8K is inevitable.  L  I’d rather walk part of it than do any part of it on a stretcher or in the back of an ambulance, though.  Cough.

I feel woefully underprepared to race tomorrow.  I’m not completely better from this chest cold that moved up into my head.  I’ve been eating poorly the last two days.  The weather is warmer than I’d like. 

Are you completely bummed now listening…cough…to me complain?  At church tonight we sang this song, which is on my running playlist.  I made the changes indicated below as I sang it. 

Glory to God Forever

Before the world was made
Before you spoke it to be
You were the King of Kings
Yeah you were, yeah you were
And now you`re reigning still
Enthroned above all things
Angels and saints cry out
We join them as we sing

Chorus
Glory to God
Glory to God
Glory to God forever (repeat)

Creator God you gave
Me breath so I could praise
Your great and matchless name
All my days all my days
So let my whole life [race] be
A blazing offering
A life that shouts and sings
The greatness of our King

Bridge
Take my life [race] and let it be
All for You and for Your glory
Take my life [race] and let it be Yours

Sunday

My daughter and I headed to Tampa about 7:00 this morning so we would have plenty of time to find a parking spot, walk to the start line, etc.  No problems.  We got there before 8 and the race didn’t start until 9.  We had time to take this picture.

I had time to contemplate the size of the group running the 8K

Finally the waiting was over and the race began.  Somehow I ended up near the front of the group with the people who expected to run at a 7-minute-per-mile pace.  I run 12-13 minutes per mile.  Oops.  I made sure to stay to the side of the street so I wouldn’t impede the faster runners.  Apparently I wasn’t the only one who made that mistake because some people were walking even from the very beginning. 

Sometime in the second quarter of the race my running teammate Maria came up behind me.  That’s how we met at the 10K in December too.  We’ve never seen each other at church (it’s big) or when our team has been volunteering at a race.  We meet on the racecourse while we’re running.  J  This time we got to talk and run together for maybe half a mile.  We met up again in line for food afterward and she hung out with my daughter and me. 

During the race I coughed a few times but nothing that prevented me from running.  There were three or four aid stations and I made sure to get water and Gatorade
(Go Gators!) at each one.  I walked for a minute or two while it digested and then ran again.  Those were the only times I walked during the race even though I’ve had this cold!  Thank You, God! 

Before the race started I told my daughter it would be awesome if she could get a picture of me coming across the finish line and have the clock in the picture. 

She did it!  Isn’t she great?!  Let’s give her a hand, folks! 

I just checked the official results and my time was actually 1:08:16, 4 seconds faster than my watch showed.  I’ll take it!  The discrepancy between that time and the time on the clock is because the clock time was started when the gun went off for the beginning of the race but it was 25 seconds after that before I got to the start line. 

And I got a medal! 

 

I got a ribbon from the Strawberry Distance Challenge I did three weeks ago.  Other than that, I’ve never gotten a medal, ribbon, certificate, nuthin’ except the satisfaction of running, from any of the races I’ve run.  Until today.  I earned it and I’m wearing it proudly! 

There were 2924 runners in the 8K and I came in 2531^st. 

After standing in line to get a few postrace goodies like water, a banana, and the tail end of paella from The Columbia Restaurant (they were completely out of black beans and rice and 1905 salad), Brianne and I came home, I showered, and my parents took us out for lunch.  Mmmmmmm!!!  BBQ!!!

It was at Gasparilla two years ago that I stood as a spectator at the finish line of one of the races and cried as God began to give me the desire to run. I came home and wrote a plan on the calendar to increase the distance I ran and decrease the distance I walked (I was still doing a run/walk combo at that point).  Last year I had a knee injury and didn’t run from January until May so Gasparilla was out.  This is a watershed event for me.  If they’d had a 10K I would’ve done that.  I think I’ll do a 15K at another event, maybe in the fall, so next Gasparilla I might be doing the half-marathon (tears as I typed that), but I really need to increase my speed before I try to increase my distance.  I like my pace and increasing my distance really isn’t very hard at such a slow pace.  Looks like I need to challenge and push myself again.  And make a definite plan for increasing speed. 

Yesterday I told God He was really going to have to come through since I was recovering and underprepared.  I think He came through in a big way, don’t you?!

 

Strawberry Race 2013!

I ran the Strawberry Distance Challenge yesterday morning!  It was just a 5K, a distance I do twice a week and I do even more on my longer days.  So why did I pay money and travel about 50 miles one way to do this race?  Because it was a STRAWBERRY race and I’m the Strawberry Queen, that’s why! 

 

I started by having my daughter paint my nails for the occasion.

 

Then I put on my chocolate-dipped strawberry earrings.

 

After I got to the race and picked up my registration packet, I put on the Dri-Fit shirt and had my picture taken with the strawberry guy. 

 

The start and finish lines were not at the same location, so I got my mom situated at the finish line and then I walked a good ½ mile to the start line.  On that walk I stepped down off a curb and felt pain in my right knee.  God, please heal and strengthen both knees and my ankles so that I don’t get hurt.  (I realized on the way home that I never had another pain in any part of my body after that!  Thank You, God!)  At the start line I felt happy and energized to be running in another race.  I love my runs with Melisa twice a week and my runs where it’s just God and me, but there’s excitement when I’m running a real race!  They had someone pray before the race began.  Cool!  And we’re off!  I’m running.  With the sun in my eyes.  This is why I like my very early morning runs, before the sun comes up. It didn’t last long, though, and we turned a corner.  People started passing me, as usual, which was okay except that I had a goal in mind for this race.  I wanted to pass at least five people.  At some point I passed two walkers.  Okay, technically I passed people, but they were walkers so do they really count?  Actually, I didn’t even keep count of the people I passed, I just tried to find people and pass them.  I saw a father and his young son and passed them but then they passed me and then I passed them, etc.  I imagine that father’s ego didn’t want a woman to pass him and his son so they sped up.  Oh well. 

Let me back up to the 1-mile mark.  I was at 11:44 at that point.  What?!  I usually do a mile in about 13 minutes.  Sadly, my first thought wasn’t that I was running faster but that the measurement of my distance at home must be off.  L  Then I did the calculation of when I should be at mile 2.  Just before 23:30.  At mile 2 I was at 24:09, 40 seconds slower than I wanted to be.  Sigh.  Keep running, Michele.  At least you’re still running. 

I recovered from that little letdown and just enjoyed running.  We were running through a very nice subdivision in Plant City called Walden Lake.  We passed a little pond and I looked at it wondering if I would see an alligator.  If I did, would I say something and freak out the other runners?  Should I say something even if there isn’t an alligator and see what people do?  (hee hee!)  Run, Michele. 

I saw a woman who was bigger than I am now but not as big as I was before I started losing weight.  And she was ahead of me.  Ooohh!  Now she’s walking!  I can overtake her!  Closing in…getting closer…almost there…What?!  She started running again.  Aarrgghh!!  That happened a few times but I finally caught up to her.  I said, “Every time I try to pass you, you start running again!”  She said, “I’ve never run this far before!”  I told her good for her and that she was doing great.  Run, Michele. 

At some point the scripture “My lungs expand with His praise” entered my mind.  (Psalms 34:1 – MSG).  I remembered that and breathed deeper, letting my lungs fill up with more fresh air and my mind fill up with more praise to the God who made the air and my lungs. 

The whole time I was running I felt strong.  Not strong like

But strong like alive

I crossed the finish line in 38:19!  That’s 6 seconds faster than I texted some people this morning.  There’s always a difference between gun time and chip time, and 38:25 was what my watch said.  I’ll take 38:19! 

My info is a little past the middle, at #675, my bib number.  I came in 10th out of 17 women in my age group.

They always have water, bananas, and sometimes other food for the runners after a race.  This is what they had for us today!

 

This was as good as any medal to me!

I high-fived the strawberry guy!

 

I got a ribbon!  I’ve never gotten a medal, ribbon, certificate, or anything like that from any of the 7 or so races I’ve done.  And I got strawberries! 

This was one of the most fun races I’ve ever run, and I'll definitely be making it an annual event! 

Now I train for the Gasparilla 8K in two weeks.

 

 

 

 

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!