Chicago....HERE WE COME!!!!

Good afternoon to all my readers. I know it has been a long time since I've posted anything but I've learned that the last month of training is very busy!! I had a friend that asked me one day, "Where have you been? I haven't heard from you in forever!" I started thinking about it and my answer was: cleaning, run, cooking, run, laundry, run, homeschool, run, taxi driver, run and run and run! The last couple of weeks I feel like I've run 500 miles! Even my mid week runs were long (12, 10, 8 miles) and those take a while to complete. So needless to say, I haven't had many chances to sit and blog and when I do sit down, I fall asleep! haha! But seriously, Jerod's back went out about a month ago and for about a week he couldn't do anything. I had to help him dress even. Not good for a fellow who is trying to train for a marathon! But we never felt like God was telling us to quit, just wait. In fact that very message came to me one day in a song while I ran. I don't argue anymore, I just say ok. Or else, I've been too tired to argue! Anyway, here we are just 2 1/2 days away from our marathon and Jerod can not only dress himself, but he showed me last night how he could stand and bring one leg all the way up where his knee touched his chest. I know that doesn't seem like much, but it is HUGE. I have some awesome prayer warriors that have been praying for him to be healed before the race, and it is working! It's just like when my ankles hurt, God is answering our prayers. He is also answering my prayers when it comes to having good weather. As you know, I don't run well in heat. So, I've been praying that it won't be hot during the race. Well.....the high for Sunday is in the mid 40's and there is a chance of snow flurries. Is He answering or what?! I wasn't expecting Him to so well but we go back to that arguing thing. Like a fellow runner said, "That will just make the memories even better!" Ok, I'll take your word for it. So, we fly into Chicago tomorrow night, pick up our packets and information Saturday, and the run starts bright and early at 7:30 a.m. Sunday. I'm taking my computer so I hope to write in but if not, I'll write when we get home and post pics. Thanks for reading!! God bless.

If at first you don't succeed...

Good afternoon! Well as some of you may have noticed, I didn't blog about our long run last week. That's because I wasn't ready to write down another failure. I wanted my next blog to be positive, uplifting and successful but last week's run didn't fit any of those characteristics. We started out attempting our 16 mile run and it was hot and windy and we didn't have enough fluid for the both of us, and I cramped up and had to quit. About 6 miles short. Not good. So I had resolved that I was going to work really hard last week to run exactly what I was suppose to and conquer the 16 again this last weekend. So I ran my 4 miles, then 8 miles, and then 5 miles...took Friday and Saturday off (because Jerod played golf with his brother for his birthday) and we ran last night. It was another chamber of commerce evening and I decided to take my own water with me so I could stay good and hydrated. My frame of mind was completely different from the week before because I had succeed in my training during the week and I knew I had to do this in order to stay mentally healthy until the marathon. The funny thing is, Jerod and I were having disagreements about where to run. I did not want to run in the middle of nowhere again and get stuck having to walk four miles to the nearest public place, and he wasn't sure about running around town because it was hard to mark off exactly 16 miles. But I finally won and we ran around town. Our kids stayed with my parents and they agreed to bring us water when we called and said we needed it. (That was another thing that was different...it was the first time we had taken a phone with us on a long run.) So at mile 10 they brought us water and re-marked our last 6 miles for us because we were bored running around and around the city park. I was feeling really good at mile 10 and could tell that I was going to complete this challenge. I was going to succeed! I also was running longer than I had since our 13 mile run a month ago and my legs were feeling okay. Tired, yes, but not cramping or hurting. It was so helpful to have my parents bring us fresh water and to have my daughter hang out the car window saying, "I love you mommy! Good job mommy!" and ask for kisses. That may have been just the mental energy I needed to finish. Remember me saying this was a mental game? Well, I need mental energy just like I need physical energy to finish. It makes me so happy that our kids are going to the marathon with us and my mom has agreed to go also. She is so excited for us and we even bought her a bright orange Team World Vision t-shirt to sport around on the airplane ride over there and during the race. Since we are not able to have a normal team setting during our team runs and it's just me and Jerod, I find myself needing more and more of that mental energy and I couldn't ask for it to come from a better place than my kids. I did find however, that during miles 12-15, you begin to become a little delirious. Jerod started acting like he was playing chicken with the oncoming traffic, we had a water fight right there on the side of the road, and one of my favorite songs came on and I started singing as loud as I could. Yes, all while we were running! If us running didn't make people think we were crazy enough, then the nuts running down the road singing and having a water bottle fight sure would have solidified it. But I don't care because after 3 hrs 20 minutes, and 16 miles we were not fighting anymore and nothing can bond two people like accomplishing that challenge together. I'm so proud to be running for Team World Vision, I'm so proud that my kids and mom are coming all that way to support us, I'm so happy that I'm getting to experience all of this with my husband, and I'm so proud to be doing all of it in the name of the Lord! I'm excited!!!! And...the best news of all....I can actually walk today! Have a great one!

Donations, donations....

7 days off training due to helping friends move to Houston + 5 days off for being sick = ONE TOUGH LONG RUN! Let's get down to the meat of the situation. The bad news is...my feet hurt, my calves hurt, I feel like I've been run over and I still have a house to clean before Jaxen's baptism party tomorrow. The good news is...I am back training and meeting my goals. I think getting sick really slowed down my progress but I am determined to continue to make it in Chicago. I am discouraged about one thing though. While we have talked this and shared with people WHY we are putting our bodies and families through this, we have had only 2 people donate to our cause. It makes it really hard to want to keep going when raising money for people in Africa is our reason for doing this and we haven't had many donations. It is going to cost us personally a lot to get to Chicago to run this and I'd really like it if we had more in donations then what we are putting into it to get there. Please...if you are reading this and feel led to donate we would appreciate anything. $5, $10...no amount is to small to help further the kingdom of God! We are officially half way through our training and I think we have proven ourselves to others that we are actually going to do this. Anyway, back to our run today. We actually ran in the morning which hasn't happened in awhile but needs to happen more because it will help us see what we need to change to make it easier on our bodies. There was a funny point during the run...my nose would not quit draining. I was sniffling and snorting through but I begged Jerod to run ahead of me and grab me some napkins or tp out of one of the convience stores coming up so I could blow my nose. He of course looked at me like I was crazy but he loves me enough that he did it for me. I'm sure I looked pretty funny blowing my nose while running down the street! I did walk more (a lot more) during this run but I was determined I was going to finish either way. I'm going to rest tomorrow and get a massage on Monday and get back to our training schedule so next weekends run won't be so hard. It ended up that I did 13.5 miles and Jerod did 15. I finished in 2 hours and 45 minutes which shows that I can still finish the 26 in the right amount of time. Even after being sick. Jerod finished pretty much right behind me and now we are on to the next thing! One more week down, one more week closer, and two people still as dedicated as we were in the beginning. God bless you today!!

Ups and Downs

I am sick. Not the "just not feeling well" kind of sick but the congestion, chest hurts, headache, fever, aches and chills kind of sick. How can one train when they can't breathe? How can I catch up from missing scheduled runs from being in Houston and now being sick? Does every marathon trainee go through this or is this Satan's attempt to bring me down? Maybe, but will I let it? Certainly not!! I will not let this bring me down and I will not let this make me want to give up. I will rest and give my body a chance to heal and get healthy however. I think running right now would only further delay my recovery. So please pray for me now that I recover quickly and get back to my training asap!! Now if you excuse me, I'm going to eat some soup that my amazing hubby fixed for me and take a nap. :)

Numbers....it's all in the perception

13. That number conjures up many images. Silly teenagers caught between kids and adults trying to act cool but just not able to let go of having childhood fun. Jerod's number in baseball and the many games I watched over our first year of dating. A baker's dozen...now there's a good image! : ) Or miles....wait, WHAT? Miles? Yes, my dears, mileage that was run last night by Jerod and me. You will officially think I have lost my mind now but it was actually fun! Well at least the first 10 miles. Let's rabbit chase for a moment...I knew it was going to be a good day yesterday when my son announced that he had chosen to invite Jesus into his heart. He is now not only my son, but my brother in Christ! Yeah!! I have yet to even find the words that describe my joy. Okay so back to the run. Yesterday was what the weather man called a "chamber of commerce" day. At about 5:00pm, it was 78 degrees and the wind was very low. It was cloudy and the sun came and went. We started and I was nervous! Remember the 10 mile letdown? Yeah...I was nervous! But I can say I did it! I ran 4 songs and walked less than 1 (if you have no idea what I'm talking about please see "Mathematical Running") and kept up with Jerod pretty well. He would look behind him and I'd either wave or give him the thumbs up to let him know I was okay and in between runs, we would talk, laugh, and encourage each other. Our fearless leader, Robin, drove by, honked, waved, and cheered us on. I found myself smiling for awhile after that. Why wasn't she with us you ask? Well, she was loading her moving van getting ready for the long move to Houston and I'm sure I'll have to cry out that blog next week but not today. Nope, today is a good day. One that reminds me that I can do anything, ANYTHING, ANY thing, through Christ who strengthens me. One that shows me that through this chaotic and emotional roller coaster of a week, He is still here. He is still with us and He is our biggest cheerleader. Yep, a good day, no...a great day....one that followed the BEST day. We arrived back home 2 1/2 hours later and that really shocked me! I thought it had taken me a lot longer than that but if I continue at this pace, I can finish the marathon well within the allotted time. And I can honestly say that I've run a half marathon. Pretty cool huh? : ) Okay, here's wishing you a great day too and God Bless!!