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!!

Mathematical running

So several weeks ago, I talked about my run right after my ankles were getting better. It was in our neighborhood and I remember being proud of running through 1 song and then walking through 1 song. Well...last night I ran the same route but was amazed at my progress since my last run in that direction. I have been running between now and then obviously, but it's mainly been on a treadmill. So I challenged myself to run through as many songs as possible and walk in less time than through one song. Am I making sense? Okay this may help...I started and ran through 3 songs and found myself about 3 times further away than I expected. I was at least a good mile away from our house and I had run the whole time...no walking! I know that is such a small thing but I was really proud of myself. See, if you average a song's time, they each last about 4 minutes. So through 3 songs and 1 mile later, I ran it in approximately 12 minutes. And, I didn't walk through a whole song and was able to get started running a lot quicker than I ever imagined I would. I truly felt like I am making progress in my journey! After failing at last weeks run, I was very discouraged and frustrated. But this is a very good example that I am getting better and stronger. We still have more than 1/2 of our training to do and I am feeling good about it. Chicago here I come!!! Oh and my overall miles?... 7. Thank you very much!

Big failures vs. small victories

Today's conclusion: my body does not like to run in the heat. Period. I don't have any other way of saying it or any other way of making it not true. Jerod and I headed out for our 10 mile run this evening and we got about 1.5 into it and I could tell that I was not going to make it. My head was already throbbing, my throat was extremely dry and I was getting that knot in it that comes right before you vomit. Not good. We had 8.5 left and we had just started. I felt like I could do this because we ran 8 miles last week and I felt good after that run. I remember thinking, "Good! We run 10 miles next week and I feel like I could do it now!" Well, last week wasn't quite so hot. It was 99 degrees when we left the house today. We did have water handy but I think I needed most of it poured on me rather than drinking it. I ended up walking about another 2 miles before I caved in and admitted that I needed to turn around and come home. So that's what we did. Let me tell you something, when you feel like you've failed at something, walking 3 miles back, knowing that every car that passes you knows you're a failure...it's not pleasant! But while I was fighting the urge to say that I wanted to just become lazy and fat and quit, I was trying to find my small victory in this experience. See God has been giving me small victories throughout this entire process and I feel like He will continue to do so if I'm just open to seeing it. As we were about 3 streets away from home, Jerod asked me why I thought I shut down like that. Here's my theories: 1. Even while I don't mind the heat, my body doesn't like to exercise in the heat. Plain and simple. 2. Being out in 100+ degree weather the last 3 days has zapped any extra resources that my body had. 3. The fact that I had briefly had the same symptoms earlier in the day meant my body was NOT ready for this run. 4. Running in any weather hotter than 90 degrees with hurricane force winds blowing against you is never a good idea.

I haven't claimed a theory yet for my reason but I do know now that I need to be better prepared next time because while becoming fat and lazy sounds really appealing right now, I know I would be miserable at it. Oh and my small victory that God gave me? Well it didn't come til I was in a cool shower, but we walked 6 miles in just under 1 hr. That is still within my time limit to finish the marathon and it count. See? He is so good! Quitting is not an option....you just have to look for the small victories to want to keep going.