T - 14 Weeks till Ironman Chattanooga

It's hard to believe that Chattanooga is 14 weeks away! 

Not my leg... just an FYI for some that will ask. :>) 

People keep asking me how my training is going.  It's going pretty good so far.  But I tend to not talk too much about it in depth.  This may sound weird to some, but I'm almost afraid to talk about it too much or get too excited.  It's like I don't want to get all pumped up to just be let down.  All the hard work put in last year and then a week before the race to have a wreck that put me out of the race really took a toll on me.  Maybe it was also the loss of a father-in-law and a step-son during this same time.  

They say writing down your feelings help...  I've been dealing with a lot of mix emotions that I've been keeping inside.  I know this is not good.  What we push down inside will eventually explode like a volcano.  I have so many WHYS....  Why did God allow me to have that bike wreck?... Why did God take Drew who was only 40 and had 3 young girls? Why do I have friends dealing with cancer? ...... Why do I have friends that are grieving a child? ..... Why.. Why ... Why...  I feel as if I can't talk to my husband about all of these Whys...because he has his own Whys and is going through his own grief.  It's not fair for me to throw mine at him too.  So I've been just pushing all those emotions deep down.  And let's face it... I've always been a type of loner.  I keep many things inside.  I only share the deep stuff with a select few.  If you are in that group, you are someone I trust deeply.    

God works in mysterious ways.  I just came across this new book that I started reading and boy has it spoken to me.  The title is "Run the mile you are in".  

It's a book about an Olympic runner with a deep rooted faith in God.  I can't begin to tell you how much I'm enjoying this book and I'm only half way into it.  Ryan, the runner, had many, many let downs in his running career.  But God would always remind him that he was still there.  Ryan talks in details about his personal relationship with God. I know in my heart that God is always with us whether it is good or bad stuff we are facing.  I just haven't been leaning on that faith as much as I should be the past 2 years.   In the book, Ryan talks about his struggles when he thought God didn't show up during a race.  He says he realized that he would never understand why God sometimes says yes and other times he says no.  He had to be learn to be okay with that mystery and trust God, who is the ultimate Father and will always do what is best for his children.  He went on to talk about one of his races where he fell way behind the lead pack.  He was not known for encouraging others.  Matter of fact Ryan says it isn't typically done at all among elite marathoners.  He was out for that medal and HIS win.  But during this race when he left awful.. he was so behind....  God told him to encourage the other runners.  He said as he begin to encourage each runner he ran beside that it was like he forgot about how poorly his race was going.  He forgot about how tired he was and even though he knew only a miracle could bring him to the finish line with a win at this point, God was performing a miracle inside of him.  God was using him to bring his kingdom into the Olympic Marathon.  He said he experience the truth.. when we encourage others, we find ourselves encouraged.  "The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered," Proverbs 11:25.   WOW.. just WOW... I can say from personal experience that the races that I've taken time to encourage other runners, have been the races I enjoyed the most. 

I could go on and on telling you stories in this book.  You should grab you a copy.  It has made me think long and hard about myself.  I want to be that person that encourages others.  I want to be that person that trust God fully.  :>)   I'm human and I would like to say that I'd never battle frustration or discouragement again, like my bike wreck where after a year of training I could not race, but I know that's not true.  So I must trust and have faith.  God is a good father who always has my best interests at heart. :>)

 

So how is my training going you ask..... well, some days it's HARD and some days it's not as hard....  This past week I had 4 brick workouts within 7 days.  I thought I was going to die on the 4th and longest one.  It was soooo HOT and HUMID.  Even though I was drinking, I was sweating so much that I was soaked and when I tried to go to bathroom I had no pee.  I was literally sweating out everything I was drinking.  I felt like warmed over road kill.  I just wanted to be done.  I kept asking myself how in the heck am I going to make it in July & August in this heat.  The heat really takes a toll on me.  I'm toast the rest of the day after a long hot workout.  I go home and crash while thanking Jesus I have air conditioner. 

HOWEVER, I have been getting some good hills in on the bike.  I was really concerned with me not training with Jason this year as to whether or not I'd be able to bike some on hills.  There are just not many areas that I would ride in especially if I was alone.  The place where I purchased my bike has group rides almost every Saturday.  They ride in the Hattiesburg area off the trace mainly in neighborhoods full of hills.  I've started riding with them when I can and it's been good for me.  They are a great group of riders.  Matter of fact their bike shirts, which anyone can purchase in their store, has one of my favorite bible verses on it! Philippians 4:13 

Check out these hills on the last ride I did with them.

I don't believe my garmin's data on max speed.... ha  there is no way I did 51 mph!  Jenn's said 32 and the week before that's what mine said too so I think my speed sensor must of lost signal or something for just a little bit. Hee Hee

The week before bike stats:

I've enjoyed the group rides.  I can't hang with the A group (they are super fast!), but I am still getting in a great workout. :>)  I can feel my body getting stronger.  The first week I went with them the hills almost killed me.  Then the next week it felt much easier.  They say practice makes it better. :>) 

Had my first really long swim this go around of training last week.. 3,200 yards.   I survived.  LOL  It really wasn't that bad.  Just keep thinking .... just keep swimming.... just keep swimming....  Got 3,500 yards later this week. :>)  building to that 4,400!

Running... My foot isn't bothering me like last year... PRAISE JESUS.  This time last year I did the Kona marathon and really didn't think I would finish due to that dang PF in my foot was so bad.  Took like 9 months for it to stop hurting.  Now I will say after a long run my arch of my foot will be sore BUT, it's nothing like last year.  So I just keep stretching and stretching most every day.  I know I have that cyst on my foot so I can expect some soreness from running.  But as long as it ain't the PF hurting, I can manage. :>) 

My goal is ... one day at a time.  Don't sweat the future.  Just take one day at a time and keep moving.  If it's God's will this time, I'll finish the race and then take a nice REST... I mean NICE REST... Like COUPLE WEEKS :>)   There are many others things I want to do beside this ironman, but when training for an ironman there isn't much time for anything else.  LOL  My husband and I were talking this weekend about the fact that he wants to take a vacation to Yellowstone.  I do too and guess what???  there is a half marathon there next June.  I told my husband and figured he'd be like oh man that is all you ever want to do... but instead he said let's plan it.  I was THRILLED!  He rarely goes to races with me and to go do a race there and see the country side... oh man.. I can't wait!  Let the planning begin! :>) 

I hope if you are reading this and you are training that your training is going well also.  And if you are not training but going through something in your own life.... Let's take a deep breath and just take one bite of the pie each day.  Focus only on today and trust God.  Run the mile you are in... no more. :>)  Find God in every step. :>) 

Team Run4TheKids Annual Race

Hard to believe this year is the 6th year we've hosted a local race to raise money for St. Jude! 

Our shirts were awesome this year!  We've had so many compliments on them.  The Print Press in Laurel always does such a good job for us! 

This year we decided to only do a 5K instead of trying to do a 5K & a 10K together.  Our 10K registrations were extremely low last year.  Which our overall race numbers were low last year so I really didn't know how this year would go.  Some years we've had up to 300 runners and then last year we barely made it to 100.  There seems to be so many local 5Ks around and it's so HARD to find a date that doesn't compete with another race.  We finally picked a date and at the time there were no other races listed in Hattiesburg.  However, about 2 months prior to our race I noticed the Blue Line Challenge was going to be the same day.  That's a pretty big race in Hattiesburg because it supports the law enforcement.  So I worried even more about our race.  

I didn't need to worry though.  God had it all under control.  I really need to learn that when I pray that I need to just leave it there at God's feet and not worry so much.  Our race was a huge success!  We had 180 that were pre-registered by race morning.  I was super excited because typically we have anywhere from 20-50 more register on race morning.  We ended up with slightly over 200 signed up.  Thank you sweet Jesus.  He had us the whole time. :>)  

 Some of my family that came and my niece who was the cutest little superhero! 

Nestor with his son, who was part of the group from PBP Couch to 5K!  So glad they joined our race! 

I can't thank the people enough that came to our race.  Some may actually understand how much the money we raise helps the families at St. Jude and some probably don't.  I never really fully understood until I visited St. Jude children's Hospital 7 years ago.  It light a fire deep inside of me to raise money for these precious families.  :>)  So if you were participating at our race.... THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!  And a BIG thanks to KOHLER that volunteered to have a table at our finish line with drinks and snacks for all the runners!  How awesome is that for a business to get involved on race day!!!?? 

I also want to thank the team members that came and worked the race! 

Ronnie and Be had a great 5K turn around table! They even brought an aunt to help them. :>) 

And THANKS to Southern Race Timing for always doing our timing and helping us raise money for St. Jude! Renee & Dennis are the best! 

Our team is smaller this year.  We have several that are taking a break due to either being busy with small kids or life in general.  I often tell people not to worry about taking a break whether it's due to kids or personal reasons.  I understand that life is busy.  But I plan to keep this team around for a long time so feel free to come back anytime and join us. :>)  A big thanks to Nestor, Ronnie & Be, Charity, Sunshine, Erin, Krista, Jennifer, & Jane that all worked the race!  I couldn't have done it without your help!  And a SUPER BIG thanks to Sunshine that makes our homemade medals every year!! This allows us to raise even more money for the kids because we don't have that extra cost for medals. :>)  What a blessing it is to have a team member like Sunshine willing to make medals from her own money. :>)  

I love this team and what we do!  I also love that my daughter is involved and goes to Memphis with me each year to do the 5K with my mom.... but this year I've talked her into the half marathon!  Gonna be a great December! 

Me, Erin & boss (aka the dog)

If you ever have a chance to help St. Jude, do it! So far our small team has raised almost $9,000!  Looking forward to see what we raise by December.  Here's our team link if you'd like to make a donation:

http://heroes.stjude.org/_R4TK

There is great joy in running for others! Just ask us. :>) Thanks Team Run4TheKids