Confession Time

I have a confession - I HATE being slow!!! I know, I know - I'm faster than everyone on the couch . . .and though I keep plugging along, I'm beginning to think I am destined to be forever slow and always at the very back of the back. This is why the turtle has become my spirit animal. 

Getting ready to cross the finish line with Michelle. 

I have another confession - I know I have to work harder at losing weight and eating healthier if I'm going to get any faster. I've really been emotionally eating for the past year and most the pounds I lost have crept back on. I could come up with all sorts of excuses, but instead I'd rather focus on solutions. Even though I try to convince myself I'm doing the best I can, I know I can do better. When I look at the pictures from the Run With The Bulls race I did on last Friday, I can see how much weight I've put back on and it's depressing. 

And my final confession - I'm dealing with a lot of pain. Whether is the extra  pounds, the crappy food, lack of cross training, getting old, or something else is going on, the pain in my back, knees, feet - heck my entire body is not making me a happy camper. My feet also go numb after wogging a mile. I have my yearly physical next week so going to see if the doctor and I can find some causes and solutions. 

We have been doing a study at church the past couple of weeks called "A Way Out", about how God gives us a way out of temptation. I know one of my greatest temptations is food, but I also know I can depend on God and ask Him to help me fight this temptation - in other words He will give me A Way Out.  I read the following in blog and it really hit home: 

"If you decided today that your body belongs to Christ, what would you want to stop doing? What do you need from God to make this change?" 

So I decided it's time to come up with a game plan:

1. Start using MyFitnessPal again DAILY to record my food intake. This has been successful for me in the past, so I know it is a good tool to use. Today I put in my current weight, tweaked my goal that I had set a year ago, and I set reminders to record every meal. 
2. Reread my "Made to Crave" book by Lisa Terkeurst. Once again this helped me a lot in the past and made me look at the reasons I emotionally eat. I need to be reminded again.  
3. PRAY - ask God to help me resist the temptation to buy/eat sweets and chips AND increase my desire for healthy foods. I know this is going to be on ongoing, minute-by-minute conversation with God!  

The Fall No Boundaries 5k Walk/Run Training started on Monday. I am coaching the walking group again and I've already seen I'm going to have to push myself more to keep up with my group!  I may never win a race, but yet walking/running has taught me so much about myself and given me a confidence that has impacted my life in positive ways. I'm not sure why God put me on this particular journey, but I'm going to continue on it no matter what the obstacles and challenges. Someday I will  complete a 5k in under an hour!!! 

 

Off to the Races - Setting New Goals

Been a while since I've written anything, so I figured it was time for an update! For those that recall my post from January 2015, I had just started running and joined the Go Run Start 2 Finish program to train for a 10k. I learned a lot about myself during the training from February to May. I discovered that running is just as tough mentally as it is physically. I also have developed a love for turtles! 

As part of the S2F training, the group did the Run2Believe 5k on March 21st. My official time was 1:00:33, pace 19:31. That was my fastest time yet! It was a fun race and I was able to run most of it with a few walk breaks. Hubby was there to support and my friend Patti ran the race too! 















Next race was the Thin Mint Sprint 5k and Relay.  A group of our turtle runners from S2F, decided we would do the 5k for fun and also do the relay. My friend Tracy also decided this would be her first 5k!! 

I hadn't been feeling very good for a few days before the race though and I wasn't able to give my best. My official time was 1:04:02, pace 20:37. It was a beautiful route for the race and the relay after was fun, especially since we were the only adult team and the rest were all Girl Scouts. Our relay team rocked our Ninja Turtle shirts!       


On May 3rd was the Prairie Fire 5k. Prairie Fire is the race for Wichita runners. This is the largest race I've ever been a part of it and it was a little intimidating. I set a goal to complete this one in an hour or under. Tracy decided to run this one as well and my sweet friend Fleeper (Stephanie) joined in the fun for her first 5k. 



As usual, I came in last, but my time was exactly 1 hour!! I posted this on my Facebook page after: 
Never give up, keep moving forward - my journey has gone much slower than I wanted, but it's my journey and as long as I kept following where God leads me I will get to where I'm supposed to be. I don't know if I will ever get below 200 pounds, I don't know if I will ever be able to run a 15 minute mile - I do know my mental health is stronger and my faith is stronger. I never would have thought I would become a runner (still have my doubts that I am!), I never would have thought that so many people would tell me how I inspire them - God's plan for me is much different than I thought it would be, but I kind of like His plan and I'm excited to see where I'm heading in the next year!! Find your inspiration and motivation inside yourself - it's there, you just have to dig to find it and then not let it go.

And finally it was time . . . all the training, the self-doubt, the encouragement from others, keeping in mind my goal to complete a 10k for Leslie . . . May 17th was race day! I set my goals to 1. complete the entire 10k, and 2. finish in 2 hours.  This was a new race for women only - the Sweet Escape 10k. I figured this one called for a tutu - probably not my best decision, since the race was in the evening and it was hot!!  

My time was 2:18:52, pace 22:21 - I came in dead last. It was a hard race - my hands swelled, I wasn't able to run much of it at all, my foot feel asleep, and I argued with myself the entire time to not give up The message at church that morning was about loving each other. I experienced so much love and support from my new S2F friends and several other friends that came out to run the race (Patti, Tracy, Amy, Cindy, and Heather). Several of them, including my husband, came back the last mile to support me on the last stretch after they had finished their race. And the butterflies that Leslie loved so much were fluttering around everywhere!  I prayed through most of the race and kept repeating Philippians 4:13, which was one of my Mom's favorite verses and has become mine on this journey. 

I took a break in June from races and did the Heart Walk with my Better U sisters, hubby, and my BFF Cindy. 

 

Also, in June I started the Go Run/Fleet Feet No Boundaries Walk/Run 5k training program . . . I'm actually "coaching" the walking group, so haven't been doing much running.  On my journey I have gone from running in below freezing temps with snow on the ground to walking in 100+ temps with humidity so thick it's hard to breath. I'm still slow, but I'm moving forward. 

My daughter is doing the No Boundaries program with me also and it's been wonderful getting to spend time with her!  Our goal race is on August 14th - it's a small race for Maize South High School, called Run with the Bulls. I fully expect to come in last, but this time Michelle will be there with me!  

Now it's time to set some new goals: 

• September 12 - Race 4 Freedom 5k, I walked this one last year and came in near the back, so I want to run part of it this time and not be last
• October 1 - Prairie Fire Fall 5k, this will be the goal race for the No Boundaries group that I will be coaching with again. 
• November 7 - Culture Dash 5k
• November 22 - Turkey Trot 2 mile
• December - to be determined 
• Get back to eating right and losing weight 
• Start a regular strength workout program
• Decide on my goals for 2016 . . . .always moving forward on my pathway through the wilderness!!