1/2 Marathon.... DONE!!!

13.1 miles. Finished. It was beautiful weather and fun to run on a new course. I was pretty nervous about looking like a whale running amongst the beautiful people and I am happy to report that I didn't feel out of place at all. It amazed me to see the different shapes, sizes, ages and skill levels of the participants. Now a lot of the fear is gone that I was feeling towards the full marathon. However, I have to say that a whole new fear is there. I felt really good during the marathon (besides the fact that I super-hydrated and had to go to the restroom at the 1/2 mile mark... no joke!) and felt really positive at mile 7 when I still felt really strong and could keep going for several hours if needed.

Manda and I reviewed our training manual the day before and covered some really important mental techniques and the power that your brain has on your physical performance. We decided to stay really positive and run some mental videos through our head when needed. I have to say that it worked amazingly. Manda was ahead of me pretty much from 1/4 mile to the finish line. I really didn't see her at all except for around mile 6 when she was passing me because she was a couple miles ahead of me and had hit the turn around point and headed back to the finish line. She had offered to stay with me the entire time but I really wanted her to do the best she could and not stay behind with me and my much slower pace. She did great. She finished the marathon with an average of an 11 minute pace. For a 13 mile run, she did awesome!!! I was so proud of her for making that run on her own.

Our training book emphasized how important it is to feed yourself positive thoughts and mental images. We were taught to construct video's in our heads of our favorite runs, times that we felt happy, strong, beautiful weather, remember what we were wearing, how we felt and so on. Once we have that in our head we are to play it over and over and over again and there would be a positive physical reaction that comes from playing this " mental-video". As we remember those times and things we can actually become stronger and thus creating more energy. It is amazing to experience these things as an act of faith but see the actual results from experimenting with it and see the proven results. It did work, but only if we were willing to implement them and really concentrate. Manda came away saying that it was a difficult process for her because she didn't want to relive what were once some of her favorite memories of running, she really felt the need to not relive them and create even better ones. A huge blessing came from the half marathon in this aspect for her, she was able to create a new favorite run. She said the half marathon is now the new "mental-video" for her as she continues to work through the full marathon.

I had to pull out my mental video at mile 9. I was pretty amazed at how good I felt up until that point. At about 9 1/4- 9 1/2 miles my knee began to hurt. I knew I had to concentrate on my breathing pattern, mental thoughts and just make my legs keep going. By mile 11 I was completely discouraged in getting absorbed in the pain. The more I thought about the pain, the more the pain increased. I slowed down and found myself walking a lot by mile 11. Those last 2 miles seemed huge and I wasn't sure for a few moments that I was going to be able to run anymore at all. My legs started cramping and shot upward. That is a pleasant feeling--- cramping in the bottom! NOT. I started to remember the mental video and began to make my feet run just a little bit further. Soon I found myself crossing that last bridge and seeing the crowd cheering. It was both a feeling of accomplishment and discouragement to be honest. I felt good that I did it and discouraged at the thought of running even further the next weekend and then the thought of that run only being our half-way mark felt overwhelming.

I guess it is like life. If we don't take one step at a time and allow ourselves to become stronger over time it can seem impossible and even make us want to give up, feeling discouraged. I just had to tell myself to think of the accomplishment and remember that it wasn't that long ago that I never thought I would be able to jog 13 miles. That is huge!!! I just need to worry about accomplishing that day's goal and do one training run at a time. Easier to say than do but look how far I have come already. Even if Manda and I didn't run the race step by step together, the journey is what we have taken together and I am so grateful for that. I look forward to continuing on this journey and being inspired and reaching one accomplishment at a time.

Beautiful Day, Beautiful Run

WOW... something amazing has happened with the weather! Sunshine, blue skies and 70!!!!!! It's a gift straight from HEAVEN for Northern Idaho to see such incredible weather in April. I love it, I love it, I love it. On top of the sunshine, we had a great run very early this morning. I love getting it over with and being totally done by 7am. It just feels good to not have to worry about it the remainder of the day. Tomorrow is our rest day and the next morning is our half marathon. I am trying not to get too psyched about it and really I am just considering it another training run since next weekend is 14 miles. =) I can't think about it too much or I get stressed when I remember that the full marathon is only 2 months away. All I need to concentrate on is making each day successful, following the plan, one day at a time. Do the training and no complaining. There is so much happiness and accomplishment out there for us as long as we don't surrender ourselves to what can be our biggest enemies- ourselves- the natural man. Another life lesson.... I love this life and I am SO grateful for this journey!

P.S.
All the happiness does not come natural for me, it only comes after the accomplishment. In case you are wondering, I didn't want to run at all this week. I didn't even want to do the marathon. Sometimes, I just feel tired and things start to feel pointless and I lose track of what my goal really is. However, when I reach that days goal, I remember all of a sudden how good it feels. Thanks to my training book, I have learned that when I feel that low and don't want to do it, it actually makes my training physically harder. If I take control and change my internal thoughts, I get amazing results physically. I can apply this to so many different areas in life, what a gift this training has been. If I can do this... ANYONE CAN!!!!

Half Way Mark... HERE WE COME!!

4 Days and counting until we reach our half way mark! It is so exciting to see how far we have come. It is kinda scary to think that a half marathon is our HALF WAY mark. Oh goodness, it can be overwhelming if I think about it too much but exciting at the same time. Once again I have to stop and count my blessings. It has been such a difficult year in so many ways and yet as hard as the trials have been the blessings have been greater. I think back to several years ago and how Manda was the child who wanted to go running with me and how thankful I am that she and I have shared this journey together.

I can draw so many parallels to life and this journey of accomplishing something that seemed as huge as a marathon for us. I can also see the Lord's hand in growing this desire within both of us, this is a journey that we needed to take together. In His wisdom, the seed was planted that way. There are not enough ways to count all the blessings that have come from it. First, just the physical feeling of being on the way to accomplishing something so monumental. I cried the day that I ran my first mile! I honestly never thought I would ever be up to 13 miles. I am learning a little bit more each day what it means to be the master of your own body. It isn't easy, but I can see that it is possible. One of the saddest things in life is to not accomplish this especially when we are blessed with the ability to do so but make the choice not to.

Second, I am also in the process of learning that some of the greatest power we hold is in our thoughts. I have learned through the running process that I can make my body have physical results simply in controlling the way that I think. The training book that we use is written by a few different authors. One author being a physical fitness professor and the other being a psychology professor. It is amazing how they really go hand in hand. My running partner has once again been my biggest teacher in this area as well. From the time she was born she has seemed to have struggles that my other children didn't have such as her struggle with balance and dyslexia. From this she has gained a greater insight on the power of positive thinking and overcoming life's challenges. This year has been no exception for her, but in a very different way. I have watched her go through one of the most difficult life challenges that I have ever witnessed. She has every right to be bitter, angry and hurt. She has been wronged in a very serious way and has had to face the dishonesty of another and attacks on her character. As a mother, it has been such a horrible thing to witness. As a student, I am in awe.

In running you are taught to pay attention to pain. Some pain you can ignore, some pain needs to be treated and then with the right training it can make you stronger. In life, it is the same. We can choose to let our pain defeat us or we can simply learn from our pain. I often think of the inspiring story of the soldier who lost his legs in battle and came home and completed a marathon with prosthetic legs even though it was painful. Or the story in my training manual of the lady who ran a marathon even though she was going through chemotherapy anf fighting the battle for her life. We are all going to face pain, we are all going to face trials. It is our choice if we choose to yield to the trial or grow from it. Running has been the source of letting out our stress and bonding in our relationship.

Not only did I watch the physical release of stress happen with the running, but I have watched the mental strength and the clarity of thinking that happens with physical exercise. And then to take it a step further, I have seen the abundant blessings of self mastery and choosing to be the master of your own thoughts. I have watched her exercise that ability to choose to be happy, choosing to pray for your enemies and choosing to forgive. She is amazing. I am grateful for her being my partner in running but most of all in being my daughter.

Now, here we are only 4 days away from our half marathon and I am looking forward to the rest of the journey and the lessons that will come with it. Each step we take in training for this marathon seems to be a step we take in learning an even greater lesson in life. Each training run we go on seems to teach us that we are the only ones who choose to let others destroy us. We each hold the key to holding our heads up high and bending our heads in prayer regularly... and following Joseph of Egypt's example and "running" from temptation or wickedness. We are taking one step at a time and not being caught in the overwhelming feeling of the long journey ahead. That finish line is looking pretty doable if we will both do our part and continue to train and follow the counsel!

My Texas Friends Rock!!!!

I have the best friends in the whole world! My good friend Rhonda messaged me the other day and said that in honor of Manda and I doing the half marathon she is going to walk 13 miles that day! She is also inviting some other friends to do it with her. That is awesome! She knows what a long road this has been for me to get to this point. Oh, as much as I appreciate my friends walking, could y'all please not walk too quickly since my jog is so incredibly slow? It would be rather humiliating to have y'all beat me while supporting me! =P Now that it is less than two weeks away I am getting pretty nervous. But I am looking forward to checking it off as we are on our path to a full.


I sure miss and love my Texas friends!

10 Miler

Winner's Train- Loser's Complain. That's what we kept telling ourselves as we set out Saturday to get our 10 miles in and drove through rain, sleet and then finally snow as we headed to one of our favorite trails. That saying only got us so far, then we decided to head South to the warmer weather. It was worth the risk to make the 30 minute drive South. Although we were a little discouraged as we were driving and we saw what appeared to be rain falling in the general direction we were headed we decided we were just going to have "man-up" and run in it no matter what. As luck would have it, it ended up being a beautiful run in sunshine, none the less!

It might not have been our best run as far as the actual "running" part but it ended up being one of our most memorable and adventure filled. It's always nice to run on a new trail just for a change of scenery. However, this trail was full of excitement. It follows along a river that separates Idaho and Washington so half of our run was in Idaho and half was in Washington as we made a loop crossing bridges and then circling back to our car. We can now say that we ran from Idaho to Washington and then back to Idaho! =) We stopped and took pictures on my cell phone as we reached Washington- the quality isn't very good but at least we have some pics!

The sun was setting towards the end of our run and it was such a great way to welcome in Easter. Funny enough we were commenting on how beautiful the Washington side of the trail was and out popped the Easter Bunny. =) Then 3 more. They were not wild rabbits, they were clearly domesticated bunnies that had been dumped off there at some point and found refuge in the berry bushes. A couple of them were black and white with spots and a couple were big fat tan bunnies. They were so cute. Amanda just couldn't resist and ended up feeding them half the trail mix we carry in an effort to catch one and take it home for Easter. My loud laughter as I was rolling around watching her try to catch them didn't help the situation. She had one within reaching range and just about eating out of her hand right when a guy and his dog ran up and scared them away.

Following running into the family of bunnies we found 4 deer right on the trail, just staring at us and calmly looking around as if it were perfectly normal for them to be there and wondering why we were in their territory? So we took pictures of them as well and then took off jogging again. That didn't last long before we came across a bush full of little yellow chickadees. They were the cutest little birds and just made us smile. The wildlife was amazing and somewhat shocking considering that we were in town in comparison to where we usually run! Not long after our little yellow bird friends we came across a park with the most lush green grass that just called you to enjoy it. Manda quickly dropped to the ground and began rolling around in it and stating how much she loves the color green and has missed it so much all winter long. Of course, I took pictures.

After dragging my running partner away from the park we began to cross the last bridge heading back to Idaho and then to the parking lot where we had parked. It was a while later that Manda realized her MP3 player was no longer in her jacket pocket... can you guess where we found it? Yep, you probably guessed it- back in the lush green grassy park which was quite a ways from where we were when we realized it was missing. Well, I guess we got all of our mileage in! Too bad so much of it was spent laughing and not running, or maybe it isn't too bad. =) We ended up meeting a couple of very nice people, enjoying wildlife, took in the scenery, witnessed a couple of near accidents (guys are so dumb to watch a girl running and almost wreck, and since she is always ahead of me I get to witness it) and laughing a whole bunch. It was a great 10 miler- next weekend is going to be 11 miles but it is going to be hard to top the 10 miler!

P.S.
I am happy to report that I had NO pain in my leg or knee at all! I love my new shoes and just can't believe that shoes can make that big of a difference!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!! I'm in LOVE!!!!!!!

Don't worry, I still love the old fella but I just so happened to find a new love as well. The old guy doesn't mind sharing me for an hour or two a day with my new love, we have worked it out. I lace up and head out the door with my heart attached to my feet... my new running shoes! (Sammy was getting really worried there for a moment and found a lot of relief that I was talking about my shoes)

Ahhhhh... it is simply amazing to once again find out the difference a new pair of shoes can make. I admit, I feel a little guilty retiring my old shoes. They once gave me the feeling that I now have with my new shoes... if only it could of lasted. The feeling of floating on air, total support and just plain comfortable from the first touch. I know, it's disturbing- but true. It was worth every penny. 10 miles down, without a bit of pain- except from laughter but that's a whole different blog. Yay, for quality shoes even if they come with a big price tag. I love you Brooks!

Shared Trials

Okay, when I said, "Why can't we share some of the same problems?", I was talking about losing TOO much weight. Manda just can't keep weight on even though she has no desire to lose any during the training and I would like for weight to drop off. That is the problem I would like for her to share with me not the knee problems! The poor girl is taking a college Health/fitness class and a couple of other classes in preparation to graduate and for college credit. One class is particularly hard on her and is leaving it's mark but it is not stopping her from her training. Once again, she is showing me just exactly what she is made of! Although my knee pain was for an entirely different reason, I find myself inspired and not complaining if she can make the runs with the bruised and swollen knee that she has.

FRUSTRATION

I am SO frustrated... we did our 6 mile run- easy. Next was our 7 mile run which wasn't too bad except the day before my knee started bothering me. I wasn't going to let it stop me though and headed out for my run. My knee didn't bother me too much and I was able to complete it. However, by the following Monday my knee hurt pretty badly. I went out for a 3 mile run that evening and just couldn't do it, ended up walking most of it. By the end of the 3 miles, not only did my knee hurt but I had a shooting pain down my whole left leg. I decided to cross train for the rest of the week and did the elliptical for the same amount of time as I would run. I felt like I still got a pretty good cardio work out and I would increase the resistance and work my legs out too. I didn't seem to bother my leg and I felt strong enough to attempt my long run on the next Saturday. I headed out and did pretty well. I stopped a few times and walked for a few minutes but overall felt really, really good about my 8 mile run. I considered it a great success. By Sunday afternoon, my whole leg felt pretty tight, a little swollen and a lot of pressure around my knee.
Rick talked to a guy he works with who asked how well I was stretching out afterwards. He said he had a similar problem several years ago and found out he wasn't stretching good enough and also needed to build his core strength more. Imagine that? I have been a lot more diligent with stretching and found that my knee pain goes away if I stretch out the right areas. It's amazing! However, the problem I am facing now is that I just can't seem to stay stretched out. As soon as I stretch out, the pain leaves, I feel good but I can feel my leg tighten right back up very quickly and then all the pain comes right back! Once again Amanda has shown me what a blessing it is to have her as my training partner. She has this incredible talent of knowing how to find stressed muscles and massaging them out. She went right to the spot in my leg and within seconds had found some tension and massaged it away. My leg felt better than it had in days within seconds. Now if I could only make it last.

I am so,so, so frustrated!!!! I haven't been able to complete one single run this week. I have done my mileage but most of it has been walking. When I am on the treadmill I can only run a lap and then walk a lap. Tomorrow I am supposed to do my first 10 mile run. Between my leg and he snowflakes falling from the sky, I am feeling very discouraged. I think I will start shopping around for a sports medicine Doctor.... I must find help. I will NOT give up, even if it means I walk the whole darn marathon- I am going to do it! I will be very sad if I can't run it. Please say a prayer and send any advice you have my way!!!!!

On a happier note, Manda is doing amazing. I have assured her that I want her to keep going and not stop and walk with me when I have to. Her time is decreasing with each run and she is thriving. She is getting stronger and stronger and it is really impressive. If we could just figure out how to get her to stop losing weight while training I would be even happier. I keep forcing chocolate milk and everything that I can't have down her and she keeps losing... why can't we share some of the same struggles? LOL