The Anti-Running Runner

Hea, Mike, and me ready to run together! Pic by James Sciandra. Our first race of the season! It's always an exciting time, even though I'm only signed up for two more races at the moment. One of my favorites, the Women's Half Marathon here in November, was canceled for no given reason. I've heard from a reliable source that a low number of sign-ups was the cause. That seems crazy to me because it's always a huge turnout. Anyway, back to the Sunrise Run ! This is one of my favorite 5Ks ever. Karen VanderPloeg, a sweet friend and sister in Christ, created this faith-based race several years ago. Because of her health, she was unable to have the run for the last couple of years. I was so happy when she announced that it was coming back. Many friends from the church I used to attend and the one where I attend now were there either volunteering or running. What a blessing to reconnect with these dear friends, some that I hadn't seen in years! Stephanie,...

Today I wanted to run to the beach. It's a treat for me, but there's a cost. Ten miles. And I don't get to end at the beach, that's just the halfway point. But I love running to the water. There's just something about it. And most of the route (miles two through eight) is really beautiful. This morning I left around six thirty. Not early enough. It was soooo hot and humid already. I knew from the first mile that the run would be a challenge to finish, and that I'd end up walking some of it. Things I should've done differently: ~Gone to bed earlier last night ~Woken up earlier this morning ~Drank more water yesterday On Tuesday, I got up intending to run about four miles, and ended up doing seven. NOT normal for me. But some kind of fluke cold(er) front had settled over St. Pete. The cloud cover kept me from getting any direct beatings from the sun (not the case today). I thought this was probably the last cool day I'd have for a while. I sho...

After running three marathons that went from bad to worse, I thought it must be impossible to enjoy a marathon. I'm overjoyed to be proven wrong. Of course, training and eating right makes a difference. The right shoes make a difference. Some of those things affected my previous marathons, and I finally learned what my body wanted to eat, how it wanted to train, and what shoes were best for me. A lot of prayer has gotten me through each of my marathons, and there is something wonderful about how terrible they were before Jan 19th. It's much easier to say that in hindsight, of course. I had to rely on Jesus, lean on him, draw strength from him in my weakness. It's a great place to grow. From the moment I started distance running in college, I became the Anti-Running Runner. It was this burden that I knew I had to carry if I wanted to get through any of my jogs. There were always things that helped, like running with Alyssa and other family and friends. But it's al...

Due to the recent tragedy at the Boston Marathon, I'm holding off on sharing my first marathon experience. That post is coming next. I don't usually comment publicly about current events or politics. I talk about my faith in Jesus Christ every once in a while. When I do, I try to share my relationship with him and how it relates to my running rather than preaching to others. Outside my usual boundaries, I'm compelled to share my thoughts regarding the acts of terrorism near the finish line in Boston. I'm so sad and so horrified. My heart broke when I saw the news coverage. I couldn't watch some of it, and I couldn't look at most of the pictures. It was too horrific, and I wasn't even there. Now that one suspect is dead and one is caught, I want to scream at them, how dare you? How dare you try to destroy what I consider one of the most beautiful expressions of the human spirit to strive and persist in adversity, even against the cry of one...

Verse speaking to me: 1 Corinthians 9:26 Song speaking to me: Starálfur by Sigur Rós Today, the goal was twelve miles after work. My last twelve before St. Pete Rock N Roll Half. Thursday is not my early day, so hubby asked me to be careful running downtown. Inevitably, it would be dark when I finished. I estimated 7pm so he'd have an idea when to expect the call with a panting, "dun." He's got good reason for concern, as you will see later in the post. I don't even know if I can describe what happened. The entire experience was surreal. I started out kinda fast for me. Then I thought, just go with it. Maybe you can finish quicker, less running in the dark. If not, whatever. I'd slow down when I needed to. The weird thing is, I didn't need to. It was almost out-of-body, but not quite. I felt the visceral experience that is a runner's high, and I LIKED IT. Even when I got home, it didn't go away. So naturally, I made a video of my runner...

I had planned on doing a twelve miler tomorrow. I get off work early on Fridays, so it gives me time to finish before dark. While arranging my schedule, I decided to get the twelve done before the long weekend (my dedicated writing weekend, see writing blog ). So last night, I split up my twelve into a ten and a two. I changed after work (my usual routine), and ran the downtown St. Pete waterfront route that I love. Beforehand, I planned to do eight miles. Because it would be getting dark by the time I finished, I would leave and run four more around the park near my house. Something happened, an extremely rare occurrence for me. I felt so good that I decided to keep going and do ten miles. Thank you, Jesus, for those moments! It makes me feel like a real runner. As my last blog showed, more often I have to do LESS mileage than I plan, and walk when I don't plan on it. There were probably a hundred people running along the waterfront, which makes me h...

First of all, I must thank Jesus for getting me across that finish line. There was a man who collapsed and was obviously hurt, and I pray that he's okay. But it reminds me how careful I need to be in the heat. And this was a HOT race. I threw water over my head at almost every water station, and usually more than one cup at a time. Still, I was sweating a ton (not like me) and my face felt like it was on fire. My husband and his coworkers and his coworker's wife all ran, and they all did awesome. I guess I did pretty well, too, but I felt awful the last half of the race because of the heat. True, 79 degrees is not so bad for Florida, but I just ran in 40 degrees at the Rock N Roll Half a few weeks earlier. It hasn't been very hot while I've been training, and honestly, I haven't been training very consistently in the midst of all these races. My biggest problem, however, was starting too fast. I went out with the group, and I immediately felt the pac...

My family ran the Turkey Trot in Clearwater Thanksgiving morning, and we had such a great time. Alyssa, my hubby, and I ran the 10K while the rest of the fam ran/walked the 5K. We also ran with Hea and a friend from high school, Karol. The Thanksgiving meal was even better after burning all those calories and making room for all the food. If you've never done a Turkey Trot, I hope you'll consider doing it next year. Makes for a great start to the day. And I'm certainly thankful that God has given me the ability to run and be healthy. But more importantly, I'm thankful for what Jesus did for me when he died on the cross and of course for my wonderful and amazing hubby.