The Anti-Running Runner

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...

The conflict: to run or not to run In the time leading up to the Halloween Halfathon and the Women’s Half, I trained pretty well. At my speed, of course, but I was putting in the mileage that I needed to feel good for a half. After the Women’s Half (as noted in the last post), not so much running going on. A few days here and there, but not much mileage. The St. Pete Rock N Roll is not until February, so it’s been easy to push running off in the midst of the holidays. About four days leading up to Christmas day, hubby and I spent time with my family and new niece in Georgia. It was such a blessing, and we celebrated the birth of Christ together with a lot of great food and more great food. It was cold and rainy, but hubby and I managed one short run during the visit. The trip involved nine and a half hours of driving time each way. Friends and family took care of our animals. We dropped off/picked up animals on the way, adding to our travel time. Sadly, I believe ...

Another fun Jingle Bell Run 5K! I enjoy this race every year. It starts in the dark on the pier, and they seem to have added more stuff this year. More live music, more sights and lights along the way. Good times. It wasn't cold or warm, but pleasant. Hea and I ran a moderate pace together. Normally, we try to PR at this race, but both of us were not up to it this year. She is dealing with knee pain and I had some bad chili the night before (too much info, I know), so we were all about keeping a comfortable pace. And we both ended up feeling great and had fun catching up. My favorite part about running is probably the time spent in good company. We both had our men and dogs their to cheer us on. Afterward, we got gelato with my college roommate, Tavanya, and her family. They all did the 1 mile walk. Downtown St. Pete is festive and decorated for Christmas, which I love. It was so fun to visit with friends and have hubby there. He had been gone all week, I missed him! ...

I'm very behind on blogging. That is to say, I haven't blogged for a while, and that makes me feel like I'm behind. I am running. Slowly. I've done a couple of 10 milers and one 12 that involved a lot of walking. I ran a little in Minnesota but mostly relaxed while visiting my wonderful in-laws and enjoying fall colors. I have the FWA conference this coming weekend. I'm not sure how much running I'll get done this week. My next race is Oct. 28th at Ft. Desoto. My dear cousin, Alyssa, is running the Halloween Halfathon with me. We're dressing up, too. She ran a marathon in Minneapolis a couple of weekends ago. We JUST missed seeing each other. I'm so proud of her because she beat her PR and almost broke 4 hours. My Uncle Gabe and Aunt Marita ran the 10K. Uncle Dave and Aunt Elena (Alyssa's parents) cheered everybody on. I love having a running family. Slow motion. That's how I feel when I run. I've come to accept that's just the...

My first Hood 2 Coast continued... The relay is over and I would bet people are already planning for next year. I left off the Pt 1 post with the Wonder Women. This was the shirt for our team in 2004: front back Because my family had been doing the race for years, I got to jump on board the team of mostly family members. I can't quite remember who talked me into it, but I know my cousin, Alyssa, and many of my aunts gave me great advice on how to train. My sister, Larisa, had done it the year before, and I wanted to try it. I started long-distance running in college. After college (I had no job except jewelry-making at the time), I spent a month in Oregon visiting family and training on the hills around my aunt's house. There is one really huge hill that is the perfect trainer for a Florida girl coming to do Hood 2 Coast. I did a lot of stairs during the months leading up to my trip, which helped. The relay begins at Timberline on Mt Hood. I was in van 1, le...

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.