Running Goals for 2015

The plan for 2015 is simple, summarized by answering just a handful of questions:

What ideas or principles will guide your running for the next year?

 

My guiding scripture for running in 2015 is Romans 5:3-5:

...we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. 

Perseverance is often translated "endurance," so this seems perfect for a distance runner training for a race whose slogan is "Pain you enjoy!"

I have no doubt that training and racing with perseverance will build my character, and I hope it leads to a spot in the Boston Marathon for 2016!

What do you need to stop doing?

In order to focus on speed, I'm going to give up the 20+ milers for a few months.

What do you need to start doing?

Run more miles at or below my BQ pace (8:23).

What do you need to keep doing?

Stay focused on God and train my spirit even more hours than my body. 

What races do you want to run?

I'd like to race about once/month.  Here's the tentative list:

Jan - New Years Day Marathon (single race at the New Years Double)
Feb - Hot Chocolate 15K
Mar - Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon
Apr - TBD. Hopefully a half marathon with my brother.
May - Disco Run 10K (and hopefully a 5K with my best friend from high school!)
June - Utah Valley Marathon
July - El Scorcho 50K
Aug - TBD
September - Tour Des Fleurs 10K
October - Chicago Marathon with my brother (his first!)
Nov - TBD
Dec - TBD

I'd like to fit a 5K or two in there, but we'll see how things shape up as the year goes by.

What are your goals?

- Qualify for Boston
- PR at every distance

- Volunteer for at least one race (maybe Cowtown in February)

That's it.  Bottom line: Run smart, fast, and happy!

2014 Year in Review

Miles = 1100

Not bad considering I only logged about 100 miles from January to April, as I was coming back from injury.  

Firsts

- Age group award 

- 50K training run

Race Highlights

- Erie Marathon - my brother jumping on the course and finishing the second half with me

- Tour Des Fleurs - running a 10K with my Dad, his Christmas gift to me from 2013

- That Dam Half - pacing my brother for his first official half on a course with a gorgeous view of the lake

- I Am Second 5K - 3rd in my age group (first running award)

- Chocoholic Frolic 10K - falling in step with a fellow member of Team RWB and pushing each other to the finish

Most Memorable Runs

- 5K in under 10 minutes while running the Caribbean (aided by movement of the ship!)

- Rainbows & Unicorns - long hot summer run praying about Boston 2016 ended with running through rainbows made by sprinklers 

- Long run spent finishing the sentence Jesus is _______.  I never ran out of answers!

- 4-hour run that took a minute off my pace from Erie just three weeks before...I finished feeling fantastic!

- Praying Proverbs 31 over 31 miles (50K training run)

New This Year

- Shoes: Hoka One One Clifton - Like running on marshmallows. Love!

- Clothing: 110% compression tights with ice (a.k.a. "fancy ice pants") - Like wearing an ice bath. Much less aversive and just as effective. No soreness after 20+ mile runs!

- Nutrition: EFS liquid shot, Chocolate #9 energy gel, Beet Elite Neo Shot, Sport Legs

- Gear: Garmin Forerunner 620, Bottle Band (makes ordinary water bottle easy to carry), wireless Yurbuds

- Workout: Alternate one mile easy, one mile hard (9-mile route near my house is perfect.)

- Training strategy: Spiritual meditation, messages, and music to keep my focus on God. Ran happy by putting happy face sticker on my watch. All of the data, none of the head games. Used it for Erie marathon, too!

- Racing strategy: Non-time goals. Thinking of something I love about God for every letter of the alphabet. Encouraging someone every mile. Passing someone every mile. Kept me going on days I didn't have my best stuff. 

Lessons Learned

- You will race like you train...so train like you want to race.

- No speed work too soon after 20+ mile runs. Oops!

- Know when to put fun ahead of finishing time.

- It's not realistic to PR every race.  When conditions are not conducive, adjust expectations accordingly.  

- Never ever ever give up.


This Year's Running in One Word

Sophomore. 

Like a recording artist who follows up a promising debut album with a disappointing second, the paucity of PRs in my second year of marathon running may make it seem, on the surface, that this year fell short of expectations.  In some ways, it did.  But perhaps those were the wrong expectations.  :)  Though the finishing times may not yet reflect it, I became a better runner this year.  I grew wiser, in part by making mistakes and learning from them.  This year was more about mental and spiritual breakthroughs than physical ones, and I believe those laid a solid foundation for my future, including my future as a runner.  

Early in the year, Colossians 3:12 became the verse to guide my training for 2014:

Since God chose you to be the holy people He loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

The gift of injury was more focus on God and fostering these qualities. Accepting humility as I discovered I was not yet capable of doing what I had been last year.  Being forced to be gentle with myself at the risk of re-injury and more time off.  Learning patience as I inched my way back to my former level of fitness.  If I measure my success not by finishing times but by the development of my character, 2014 was a pretty good year.  :)

Run the Mile You're In

It's a common thing to repeat to yourself, especially on long runs: Run the mile you're in. Don't be thinking about Mile 23 at Mile 7.

It's good advice for life, too. One day at a time. In running, it's often a phrase to use when things get tough--a way of telling yourself just to take it in bite-sized chunks. But it can also be a way to savor the moment when things are good.  

One of the primary ways our joy is stolen is worrying about what will happen in the future. Sure, things may be great now...but how long can this last?  When will I be asked to suffer again? How bad will it be?  

Enough. There's no use worrying about things that may not even happen, and I refuse to let what might happen someday take away from the joy I feel today. If there is suffering ahead, then that's all the more reason to soak up every ounce of joy I can between now and then. Today running the mile I'm in means giving thanks for one of those miles when I feel like I'm flying. 

Abundance

God used last November's injury to usher in a season of rest, and not just physically. For the past year, the theme has been doing more with LESS.  Now, I'm sensing the beginning of a new season and a new word for 2015: abundance. 

I decided to make a second pass through Joel Osteen's book, I Declare, which includes 31 days of affirmations--basically speaking blessing over yourself (or someone else) for a month. During this month, several unexpected blessings came my way:

- I was invited to do a focus group and got to talk about running for two hours...then received an envelope with $125 cash to thank me for my time!  That's a new pair of shoes!  

- I went to the running store to buy a gift for a friend, planning to polish off what was left of a gift card I'd received for my birthday a year ago. I handed them the card to find out what was left on it, expecting it to be about $2. It was $100!  What?!?  How can there be $100 left on a $25 gift card I've been spending off of for a year?  Must be a God thing. 

- I've wanted the new Garmin Forerunner 620 ever since it came out. Bluetooth syncing, cadence and VO2 max data, the works. But I couldn't justify a $450 purchase just so I could have all the bells and whistles when I had a perfectly good 610 that still worked. Then my 610 started acting weird. Reset itself during a cool down. Reverse charged so it had no juice when I woke up ready to run. Erased all my programmed workouts during a sync. OK. Time to get a new watch!  I had $100 of birthday money and got a check for $250 totally out of the blue from a company that was ordered to pay customers as part of a settlement I knew nothing about. Just for grins, I thought I'd check eBay. I found a brand new 620 for $350!  As it happened during a time when I'd been praying about what to get everyone for Christmas, I sensed God saying this was His gift to me!  Felt like it would actually be disobedient NOT to buy it at that point because He had clearly provided the justification, the funds, and the opportunity to buy it at a reduced price. So with a grateful heart, I made the purchase, knowing His gift to me will always be with me when I'm running. 

God has sent other blessings my way as well, but these three blew me away. As I am coming to know and trust Abba more, I believe He is calling me to live with the heart of a little girl who knows her Daddy has all the money in the world. To live and give freely and without fear. To abide in His abundance. But it strikes me that on three occasions, money falling out of the sky has had to do with running. I don't yet fully understand the significance of this but take it as a sign that God is pleased with and wants to bless my running. What a gift!

P31

Ever since I learned that there were people who ran beyond 26.2, I have been intrigued by ultramarathoning.  I was signed up for a 50K a year ago but had to take a DNS due to injury, and I've had to wait for my chance to join the club.  Today was my day.  :)

No race.  Just a training run.  Me and the road.  I had my sights set on 50K.  I had my choice of routes and considered running a 4.5-mile loop seven times around my neighborhood.  It's fairly flat, and the houses offer some protection from the wind.  But I didn't take the easy route (literally).  Instead I opted for a more challenging course that combined two others I like for semi-long runs.  Some of the hills are doozies, and I knew I would be much more exposed to the wind.  But I didn't want to punk out on my first ultra, so I opted for the tougher route.  At least being farther from home would make it harder to quit!

I prepped to fuel my run with various forms of peanut butter...

But I also fueled this run with the Word of God, which has been compared to bread, so it's basically like carbs for your spirit.  :)

The first ten miles or so, I meditated on Romans 12:1, which urges us to offer our bodies as living sacrifices as a form of spiritual worship.  I kept coming back to the idea that this run was an act of worship.  When you think about it--a girl who used to have life-threatening asthma, was once grossly overweight, and who still has a malformed heart valve and hardware from four foot surgeries...running an ultramarathon just for kicks--that is a testament to the God of the Impossible.  My running is a miracle.  And living the miracle is a way of worshiping the One who brought it into being. 

Then I figured if I was going to run 31 miles, what better time to focus on becoming a Proverbs 31 woman?  Starting at mile 10, I meditated on one verse every mile, praying for God to form those things in me as His bride and so that I can be a godly wife for my future husband.   There are some real gems in there, but these were two of my favorites, perfect for distance running:

Mile 17: She is energetic and strong, a hard worker.  

Mile 25: She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future (like what will happen over the next 6 miles!).  

Those verses, a new one every mile, really kept me going.  

As for the run itself, the first half was pretty good.  I opted for a 4/1 run/walk strategy to be as gentle with myself as possible.  I enjoyed a few Reese's pieces every 15 minutes (which probably gave me more of a psychological boost than anything) and gels at miles 5 and 10.  Halfway through the run, I came back by the house, scarfed down a peanut butter and sugar sandwich, picked up more fuel and refilled my water bottles for the second half, changed socks, etc.  I was cruising along for the next few miles after I resumed, but that's when I hit the hills.  After 20 miles, running up steep hills did not seem like a wise use of my remaining energy, especially with a third of my run still to go, so I committed to walk the hills and run the flats and downhills until things leveled out.  

It was also during this stretch that I found myself running low on water...already.  It's been a while since I've had to run when it was close to 80 degrees, and I was going through it faster than normal.  I was planning to refill my three 10-oz. bottles at the park that was the turnaround point 7.5 miles from home, but halfway there, I was concerned about making it there on what little I had left.  I prayed for a solution.  I happened upon a guy sitting on his front porch, asked him for water, and he kindly obliged.  As I walked past his front door, I noticed a picture of Jesus sitting on the entry table.  Perfect!  :)

I resumed my journey to the park and turned around to head home.  The wind was brutal.  I kept telling myself that it would only make me stronger, reminded myself it was just a hint of the power and force God is capable of, thought about Jesus as the One whom the wind and waves obeyed, and remembered that the Spirit had been described as a mighty rushing wind.  I reasoned that the Spirit of the Living God inside of me propelling me forward was stronger than the wind that was against me.  Still, hours of running against the wind (and having Bob Seger in my head) had taken their toll, and I got text support from my folks and a friend for the home stretch.  

Once I got past the hilly part, I more or less resumed the 4/1 run/walk plan with only a couple of exceptions (one being stopping at a model home to refill my bottles once again).  I had already given myself permission to walk the hills that would pop up the last couple miles...but when I got there, I decided not to.  Though I hadn't had a specific time goal, I saw that I had a shot at being under 6.5 hours.  I wasn't 100% sure on the math for how much walking I could get away with and still hit that, so I decided just to go for it, skip the walk breaks (though I did have to stop for 2 traffic lights!), and run the rest of the way. 

As I pressed on, I thought about my grandparents.  Although I've been blessed to share my running adventures with my dad's parents, my mom's folks have been gone for years and only knew me as the asthmatic child.  They never got to see me become a runner...at least in this life.  I thought about my grandfather, who had always reminded me of John Wayne...a man with "True Grit."  And I thought about my grandmother, who was a P31 woman...strong, ambitious, industrious, creative, and definitely a smart cookie!  I thought about the strength and qualities that both of them have passed down to me and how that was being manifested today.  It drove me up those hills and to my goal. 

I am so happy to have completed today's run, and I know based on how I pushed those last couple of miles, I could have kept going if I'd had to...but I'm not sure how far.  Knowing that people do races of 50 and 100 miles and more, I think of 50K as "baby ultra."  Today's run gives me pause about going farther.  It was tough.  With my current plan, I probably won't have another chance to take a crack at anything beyond 26.2 until after Utah Valley in June, but I'd like to do another 50K before I decide whether I want to try 50 miles.  Maybe if I could take out the hills (1000+ ft elevation gain today versus 68 ft for the Erie marathon!), tone down the 17 mph winds, or not run in temperatures 25 degrees higher than what my body has become accustomed to over the past couple of months, it wouldn't seem so daunting!  Any one or two of those would have made it challenging, but the combo of all three was humbling.  So I'd like to try it again under different conditions and see how I feel.  Maybe this is like childbirth...they say you forget the pain before you do it again!

We'll also have to see how God wants me spending my time.  Training beyond 50K would require more time than I'm putting in now, and He may want to me allocate my time and energy elsewhere...or not. I definitely felt His presence today throughout the run.  I had to stay connected so I could draw on His strength.  So perhaps ultrarunning will prove a path to deeper intimacy.  Time will tell.  But in any case, I am grateful to have completed my first 50K and trust that God used it to forge endurance and the qualities of a P31, melding them together to make me more of the woman He created me to be. 

Catching Kayla

This girl knows what it means to NEVER give up.  As if running with MS (and not being able to feel her legs) wasn't enough, her determination to get back up when she falls in a race is inspiring.  Her story is worth a few minutes of your life. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PdLEmE138xA

Chocoholic Frolic 10K - Race Recap

I was pretty pumped for today's race.

The chocolate theme was evident everywhere...

(Incidentally, the award for best sign today actually goes to a kid on the course holding one that read, "Run faster!  I just farted!")

I arrived at the race plenty early with my friend Brian, who was doing the 5K.

I had a good warmup and plenty of time to think about my game plan.  After going into nearly every race hoping for (and perhaps honestly expecting) a PR, I adjusted my expectations for today's race based on the weather forecast.  I had PR'd my 10K in training just 2.5 weeks ago under perfect conditions.  It seemed unlikely that I would be able to beat that so soon while fighting double-digit winds.  So I scrapped my time goal and set a different kind of goal: Pass at least one person every mile!

I had a good first mile.  I had to pull back to keep from going too fast, using my recent PR pace as a gauge. 

As it turns out, what was a perfect first mile pace a couple of weeks ago was too fast today.  Though my legs had been sore all week, cardio became an issue in the second mile, and I knew it wasn't going to be my day.  The tendon that has been hurting off an on since early October flared up, too, so I figured out early I did not need to push too hard.  I switched gears from racing to making it a hard training run--as hard as I could without further aggravating the tendon or compromising future workouts.

I kept setting my sights on passing people, and that turned out to be a great strategy.  It kept me really motivated, even though my splits got worse with each mile.

I had hoped to run a negative split and realized that wasn't going to happen.  I had also hoped to make the last mile my fastest, and that didn't happen either...but I gave it a pretty good go based on what I had left.  I fell in step with a fellow Team RWB member (even though I was wearing my runhappy shirt today!).  His legs were about a foot longer than mine, but I kept up.  I felt like I could have passed him, but something told me not to, and I asked him to stay with me.  He did...and then encouraged me to kick it up the last .2!

My last mile was not my fastest, but it was more than 30 seconds faster than the previous mile, and my pace for the last .2 was sub-8, so I finished strong!

My heart rate hitting 193 and my tendon pain persisting post-race is telling me not to fault myself for not running harder.  Compared with last week's race, I am happier with my mental discipline today.  I adjusted expectations, but I never gave up and pushed appropriately based on the circumstances.

Speaking of last week...

I think that's the big lesson to be learned from today.  Maybe the last 2 weeks, if you factor in the long run I did 8 days before the Blue Red Half.  My Garmin calculates a "training effect" based on the duration and intensity of the workout, rating it on a 1-5 scale.  Last week's race was a 5.0/5.0.  Though I backed off mileage and only did easy runs, I felt sluggish most of the week, and the training effect for today's race was 4.5.  To put things in perspective, the TE for my last marathon was 4.4.  So in a sense, today was just as hard--even though I didn't have to run an extra 20 miles!  Note to self: allow more time for recovery between races!

Even though my pace for today's 10K was lousy (comparable to my pace for last week's half!), I had fun.  Running for chocolate is quite motivating and made the finish extra sweet!

Blue Red Run - Race Recap

Race: Blue Red Half Marathon

Place: Campion Trail in Las Colinas, TX

Time goal: < 2 hours

Non-time goal: Encourage at least one person every mile. 

The Blue Red Run exists to honor our firefighters and police. Participants are encouraged to run for blue or red. I was torn. Although several people I care about are police officers, I've never gotten a ticket from a firefighter! ;) Instead of choosing sides, I ran for the veterans' organization Team Red, White and Blue. 

Conditions:

Plan: Stay with my friend Pam, who happened to be the 2:00 pacer, for at least 10 miles (then take off if it was a good day) or as long as possible (if it was a bad day). 

Recap: From the very first mile, I felt significantly more challenged to maintain 9:00 pace than I had holding that pace four days earlier. Every single mile felt tough. My heart rate was over 180 by mile 9 and stayed there the last five miles. I stayed with Pam through mile 10, but the 2:00 group ran through that aid station--the first one I walked through.  They pulled ahead of me, and with my HR so high, I just didn't have the umph to catch up.  I knew that with an average pace of 9:00 for the first 10 miles, I had a bit of a cushion to stay under the 9:09 required to get under 2 hours, IF the course was accurate. Measurements had been dead on to that point, so I figured I'd be okay. I was too far gone to do the math on exactly what pace I needed to maintain the last 5K. I tried, but my brain wouldn't work, so I just kept running. I turned in a pretty strong mile...then the wheels started coming off. 

After three miles of my HR being around 90% of max, I let myself walk one of the short but steep hills.  (I blame my beloved ultra buddies, some of whom care nothing about time, for putting this idea in my head!)  I resumed running but lost my resolve. I thought about my previous attempts to break 2 hours, the first ending in disaster and the second in disappointment, as the long course cost me my goal. I started having thoughts like, "Well, you know what it feels like not to meet this goal. You'll survive."  Yuck. 

I turned a corner, got smacked in the face with strong winds and freezing cold drizzle. Though the headwind probably slowed me down, it made me think about "Pain You Enjoy" and made me mad enough to just want this to be over.

I never saw the marker for mile 12, but I slogged up the last big hill and about halfway through heard a paraphrase of Winston Churchill ringing in my head: Never, ever, ever give up. I looked down at my watch, realized I still had half a shot at coming in under 2, and found whatever gear I could find. 

Long before I could see the actual finish line, I saw this:

I gave it everything I had left running toward that flag. 

The good news is that I checked my watch and hit the lap button when it said 13.1. Time: 1:59:41. Yay!

The bad news is the finish line was still .16 miles away. Official time: 2:01:05. Rats!

The better news is I'm pretty sure I did meet my other goal of encouraging someone every mile. I kinda lost track the last 5K but was still making the effort. It was energizing to encourage others, especially my teammates from Team RWB!  This was the only part of the race I actually enjoyed, so I'm very grateful God inspired me to make it a goal. 

The best news is that it my suffering for that day was over, and I got one of these...

Final thoughts: My best guess is that the weather impacted my race. Though I am still adjusting to running in unseasonably cold temperatures, it was even colder for my great pace run on Wednesday, and my heart rate had stayed in a reasonable range. But with it drizzling the entire race, wet air was harder to breathe. For the first time, I had to have my sprayer soon after finishing, and I was still wheezing hours after the race. The fact that this is an exception when it used to be the rule is a reminder of how far I've come. 

The weather was truly miserable the entire time, so I must give props to the supporters (thanks, Mom!) and volunteers who came out, as well as the firefighters, police, and military personnel who have to get out and do their jobs no matter how bad the weather is. 

Between being cold and wet and my cardiovascular system going haywire, I cannot think of a single mile of this race I would characterize as "fun."  Yet I was able to embrace the experience as my best training run of the year, sort of in the vein that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  Being able to adopt this attitude reflects a kind of mental toughness I have developed...while what happened in mile 12 shows me where I need to get tougher still so I won't be vulnerable to quitting. 

Honestly, I could have pushed harder. Not much, but a little. Had I known I was going to be 10 seconds off my PR, I would have. (Because the course on my last attempt was even longer, I would have gotten it at Blue Red, even with my overall pace being slower in this race.  Then again, I'm not sure how much satisfaction I would have taken in PR at a slower pace.)  But I wasn't even thinking about PR. Just the two-hour mark. There's some consolation in my HR data suggesting I could not have taken 66 seconds off this race no matter how hard I pushed, which is what it would have required to get under 2.  But it's an important lesson to carry forward:

NEVER, EVER, EVER GIVE UP!

I Am Second - Race Recap

This was my just my second time racing a 5K, my first in 2 years.  My left leg had been acting up since a speed session in early October, so I'd backed off my training and had no idea what kind of time I'd put up.  I was hoping to PR (over my best time from a training run last summer) but remembered the morning of the race: I should probably set an additional goal so I can succeed even if I don't PR.  My other goal was to run a smart race with a negative split.  I wanted to run by feel and not be in my head, so I put a happy face sticker on my watch and just ran as fast as I could.

I could tell I was having a good race when I found myself surrounded by men because most of the ladies were behind me.  But I had no way of knowing how good until I crossed the finish line.  Not good enough to PR.  :(

And not good enough to get a medal that day.  They announced winners for ladies ages 30-39, and I didn't hear my name called.  Oh, well.  I was still grateful that my friend Mark had been gracious enough to wait around with me, and I was happy that I had at least run a negative split with my last mile being the fastest. 

Just for grins, I checked the official results.  My initial disappointment was more than offset when I saw that I had actually come in third among females 35-39 and finished ahead of 90% of the field--including the boys!

I flashed back to gym class and the Presidential Physical Fitness Test we had to take every year.  I remember the humiliation of having to call out my run times.  (Insofar as these were supposed to be measures of physical fitness, I think they should be treated as Private Health Information protected by HIPAA!)  It seemed like I was always dead last in my class.  And now I am in the top 10%???  Must be a God thing!!!

Upon checking the website and communicating with the race directors after the fact, I learned that they made a mistake with the 5K awards and that the age groups were indeed supposed to be in 5-year increments, not 10. 

Today, I got this in the mail. 

So, now it's official: I took third in my age group at the I Am Second run--my first running award ever!

Because of the way things unfolded, my first win was anti-climactic to say the least.  But in a strange sort of way, I think it's perfect.  The whole story behind the I Am Second movement is the idea that God comes first, and everything we do is for His glory. Not hearing my name called or getting a medal on race day--not even knowing I would get one until several days later...this was not about my glory.  It's about God's.  I am second.

That Dam Half! - Race Recap

I ran That Dam Half with my brother, and it lived up to its name, at least for him.  J battled injury for weeks leading up to the race, which significantly hindered his ability to train.  To his credit, he persevered.  He wisely opted for a 4/1 run/walk ratio from the start, and we pretty much maintained that the whole way.  

We got to run along the dam at Lake Lewisville, and it might just be the prettiest course I've run yet.

His calf started acting up a little over halfway through, but he hung in there.  He ran the first 8 miles on training, the last 5 on guts!

We were thrilled to see our support crew holding signs about a mile from the finish!

I'm so proud of my bro for finishing his first official half, and I had a blast pacing him.  It felt good to be able to return the favor he'd done me at Erie.  All told, he ran a great race, and when it was over, there were smiles all around! 

Running On Faith

So often when I am believing God for something, He will send me some form of encouragement: a scripture, a dream, or one of those little moments of synchronicity. These things are like spiritual GU. They're sweet and give you a burst of energy to keep going. 

But what do you do when there is no GU?  

Everybody knows that carbs and running go hand in hand, but the body has an alternate fuel source: fat. Some people actually train themselves to run on fat because unlike carbs, which run out after 20 miles or so, you can keep going on fat virtually forever.  

Perhaps the spiritual equivalent of running on fat is running on faith. The kind of faith that stands in the absence of any circumstances assuring you that you are on the right track. (Imagine the faith Noah had building an ark when it had never rained before!) The kind of faith described in Hebrews 11:

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 

Faith is a SUBSTANCE. Faith itself is the evidence...in the absence of any evidence. 

If you can tap into that, you can keep going forever--no longer dependent on externals because your fuel is what's already inside. 

Tour Des Fleurs 2014 - Race Recap

The Last Christmas, I received a unique gift from my dad.  He promised to run this year's Tour Des Fleurs 10K with me and wrote it up as an article in the local newspaper, as it might appear after the race:

What a wonderful gift, with bonus points for creativity! 

TDF falls on my birthday weekend, and this being the third year I've done it, it's become something of a birthday tradition.  But running it with Dad made this year's race a little different.  It wasn't about a PR, just about being with him.  

I checked MilePost on race day morning and found this quote, which pretty much sums it up:

Dad was a little frustrated that his training hadn't gone quite as planned over the summer, but to his credit, he'd worked through issues with his knees, modified his form, and ran 5K, 5 miles, and eventually a whole 10K...more than he'd done in 40 years!!!  So proud of him!

During the race, we adopted a pace he has nicknamed the "tortoise shuffle" (appropriate for a man whose screen saver used to read, "I'd rather be the tortoise!").  Slow and steady was the name of the game, and it strikes me that Dad's approach to the 10K was the same as his approach to life.  Choose what you think you can sustain, and do it consistently over time.  Then finish strong!  So that's exactly what we did.  :)

We were joined near the finish line by my brother, who'd run the race on his own (a week after doing the second half of the Erie marathon with me!).  We didn't set any records, but we finished...together. 

Marathon Meditation

For those interested, here are the characteristics of God I meditated on during the Erie Marathon.  The list is not polished, as I did not prepare it ahead of time, but simply prayed and asked God to reveal Himself to me during the run.  These are the thoughts that popped in my head over 26.2:

A - Awesome Almighty

B - Beloved

C - Creator

D - Dream-giver and Destiny-maker

E - Everlasting

F - Faithful

G - Good, Glorious

H - Holy One...who is making me holy as well!

I - Infinite...bigger than the vast expanse of the universe but also attentive to every detail down to the cellular and subatomic levels

J - Just...the One who restores what has been lost and stolen by the enemy

K - King of Kings

L - LOVE...the One whose very nature is love that never fails, never gives up, never runs out...

M - Merciful

N - New...as in the One who does new things (Isaiah 43:19)...like turning me from an asthmatic into a marathoner...and that's only the beginning!

O - Omni's - Omnipresent, Omnipotent, Omniscient...and the One I am becoming one with

P - Patient, Powerful

Q - Quick to save

R - Righteous

S - Savior, Strength & Shield

T - Trustworthy

U - Understanding (both in the sense of wisdom and having compassion), Universe-maker

V - Victorious

W - Wonderful

X - eXcellent (Philippians 4:8)

Y - Yahweh, the I AM, whose name is written on my heart

Z - Zealous and cheering me on to the finish!

It was awesome to worship as I ran and so helpful to keep my mind on things above...especially when things below started hurting.  So thankful that my God has so many wonderful qualities, making it easy to think of things I love--even when my brain quit working!  :)

Erie Marathon - Race Recap

The Erie Mararthon is an experience I'll never forget.

Presque Isle State Park is beautiful. 

The course was even flatter than advertised (only 68 feet total elevation gain!), and the weather was perfect for a marathon--50's and just 4 mph wind. 

No idea how those cooler temperatures would affect me, but I was determined to Run Happy.

The race itself went something like this...

Mile 1 - 26 miles, 26 letters of the alphabet. For each one, I focused on a different characteristic of God. The first mile was dedicated to the Almighty.

Mile 3 - Feeling good and taking it easy but felt myself speed up just a tad when I passed a guy holding a sign that said, "You're all Kenyans!"

Mile 4 - Water station manned by super heroes...reminding me that I have the chance to "be a hero" by running and living in a way that inspires others. Flashback to the woman who called from her car, "You're my hero!" as I was chugging up a big hill a couple months ago. Yes, those words of encouragement from a random stranger stick with you!

Mile 6.2 - Running happy & feeling strong!  Even though I have the sticker on my watch, there are clocks at 6.2 and 13.1, so I get a ballpark on my time. Not my fastest 10K of the year (which is good because otherwise I would have been going out too fast!), but still on pace to have a good day. 

Mile 8 - Both feet hurt. Really?  Already?  Expected I might have issues the last third of the race, but I usually get twice this far without pain. 

Mile 9 - Glad my brother will be joining me at the halfway point.  Planning to run 6 with me. I'm already beginning to wonder how I'll run the last 7 on my own but push it out of mind. Cross that bridge when you come to it. 

Mile 10 - Lots of great signs near the water station.  My favorite: Run like somebody just called you a jogger!

Mile 12 - Observed that my legs STILL felt cold even though I'd been running for a couple hours. Will I ever feel like I'm warmed up?  (The answer turned out to be no.)  Just one more mile til I see my bro. 

Mile 13.1 - Jason hopped on the course (with tacit permission from the race director). Boy, was I glad to see him!  He just started running back in May and did his first half on a training run about a month ago.  So proud of him!

Mile 15 - Left knee hurting. Rats. The right had been giving me trouble the past couple weeks.  Now it's fine, and the other one is acting up. 

Mile 16 - Decision time. To this point, I've only walked the aid stations. But I can tell that between my aching feet, cold legs, and sore knee, the last 10 miles are gonna be tough. I ask Jason, "If we switch to a run/walk, do you think you could hang with me the rest of the way?"   He says yes and sets his watch to run for 4 minutes and walk for 1. Best decision I could have made. 

Mile 19 - We get passed by an 80-year-old man. No joke!  

Mile 20 - Just 10K to go. Jason keeps me entertained. We joke about hitch hiking with one of the cars driving in the lane next to us. 

Mile 22 - I get run drunk. Brains run on glucose, and mine is tapped out. Fortunately, I'm a relatively happy drunk...

Mile 23 - 5K left. The sun is FINALLY starting to come out. Most of the course is lined with trees I would have been quite grateful for on my Texas training runs. After running for hours in the cold and shade, the sun feels AMAZING. Run drunk, I start singing the theme to Sesame Street ("Sunny days...")...until I forget the words!

Mile 24 - I am beyond goofy. Thank goodness my brother is there to make me eat my last gel and drink the sports drink (which I'd passed up to this point because I didn't like the flavor and got by just fine in training on the sugar & electrolytes from my gels).  I didn't want to put anything else in my tummy, but J knew my brain needed the fuel and talked me into sucking them down. 

Mile 26 - Silly as I was, I had managed to remember the alphabet.  Z was for a Zealous God cheering me on to the finish!  Jason gets me to pick it up on the home stretch by telling me we've got to pass this lady hobbling in front of us. It works!  We grab hands as we cross the finish line together!  

Post-race, I grab a medal and some chocolate milk. The next race is back to our hotel to get showered and packed, followed by a 2-hour drive to Cleveland and another race to the airport. Gradually, I regained my faculties, and in the hours and days since, I've had a little time to reflect on the race.   

Although my finishing time on a relatively good day was considerably slower than on a bad day nearly a year ago, I see improvements and things I can be proud of:

- I finished. 

- I did not have to visit the medical tent.  Win!

- I remembered my own name (which I struggled to do after the Marine Corps Marathon)!

- I ran all but the aid stations for the first 16 miles. Once I committed to the 4/1 run/walk strategy, I held that ratio for 10 miles, making exception only when there was an aid station, despite strong temptation to do otherwise. 

- I can run for more than FIVE hours!  That takes twice the endurance of the elites!  ;)

I still have a lot to learn about training, pacing, and fueling, but here are my biggest take-aways from this race:

- You will race like you train.  I basically only trained 3.5 months for this event. Due to the compressed schedule, I had only ten double-digit runs (10-20 miles) leading up to it. Because of my decreased level of fitness and how the Texas heat jacked up my heart rate, I was forced to slow down and run/walk pretty much every time.  Though I ran my fastest 13.1 and my fastest 20 of the year at Erie, ultimately the same was true. Even when the heat/heart rate was not a factor, my legs were not trained to go faster or farther. I resorted to run/walk, as I had in training, and my race pace was within seconds of my average pace on those 10 long runs.  Moving forward, I think this means I need to train like I want to race. 

- Be good to yourself. I flew in a couple days earlier this time, and I think it helped (besides having a blast seeing ball games in Cleveland and Pittsburgh!). I also had better recovery with some stretching and massage stick when I got to the car and my "fancy ice pants" on the ride to Cleveland. I was much less sore after Erie than MCM. In the future, I'll try to give myself an extra day before I fly out so I can relax after the race.  Catching a flight immediately afterward meant that I was in a hurry to get somewhere from the time I got up @ 4:30 until we boarded the plane13 hours later. Makes for a long day!

- Don't marathon alone. At least not until I get super comfortable at that distance. Having Jason running with me was a blessing on so many levels. Just sharing the experience with him was the highlight of the day for me. But beyond that, I needed his encouragement to fuel the last few miles and have no idea what would have happened had he not been there.  I may not always have the luxury of a running partner, though now that I see the value, it's definitely preferred. At a minimum, though, I hope to have someone with me who can make sure I get safely home from the race. I was way too "drunk" to drive. :)

- Some things are more important than finishing times. There's no way to know what my time would have been had I run alone and not switched to a 4/1 at mile 16 (which the sticker on my watch would have prevented me from doing).  I might have run more the last 10 miles...though maybe not....and not necessarily faster. But even if I had been given the choice between a better time and finishing with my brother, I'd choose to finish with him.  It made the day!  So thankful for him!

Run Happy

The Erie Marathon is just a few days away. All my training is done. And all my training has been done in the Texas heat!  Current forecast is for 50° F on race day. I have no recollection of what that feels like and no idea how fast I'll be able to run when it's 20-30° cooler than what I've been training in.  That makes pace planning a little tricky.  

At one point, I tried crunching numbers from pace calculators. I toyed with a strategy based on heart rate.  And it's always tempting to pull a number out of thin air and figure out how many miles you have to run at what pace to hit that number because it sounds nice (whether or not your body is actually capable of performing at that level). 

But then I remembered Matthew 6:27. The runner's version goes something like this: 

Can all your worries take a single second off your time?

If anything, worrying probably raises cortisol levels, which could negatively impact performance!

So I committed to run happy. 

The plan come race day is to run by feel. If all goes well, I'll run easy the first 4 miles, moderate the next 20, then push with whatever I have left in the tank the last couple miles. 

To make myself listen to my body rather than my watch, I put one of these on my Garmin:

This way I get all of the data without any of the head games!

I practiced this strategy on a couple of training runs, and the results were very positive. More running and less walking on my last long run, and PR by over a minute on my 10K time from just 3 weeks ago!

Going into Sunday, I'm feeling good. I'm hopeful about a finishing time I can be proud of...but remembering to simly be grateful about getting back to the distance in such a short time. Less than six months ago, I was running ZERO miles. So there's really no pressure. 

My goals are to run happy and to finish....and rather than stressing over my finishing time, let it be a surprise!  :)

God-focused Training

Here's an article I wrote for Tri4Him on how to maintain focus on God while training:

http://tri4him.com/blog/2014/08/07/god-focused-training-tips-tricks/

Honored that they published it.  Enjoy!

Effort, Not Outcome

While I believe in their importance and usually enjoy them, tempo runs (at or slightly faster than goal marathon pace) have recently been a source of frustration.  It's been difficult to accept that between the heat and my loss of fitness, I simply can't yet hit the same target paces I did last year...at least not without sending my heart rate into the stratosphere.  So today I switched my focus from outcome (pace) to effort (heart rate).  It made a world of difference.  Letting go of the outcome allowed me to relax and enjoy the run.  I gave a good effort and felt reasonably good, striking the balance between challenging myself and not overdoing it.  My pace was considerably slower than what I would normally consider a tempo run...but probably faster than if I had started out overestimating my abilities and crashed halfway through the workout...and faster than any other run of that distance so far this year. I think I have to call that a win. 

It also got me thinking about what I can and cannot control in my relationship with God. I can control whether or not I set aside quiet time, read my Bible, or go to church. I cannot control whether or how He speaks to me when I do.  But as in running, if I consistently make the effort, results will come.  He promises:

"If you look for me wholeheartedly, you WILL find Me." (Jeremiah 29:13)

and

"Draw near to God, and He WILL draw near to you." (James 4:8)

God IS faithful.  It is His nature.  He invented the concept.  So it is impossible for me to be more faithful to Him than He is to me.  It may not always be when or how I expect, but if I keep seeking Him, He WILL show up.  He always does.  :)

The Things That Keep Us Going

Patience. Endurance. Long suffering. These words are often used together in scripture, sometimes interchangeably. If you're a distance runner, you understand why. 

You also understand the importance of breaking things down. Running the mile you're in. And the importance of those little things that keep you going. 

A marathon is much less intimidating if you think of it as thirteen 2-mile runs between aid stations. You know that at each one, there will at least be something to drink, and if you're lucky, maybe even a snack.  My personal favorite was Dunkin' Donuts at Mile 24 of Marine Corps. :)  At a big race like that, there are lots of cheering spectators and people holding signs to remind you: Pain is temporary. Pride is forever. 

Sometimes there are other things that give you that little boost you need to keep putting one foot in front of the other. I will never forget staring up at the mile 9 hill during my first half at Cowtown. There was a sea of humanity before me, showing just how steep the climb ahead would be. But a bluegrass song called, "Shouting On the Hills of Glory" came on just as I began my ascent and powered me to the top. 

These things don't just happen at races. Even on training runs, I find myself focusing on just getting to the next gel or water break. And I am blessed by the unexpected, be it running through sprinkler rainbows or past a gorgeous display of flowers, or the kindness of strangers: an angel/trucker parked on my route who offered me a bottle of ICE cold water, a train full of kids waving as I ran past near the zoo, or a woman who rolled down her window and hollered, "You're my hero!" as I tackled a big hill. 

There is no way to describe how these moments breathe new life into a run.  Some we know are coming, and we're counting on them. Others are complete surprises, received as gifts from God in His perfect timing. 

The same is true of our life journey.  We all need an oasis now and then, a place to refuel and refresh.  Or some kind of little boost that gives us encouragement and keeps us moving forward, especially when we feel like quitting.  Like with running, it can come through a song on the radio, an act of kindness, or words from those who cheer us on. It can come from a scripture that cuts right through to the heart of the matter. Or one of those God winks when you know what some might call coincidence was anything but.  

Some of these things are beyond our control. Some are straight from heaven. But we also have the opportunity to provide these for each other.  As Hebrews 10:24-25 says:

Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds....encouraging one another...

So be someone's cheerleader today. Who do you know that could use encouragement?  How can you be a blessing?  The best part is, it's not a zero sum game. When you give encouragement, it will lift your spirits, too! 

    .  

Rainbows and Unicorns

One of the best things about running with God is those moments when He shows up in a way that is so unmistakably...Him.

On one of my runs this week, I got to run through a set of sprinklers. If you have ever run in the heat of the summer in Texas, you know that this alone feels like a shower from heaven. But these were at just the right height, and with the sun at just the right angle, they made a bunch of tiny rainbows. I got to run through rainbows!  I remembered that rainbows are a sign that God keeps His promises and heard Him whisper, "I always keep my promises. All of them." 

There was another phrase that popped into my head: rainbows and unicorns. Usually something folks say sarcastically when something seems to good to be true.  But the blessing of God is like that. 

Perhaps because I'd spent a good part of the run praying about Boston, all of a sudden, it clicked. Unicorns. 

Boston 2016

I want to run Boston.  And I want to run it in 2016. 

Don't get me wrong.  I would love to run in 2015, and Erie would be a great course to qualify on.  But my training data shows that I'm nowhere near where I was a year ago.  With the setback and my current level of fitness, I'd be thrilled just to PR.  It would take an absolute miracle to run a sub-4, and I think it's safe to say the only way I'm pulling a 3:40 in September is if I'm divinely transported, as Philip was in Acts 8:26-40. 

So I have set my sights on 2016 and signed up for the Utah Valley Marathon next June, where the gentle downhill course is probably my best chance to qualify.  Yes, I know it's crazy to sign up for a race that's a year away so that I can run one nearly two years away.  And I know I could train my butt off and still fail.  But even if I do, I think I become a better runner and a better person for trying.  I'm already seeing the fruit of this decision in the way it's changed my perspective on training for Erie.   

With his business coaching clients, my dad has a saying:

Do today what will matter tomorrow.

The Yasso 800's I ran this week?  Not just for Erie.  Those were for Boston 2016.  The long run I did today?  Ditto.  Passing up freshly baked chocolate chip cookies?  You better believe it.

I was already enjoying running each day.  Being sidelined for six months has a way of making you appreciate each day that you're not confined to the couch.  The joy of running has been amplified by excitement about Erie, about getting back to 26.2 and seeing what I can do at that distance.  But I'm finding even stronger drive to overcome challenges when I think about the result not just two months from now but two years from now.

Considering this new perspective has also caused me to ask: How do I apply this principle spiritually?  How will the impact of today's choices reach beyond two months or two years and into eternity?

Rest Makes You Faster

Rest makes you faster. 

So says a friend whose running advice I've come to trust. 

Rest gives the body time to heal and repair itself, making adaptations that will improve future performance.  It also provides a mental break to reflect and re-evaluate before proceeding.  Energy is conserved and stored, and as anyone with a case of the taper crazies can tell you, you can actually feel it building up in your system, just waiting to be released.

Our spirits need rest just like our bodies. When we are quiet and still, we heal and recover.  There's growth and change that enables us to go beyond where we've been.  When it's time to re-engage, we do so renewed, refreshed, and re-energized, full of God's Spirit. We feel our spirits quickened and often see an explosion of power. 

Many of us struggle to rest, fearing we'll lose ground if we're not working as hard as we can. But sooner or later, we all hit a point of diminishing returns.  Past that point, the most productive thing we can do is recharge our batteries. 

So in running and in life, let us follow God's example and regularly set apart times to rest, trusting Him and knowing we'll be better for it.