"That hurt worse than childbirth!" :) These were my first words to my husband at 7:00 am in the morning as I walked through the door from my first 5:30 am spin class. I was walking this funny John Wyane like waddle! lol!!! "The music was tooo loud and not my style. Yes, I feel old talking about music being to loud lol! When the teacher got her mic to close to the PA system and the thing let out this piercing noise that was louder than a firetruck blowing a siren in my ear and more annoying than fingers scrapping a chalk board, it took allllll I had to stay on that oh so painful seat!!!"
By the grace of God I suffered and survived; walked through my front door and fell to my knees in prayer! I praised God for getting me though that class and begged Him to help me be more comfortable in the next Spin class if He was really callling me to train for a half ironman triathlon.
In the weeks that followed I bought a jell pad for my seat. Aaawwww that's a bit better. Praise God! I don't feel the need for an epidural now. It's not pain free mind u but tolerable.
Next God helped me bring my own music. phewwwwwwwww now that is a welcome relief. I don't have to hear curse words that would curl my mother's toes or hear that song about someone liking a big butt :) I mean I'm on the bike to loose this big buttom, a song celebrating a big gluteus Maximus seems counter productive to me lol! Oh the JOY and PEACE that fill my SOUL while listening to Praise Music now.
Wearing my headset ear buds saves my ears from permanent damage from the squeaking PA :).
And... Now I stay injury FREE because when the teacher yells..."Turn it - one more baby!" (baby yea baby right?!) "Turn to the right".... what she is saying is, make it harder by increasing the tension - as if it were not hard enough already. :) anyway now I can pretend I don't hear her and I don't submit to the group peer pressure to do more than my body is able to do :). That alone helped me stop dreading the class.
I take two bottles of water and at least one Gu now and that made a world of difference too!!!!
God also taught me how to take a small towel (cup towel size) the gym provides them :) and I get it wet with the ice cold water from the water fountain, squeeze it out and put it on the back of my neck. Ohhhh that feels soooo good on my neck. I wipe the sweat off my face and back and arms w this cold towel toooo. and on VERY HOT outside rides when I remember to roll ICE into the towel and slowly let it melt on my neck that is a REAL BLESSING from God toooo. I PRAISE God EVERY time He lets me roll ice into a towel to keep me cool!
I really do not enjoy being hot or sweating. Can't imagine why God would call me to do an ironman, half ironman, marathon or anything that is not in the controlled temperature environment with an a/c lol!
Ok, oh, back to the subject. Oh, yes, God helped me with comfort, nutrition and hydration and peace with Praise music :). Then about a year into taking the class I finally forked up the money for some bike shorts and spin shoes. Wow! Was I ever dumb for waiting so long. I mean would a fisherman go fishing without a rod or bait. No. What was I thinking. I wasn't thinking, I was sabotaging myself.
It is fun to ride w a coach and and a room full of other amazing folks who wake up around 4:30 a.m. I have tried spinning in an empty Spin classroom and it is VERY hard to push myself or to keep going for an hour and I never push myself as much as I do with a coach and a class full of riders! So, thank you God for the lead Gooose and the flock of geese that pull me along! Have you ever watched Geese flying? They are a TEAM and they help each other and that is the way God has helped me see a group of people exercising together.
Oh, on the subject of waking up at 4:30 a.m... that could be a blog on it's own :) - it took me MONTHS of trying to make these 4:30 a.m. wake ups... I had goooood intentions each night only to give into sleep each am. This STILL happens but when I get in the habit of getting up early :) It is a REAL BLESSING :) to me personally, the family God has blessed me to be a part of and honestly to anyone I am around... I AM a MUCH happier person when I GET UP EARLY and get Bible Study/Exercise in EARLY!!! It is always TOTALLY BY THE GRACE OF GOD WHEN IT HAPPENS! Praise and Glory to God on High!!!
I sure remember thinking no one will be awake at that early time in the am.. and I was, still am, really SURPRISED to see people driving around at this time... mind you it is often the newspaper and delivery cars. :)
Can you believe this - the FIRST time I went to class I could not even get a bike the room was full. I remember walking away in frustration and sadness - thinking ANYONE ANYONE who get's up at 4:30 am and goes out in the cold DESERVES a bike at least... BUT to my surprise I found out LOTS of folks get up and train EVERYDAY at 4:30am. and they get to class EARLY to get the bike they want and if I was 5 min late I get a bike that needs repaired or even NO BIKE ALL! OUCH!!! Maybe the early bird does get the worm or at least a spin bike lol!
back to the subject of the class - I love to watch the big screen movies of the bike rides. Well everything except the bike crashes. Oh, no, here it comes again.... I have to turn my head when they crash! I DO NOT need those mental images in my mind.
Oh and just incase you are reading this and planning to take your first spin class - go early or even the day before and try out the bike - it honestly felt a bit strange getting on that spin bike to me... it was not like riding a bike as a child and not like the bikes in the exercise stores or even other bikes in the gym. I had never seen a bike that had resistance built in - maybe you have but I hadn't and... well the clip in shoes, they are an experiance all there own... also the teacher will fit you (Tell you how to move the seat up or down, front or back and handel bars up or down... ) anyway all that DOES make a difference and will help you not get injured... I hurt my knee by not doing this my first week of spin class. (my first week was ONE class that week :)) some weeks I make TWO now :) on really good weeks I make THREE. but with Swim class, Weight Class, Running group and Water Aerobic choices well the others often win out over spin. Just telling the truth so you don't get this idea that I'm on a bike everyday in the gym at 5:30 am :)
On the flip side, riding on the road w a group is awesome!!!! With a good group leader I feel safe even with the drinking/driving, texting/driving and people who seem to just want to hit us for the extra points lol! sharing the road with us... hum I don't have to worry about these folks at all in the spin class :)
In spin class I also don't have to think about if I'm shifting right. When we stop at traffic lights I often forget to shift into a lower gear on the open road, that can't happen in spin class. I don't have to load and unload the bike for spin class. I also don't have to worry about popping a tired in a pot hole or on glass. or even wear and tear on my personal bike. It's much easier to drink water/sports drinks and eat clif bars or gu on the stationary bike too. I burn more calories on the Spin Bike. I've never got a sunburn on a spin bike. :). and I may complain about it being cold from my front door to my car and from my car to the gym but that is nothing compaired to the cold riding an hour or more on the bike OUTSIDE :)
soooo with all that I bet u think the Spin Bike wins right. You know .... TO Spin or NOT to Spin??? Well, Nope, not even close..... The open road wins out everytime..... really you say - how can that be?
Well, I can't feel the breeze on my face on the Spin bike, :) I never have that weeeee I feel like I'm flying feeling on my spin bike - going down, down, down a hill on a real bike, outside, well, it's just easier FOR SURE than anything on a spin bike and more FUN, FUN, FUN and to watch the sunrises, sunsets and see God's beautiful flowers, trees, birds, animals, smell fresh air, hear the water falling as you pass a river, hear the laughter of children playing and did I mention feeling the wind in your face :) ....or the drizzle of rain or the feeling of leaves falling from a tree on you - it just doesn't get better than that....
Back to reality...I've never had to change a flat on my Spin Bike or had to walk the Spin Bike up a very very steep hill and. I've yet to fall off the Spin bike lol!
well yes the Spin bike hurt worse that childbirth and the feeling of riding on the open road is well, honestly, to me like holding that new born baby in my arms... both serve a purpose... childbirth brings new life and exercise brings new life into our bodies and the JOY and BLISS of holding that new born is well what makes childbirth worth the WORK...
so SPIN SPIN SPIN --- yep to spin or not to spin.... SPIN.... BUT if you can .... well ride on the open road and PRAISE God for the BLISS and BREEZE in your face and the SIGHTS of His world and the smells of His world and the sounds of His world.
Romans 1:20 "Since earliest of times men have seen the earth and sky and all God made, and have known of His existence and great eternal power so we will have no excuse when we stand before God on Judgment Day."
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
A Perfect Race - Wounded Warrior 2011 - Irving Texas 2011
My 6th Half Marathon this year! YAY GOD!
6-12-2011 Today God let me run a perfect race...
Up 5:00 a.m. home by noon :) Yea God! We live in McKinney - Race in the William's Square of Irving!
Faith (Daughter age 9) and John (Husband) were supportive and happy alllllll day long :) Yay God!!!!!!!
This was my first time to do race day registration and it was so much easier than I thought it would be.
Took a total of at the most 5 min! AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Left our house at 5:30 and arrived at the race at 6:15 PERFECT timing hardly any traffic and not much traffic going into the race parking. LOTS of easy to get to Race Parking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY God !!! : )
I knew the course because I had done it last year and it was HOT HOT HOT BUT!!! I was prepared for it and that helped more than words can express because I knew the course and I knew they would have LOTS of ice-cold rags, ice-water, ice for my hat, ice-towel around my neck , and ice-to put in my shirt to keep my heart machine (EKG-internal loop device) coooool!!! Also I knew there would be two or three water falls to run through and boy oh boy do they help!!! YAY GOD, THE LIVING WATER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Praising God for CK Sports moisture wicking socks cause I totally soaked my shoes in the water falls and pooring ice water over my head at each aid-station and YAY YAY YAY God NO BLISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very little need for Police Traffic control as most of the race is on the trails CAMPION TRAILS (UNDER the TREES lots of the race is tree cover!!!!! :) Thank you God for the shade with the temps in the 90ies :) )
The first two miles and last mile of the race is on the street right behind the Williams Square area and very little traffic uses that road anyway sooooo for me this is PERFECT because I feel awful when I am holding up traffic and you can see the people saying bad words when you run by :( makes me sad for bothering them
PERFECT POLICE VOLUNTEERS!!!! They looked HAPPY :) and they even encouraged us!!!
Go Irving POLICE you ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very few bikes on the trail and this is a real blessing to me personally cause after 10 miles when a person on a bike yells, on your left or on your right, I do not even know my left from my right at that time :) lol!
Signs for the bike riders to be careful could have been helpful and if signs had been posted the week before telling them to expect a crowd the next weekend I bet the bike riders would have waited to ride. I know as a bike rider when I know a race is on our trail I try to give the race the space :)
The aid stations were FULLY STOCKED with LOTS of water and power aid and TONS of people passing them out!!! AMAZING VOLUNTEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also a great tip...I wear a camel back and did not even need to refill it because my husband and daughter met me around mile 5 and again around mile 8 with bottle water :) It is an out and back course so my family gets to see me TWICE from the same spot!!! and they get to SIT in lawn chairs and ring bells and help other racers between the time they see me at mile 5 and then again at 8 :) The camel back also holds lots of Gu I passed out 5 of them to people who needed them and they were VERY thankful YAY GOD!!!!!!!!!!! :)
A great tip for the race would be to have at least one Gu station on the TOP of the turnaround little hill as I saw several people hit their wall at this point and they had no Gu.
In my camel back I also carry a Gu for every mile :), Vaseline in a little zippy bag - when my feet have a hot spot I STOP and put this on to prevent blisters, several tiny salt pkg (I use the one from the edamame bean pkg cause they are water proof :) (They are great for cramps) , Individual sunscreen pkgs, antiseptic wipes/ facial wipes (for bathroom breaks) :0, gum, drivers license, phone, emergency information, pain med, icy hot individual pkgs, and a few honey pkgs (Honey =Old fashion Gu's :) and of course ICE WATER!!!!!!!!
MY WILL NOT RACE WITHOUT favorites are a white washcloth to put ice in and put on top of my head and slip the hat over it, and a white cup towel size towel to WRAP ICE IN and put around my neck and I drop ICE into my shirt it is stopped (held in the shirt by my race shirt bar) - This ICE keeps my HEART : ) cool!!! Remember I have a machine in my heart :) I REFILL this ICE at each aid station. Takes only a few seconds when they are ready and let me scoop it out... it can take what seems FOREVER when they do not have ice in a bucket and they take FOREVER to personally scoop it out while talking with their friends :( . Sometimes I have to beg for ice but as soon as I show em the scar where my heart machine is implanted that give me some ice - PRAISE GOD for ICE and volunteers who give it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YaY God!!!
RACE TIP: If a race has a big trash can full of ICE and WATER ASK first!!! Most of them are for dipping your hats in and passing out ice towels or MY FAVOIRTE ICE SPONGES on HOT HOT HOT days like today but sometimes they are their water buckets they use to fill up the water cups :( ... anyway if they have a cap dipping bucket USE IT! You can run 2 miles in an ice cold hat and never feel the heat even with temps in the hundreds! Again, Praise God for ICE and volunteers who will give it to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YaY God!!!
My daughter and husband sit in lawn chairs and pass frozen bottle water that have thawed just a bit to runners... as you run and it melts you can sip ice cold water... doesn't get better than that :) and they LOVE to encourage people and ring bells :) I also often put these frozen water bottles in front and back of my running shirt to keep my temperature down... it sounds weird I know but it works and feel COOL!!! and Praise God for people who ring bells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This place has TONS of places for FAMILIES to park and sit on the side in chairs with umbrella's and watch their DVD's on the computer and play their DSI's :) This course has THREE different half marathons a year on it so far and it is my FAVORITE half marathon course to run around the DFW area cause your family has such an easy time :) Thank you God for helping our supportive families!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish they would have a half marathon on it EVERY MONTH of the year cause I would run each one God willing !!!!! YaY God for awesome half marathon trails :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay God!!!
The three different races on this course are the Hills and Heels in March (Sign up early for this one, it fills up fast) then the race I ran today The Wounded Warrior in June, and Hills and Heels and Him in September.
There were 1800 runners signed up today, not all showed up, as I think the heat scares them but I am 48 years old and have heart condition and if I can do it ANYONE can! They have water stations allllllllllllll over the place and like I said ice ice ice and water falls to go through and the best volunteers around. and get this I saw soldiers running the full half with 50lb back packs on so if that does not inspire you nothing will. I saw kids as young as 10 and adults over 70 finish this year and last! Temps were over 100 last year.
FAMILY FRIENDLY RACE! :) From the start of the race where the kids can play around the fountains and horse statues to the easy traffic flow so they can go to McDonalds and play and eat breakfast while mom or dad runs that first 30 min or so :) Then my family goes and parks at mile 5 of the course but there are TONS of places to park and watch!!! and once you find a good spot you get to see your racer TWICE!!! now that is cool!!!
Three of our daughters favorite things are bringing her chalk to write messages of encouragement on the side walk, making poster boards with rainbow messages of encouragement to put along the course and ringing bells! and boy oh boy does that encoruagement help all the runners !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tip : Ya got to get to the 5 mile spot a bit early to get the calk messages drawn before the runners come by :) Praise God for calk messages to encourage us !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then after your family see's ya twice they can head to the finish line and if you are a slow finisher like me they will even let your child run into the finish with you for a photo finish! Doesn't get better than that!!!
Praise God for race photographers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All the races are for good causes. The race today was for the wounded warrior fund. To be a part of helping, is ,well, it is better to give than receive and you feel!!! :) that when doing one of these races.
and then ON TOP of that, you receive stuff tooo a great sweat wicking running shirt and socks and an awesome medal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The race medals for this race as PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My hat goes off to the person who designs them!!!!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the kids in uniform put that medal around your neck, well, let me just say, I didn't see many dry eyes. Then you can walk over to several booths that have each branch of the military, yep again the tears flow and flow from thankful hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Praise God for each of them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For the kids they let you buy a COOL military coin medallion for $8.00 and your son or daughter will get something that looks a lot like mom's or dad's finisher medal and that makes them SUPER happy!!! :)
You can take a photo by a tank with wheels 7 feet tall... Yes I said WHEELS 7 feet tall! It makes an awesome photo There are soooo many photo places and things for the kids to learn and see!!!
and it is just AMAZING to role model to our kids how to show respect and thankfulness to the military who risk their lives for us every day! Let your kids them take pictures with, hug and shake hands with men and women from each branch of the military!!! You will ALL be in thankful tears :) Praise God!!!
A PERFECT RACE! A PERFECT DAY! Thank you for each and every min each and every volunteer gave to make this a PERFECT RACE! a very special memory for our whole family. YaY God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God bless America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ephesians 3:20-21
My 6th Half Marathon this year! YAY GOD!
6-12-2011 Today God let me run a perfect race...
Up 5:00 a.m. home by noon :) Yea God! We live in McKinney - Race in the William's Square of Irving!
Faith (Daughter age 9) and John (Husband) were supportive and happy alllllll day long :) Yay God!!!!!!!
This was my first time to do race day registration and it was so much easier than I thought it would be.
Took a total of at the most 5 min! AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Left our house at 5:30 and arrived at the race at 6:15 PERFECT timing hardly any traffic and not much traffic going into the race parking. LOTS of easy to get to Race Parking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAY God !!! : )
I knew the course because I had done it last year and it was HOT HOT HOT BUT!!! I was prepared for it and that helped more than words can express because I knew the course and I knew they would have LOTS of ice-cold rags, ice-water, ice for my hat, ice-towel around my neck , and ice-to put in my shirt to keep my heart machine (EKG-internal loop device) coooool!!! Also I knew there would be two or three water falls to run through and boy oh boy do they help!!! YAY GOD, THE LIVING WATER !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Praising God for CK Sports moisture wicking socks cause I totally soaked my shoes in the water falls and pooring ice water over my head at each aid-station and YAY YAY YAY God NO BLISTERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very little need for Police Traffic control as most of the race is on the trails CAMPION TRAILS (UNDER the TREES lots of the race is tree cover!!!!! :) Thank you God for the shade with the temps in the 90ies :) )
The first two miles and last mile of the race is on the street right behind the Williams Square area and very little traffic uses that road anyway sooooo for me this is PERFECT because I feel awful when I am holding up traffic and you can see the people saying bad words when you run by :( makes me sad for bothering them
PERFECT POLICE VOLUNTEERS!!!! They looked HAPPY :) and they even encouraged us!!!
Go Irving POLICE you ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Very few bikes on the trail and this is a real blessing to me personally cause after 10 miles when a person on a bike yells, on your left or on your right, I do not even know my left from my right at that time :) lol!
Signs for the bike riders to be careful could have been helpful and if signs had been posted the week before telling them to expect a crowd the next weekend I bet the bike riders would have waited to ride. I know as a bike rider when I know a race is on our trail I try to give the race the space :)
The aid stations were FULLY STOCKED with LOTS of water and power aid and TONS of people passing them out!!! AMAZING VOLUNTEERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Also a great tip...I wear a camel back and did not even need to refill it because my husband and daughter met me around mile 5 and again around mile 8 with bottle water :) It is an out and back course so my family gets to see me TWICE from the same spot!!! and they get to SIT in lawn chairs and ring bells and help other racers between the time they see me at mile 5 and then again at 8 :) The camel back also holds lots of Gu I passed out 5 of them to people who needed them and they were VERY thankful YAY GOD!!!!!!!!!!! :)
A great tip for the race would be to have at least one Gu station on the TOP of the turnaround little hill as I saw several people hit their wall at this point and they had no Gu.
In my camel back I also carry a Gu for every mile :), Vaseline in a little zippy bag - when my feet have a hot spot I STOP and put this on to prevent blisters, several tiny salt pkg (I use the one from the edamame bean pkg cause they are water proof :) (They are great for cramps) , Individual sunscreen pkgs, antiseptic wipes/ facial wipes (for bathroom breaks) :0, gum, drivers license, phone, emergency information, pain med, icy hot individual pkgs, and a few honey pkgs (Honey =Old fashion Gu's :) and of course ICE WATER!!!!!!!!
MY WILL NOT RACE WITHOUT favorites are a white washcloth to put ice in and put on top of my head and slip the hat over it, and a white cup towel size towel to WRAP ICE IN and put around my neck and I drop ICE into my shirt it is stopped (held in the shirt by my race shirt bar) - This ICE keeps my HEART : ) cool!!! Remember I have a machine in my heart :) I REFILL this ICE at each aid station. Takes only a few seconds when they are ready and let me scoop it out... it can take what seems FOREVER when they do not have ice in a bucket and they take FOREVER to personally scoop it out while talking with their friends :( . Sometimes I have to beg for ice but as soon as I show em the scar where my heart machine is implanted that give me some ice - PRAISE GOD for ICE and volunteers who give it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YaY God!!!
RACE TIP: If a race has a big trash can full of ICE and WATER ASK first!!! Most of them are for dipping your hats in and passing out ice towels or MY FAVOIRTE ICE SPONGES on HOT HOT HOT days like today but sometimes they are their water buckets they use to fill up the water cups :( ... anyway if they have a cap dipping bucket USE IT! You can run 2 miles in an ice cold hat and never feel the heat even with temps in the hundreds! Again, Praise God for ICE and volunteers who will give it to you!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YaY God!!!
My daughter and husband sit in lawn chairs and pass frozen bottle water that have thawed just a bit to runners... as you run and it melts you can sip ice cold water... doesn't get better than that :) and they LOVE to encourage people and ring bells :) I also often put these frozen water bottles in front and back of my running shirt to keep my temperature down... it sounds weird I know but it works and feel COOL!!! and Praise God for people who ring bells!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This place has TONS of places for FAMILIES to park and sit on the side in chairs with umbrella's and watch their DVD's on the computer and play their DSI's :) This course has THREE different half marathons a year on it so far and it is my FAVORITE half marathon course to run around the DFW area cause your family has such an easy time :) Thank you God for helping our supportive families!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I wish they would have a half marathon on it EVERY MONTH of the year cause I would run each one God willing !!!!! YaY God for awesome half marathon trails :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay God!!!
The three different races on this course are the Hills and Heels in March (Sign up early for this one, it fills up fast) then the race I ran today The Wounded Warrior in June, and Hills and Heels and Him in September.
There were 1800 runners signed up today, not all showed up, as I think the heat scares them but I am 48 years old and have heart condition and if I can do it ANYONE can! They have water stations allllllllllllll over the place and like I said ice ice ice and water falls to go through and the best volunteers around. and get this I saw soldiers running the full half with 50lb back packs on so if that does not inspire you nothing will. I saw kids as young as 10 and adults over 70 finish this year and last! Temps were over 100 last year.
FAMILY FRIENDLY RACE! :) From the start of the race where the kids can play around the fountains and horse statues to the easy traffic flow so they can go to McDonalds and play and eat breakfast while mom or dad runs that first 30 min or so :) Then my family goes and parks at mile 5 of the course but there are TONS of places to park and watch!!! and once you find a good spot you get to see your racer TWICE!!! now that is cool!!!
Three of our daughters favorite things are bringing her chalk to write messages of encouragement on the side walk, making poster boards with rainbow messages of encouragement to put along the course and ringing bells! and boy oh boy does that encoruagement help all the runners !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tip : Ya got to get to the 5 mile spot a bit early to get the calk messages drawn before the runners come by :) Praise God for calk messages to encourage us !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Then after your family see's ya twice they can head to the finish line and if you are a slow finisher like me they will even let your child run into the finish with you for a photo finish! Doesn't get better than that!!!
Praise God for race photographers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
All the races are for good causes. The race today was for the wounded warrior fund. To be a part of helping, is ,well, it is better to give than receive and you feel!!! :) that when doing one of these races.
and then ON TOP of that, you receive stuff tooo a great sweat wicking running shirt and socks and an awesome medal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The race medals for this race as PRICELESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! My hat goes off to the person who designs them!!!!!!! YOU ROCK!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
When the kids in uniform put that medal around your neck, well, let me just say, I didn't see many dry eyes. Then you can walk over to several booths that have each branch of the military, yep again the tears flow and flow from thankful hearts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Praise God for each of them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
For the kids they let you buy a COOL military coin medallion for $8.00 and your son or daughter will get something that looks a lot like mom's or dad's finisher medal and that makes them SUPER happy!!! :)
You can take a photo by a tank with wheels 7 feet tall... Yes I said WHEELS 7 feet tall! It makes an awesome photo There are soooo many photo places and things for the kids to learn and see!!!
and it is just AMAZING to role model to our kids how to show respect and thankfulness to the military who risk their lives for us every day! Let your kids them take pictures with, hug and shake hands with men and women from each branch of the military!!! You will ALL be in thankful tears :) Praise God!!!
A PERFECT RACE! A PERFECT DAY! Thank you for each and every min each and every volunteer gave to make this a PERFECT RACE! a very special memory for our whole family. YaY God!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
God bless America!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ephesians 3:20-21
Friday, May 6, 2011
Family Bike Ride
First Chisholm Trail Family Bike Ride Day 5-6-2011 2:00 -4:00 p.m.
2 hour ride = +9 Weight Watchers Activity Points
After bike ride - "On the Border" Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Dinner and chips 57 Points!
Yes it was worth the activity and allll my extra points
We had a late breakfast so I only used 11 points for breakfast and lunch.
Made a two egg omelet so I had energy for the 10 mile bike ride :)
The new trail we tried was AWESOME! Chisholm Trail in Plano is a nice Family Trail.
Wide paved Trail, hardly any people were on the trail and only a few cars on the three places we had to cross neighborhood street traffic. Lovely Neighborhoods to look at and the trail is beside a creek so the woods were LOVELY and it was GREAT to see and be a part of God's Beautiful World!!!
Looking forward to the next family bike ride day. and.... the meal after it :)
2 hour ride = +9 Weight Watchers Activity Points
After bike ride - "On the Border" Sour Cream Chicken Enchilada Dinner and chips 57 Points!
Yes it was worth the activity and allll my extra points
We had a late breakfast so I only used 11 points for breakfast and lunch.
Made a two egg omelet so I had energy for the 10 mile bike ride :)
The new trail we tried was AWESOME! Chisholm Trail in Plano is a nice Family Trail.
Wide paved Trail, hardly any people were on the trail and only a few cars on the three places we had to cross neighborhood street traffic. Lovely Neighborhoods to look at and the trail is beside a creek so the woods were LOVELY and it was GREAT to see and be a part of God's Beautiful World!!!
Looking forward to the next family bike ride day. and.... the meal after it :)
To Run a Half Marathon Every Month
Goal 2011 Run a Half Marathon Every Month
I have this goal of running a Half Marathon every month this year.
So January 29th God let me run and walk the "Texas Half" in Dallas - That one hurt
On February 19th God let me run and walk the "Stonebridge Ranch Half Marathon" - more hills OUCH!
March I counted the Ft. Worth Cow Town Marathon for the March marathon. I tried to run the Ultra 50K but only made it to mile 21! It was on the 27 of February only a couple days before March and so well I counted it as my March half Marathon. :) Yes that one hurt but I am STILL MAD at myself for not finishing cause I know I could have! I ALMOST ran the Dallas Rock and Roll but I was at conference and didn't run it.
Well , April rolled around and I got sick the day of the half I planned to run (The Lone Star 70.3) It is UNFINISHED BUSINESS and God willing I will get to finish that race next year. I'm still mad at myself for not at least trying to finish the swim in that triathlon! The other half I really wanted to run in April was the "Hills and Heels Half Marathon". I thought I would be too sore from the Lone Star 70.3 so waited to long to enter and it sold out (I personally - Love the "Hills and Heels Half Marathon" so I was really sad when I didn't get to run it). I sure didn't want the Dream to die four months into the goal soooo.... on the last day of April...
God gave me the idea to make my own Half Marathon... It is the HOPE Marathon.
" Heavenly Opportunities for People Everyone!" To date it is my Favorite Half ever and... NO PAIN!
The fee to register is to give something to a charity of your choice and bring a stuffed animal if you have one to donate to the local fire department to help children who are in an emergency.
So it started at 9:30 a.m. AAAAHHHHH a nice time to start. The course was outside my front door. AAAAHHHH a nice place to run. Our neighborhood has a perfect one mile loop so I repeated it 13 times.
AAAAHHHH the convince of my own nice clean restroom to use. and the best part of all I could check on my 9 year old daughter every few miles. :)
I have this goal of running a Half Marathon every month this year.
So January 29th God let me run and walk the "Texas Half" in Dallas - That one hurt
On February 19th God let me run and walk the "Stonebridge Ranch Half Marathon" - more hills OUCH!
March I counted the Ft. Worth Cow Town Marathon for the March marathon. I tried to run the Ultra 50K but only made it to mile 21! It was on the 27 of February only a couple days before March and so well I counted it as my March half Marathon. :) Yes that one hurt but I am STILL MAD at myself for not finishing cause I know I could have! I ALMOST ran the Dallas Rock and Roll but I was at conference and didn't run it.
Well , April rolled around and I got sick the day of the half I planned to run (The Lone Star 70.3) It is UNFINISHED BUSINESS and God willing I will get to finish that race next year. I'm still mad at myself for not at least trying to finish the swim in that triathlon! The other half I really wanted to run in April was the "Hills and Heels Half Marathon". I thought I would be too sore from the Lone Star 70.3 so waited to long to enter and it sold out (I personally - Love the "Hills and Heels Half Marathon" so I was really sad when I didn't get to run it). I sure didn't want the Dream to die four months into the goal soooo.... on the last day of April...
God gave me the idea to make my own Half Marathon... It is the HOPE Marathon.
" Heavenly Opportunities for People Everyone!" To date it is my Favorite Half ever and... NO PAIN!
The fee to register is to give something to a charity of your choice and bring a stuffed animal if you have one to donate to the local fire department to help children who are in an emergency.
So it started at 9:30 a.m. AAAAHHHHH a nice time to start. The course was outside my front door. AAAAHHHH a nice place to run. Our neighborhood has a perfect one mile loop so I repeated it 13 times.
AAAAHHHH the convince of my own nice clean restroom to use. and the best part of all I could check on my 9 year old daughter every few miles. :)
Had a ball.... The weather was PERFECT. Temp in the 70's and 80's cloud covered and shaded almost the whole way! My husband walked/ran the last three miles with me. AAAAAAHHHHH such a happy memory!!! Thank you God. The medal... My daughter made me a picture and my husband bought me a necklace with a running shoe on it. My daughter added her little silver cross to the necklace Priceless!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
First week at Weight Watchers. Ate 89 points on Easter still lost 6 Pounds Yay GOD!
I call it a miracle.
This was my first week and yes I took my shoes off to weigh in this time so that might have been 2 of the pounds lol!!!
but that still leaves 4 that were lost... AMAZING!!! YAY GOD!!!
So the goal was to TRACK POINTS... I did it on computer :) Made the goal!!!
Oh my Oh my I was shocked at how many points I ate!!!! :(
and so thankful for the exercise points to work them off!!!!!!!!!!!!
thankful for the 49 extra points toooo.
Ate out twice and still lost weight... wow it was a miracle.
Even ate the chips at the Mexican Food place...
God has helped me loose 100 pounds in two years saying this prayer...
"God in your Mighty Power please help me have the desire to eat what you want me to and exercise the way you want me too!"
Then a couple months ago I started putting pounds back on and I was like NO NO NO OH NO not again. I have yoy yoy lost weight before and I sooooooooooooo did not want to do this again. so I prayed for BALANCE and also a place to encourage others and my sister said, "You need to go back to weight watchers! 20 years ago you became a lifetime member and inspired so many people!" Go back and become a leader after you loose that LAST 45 pounds and KEEP IT OFF!!!
Walking through that door was HARD... Facing the scale was HARD... Sitting in the meeting and wondering if people were judging me was HARD... even thinking about learning the program AGAIN was HARD but the funny thing was all those fears were releaved within mins of walking in. The price was reasonable, facing the scale was a relief actually, the people were NICE, and the program was honestly easier to figure out than ever before! The points tracker was AWESOME! NOW IF they would only invent a way to balance my check book with as much fun as the points tracker is ..... that would be another miracle.... lol :)
I'm HOME :) I feel I am at home with the community and look forward to learning, growing and encouragin each other with my weight watchers family :)
This was my first week and yes I took my shoes off to weigh in this time so that might have been 2 of the pounds lol!!!
but that still leaves 4 that were lost... AMAZING!!! YAY GOD!!!
So the goal was to TRACK POINTS... I did it on computer :) Made the goal!!!
Oh my Oh my I was shocked at how many points I ate!!!! :(
and so thankful for the exercise points to work them off!!!!!!!!!!!!
thankful for the 49 extra points toooo.
Ate out twice and still lost weight... wow it was a miracle.
Even ate the chips at the Mexican Food place...
God has helped me loose 100 pounds in two years saying this prayer...
"God in your Mighty Power please help me have the desire to eat what you want me to and exercise the way you want me too!"
Then a couple months ago I started putting pounds back on and I was like NO NO NO OH NO not again. I have yoy yoy lost weight before and I sooooooooooooo did not want to do this again. so I prayed for BALANCE and also a place to encourage others and my sister said, "You need to go back to weight watchers! 20 years ago you became a lifetime member and inspired so many people!" Go back and become a leader after you loose that LAST 45 pounds and KEEP IT OFF!!!
Walking through that door was HARD... Facing the scale was HARD... Sitting in the meeting and wondering if people were judging me was HARD... even thinking about learning the program AGAIN was HARD but the funny thing was all those fears were releaved within mins of walking in. The price was reasonable, facing the scale was a relief actually, the people were NICE, and the program was honestly easier to figure out than ever before! The points tracker was AWESOME! NOW IF they would only invent a way to balance my check book with as much fun as the points tracker is ..... that would be another miracle.... lol :)
I'm HOME :) I feel I am at home with the community and look forward to learning, growing and encouragin each other with my weight watchers family :)
Friday, April 22, 2011
First Ironman 70.3 Sick and Scared
Thank you God for inspiration to pick me up when I fall!!! So I have not written in four weeks....
We lost three dear friends. Traveled and Traveled to funerals. I am emotionally exhausted. My mom passed this last June - this is our first Easter without her. I miss her!!!
Physically I feel LOST. We made it to the Ironman 70.3 Galveston was more beautiful than I expected and we had a wonderful time together as a family and with friends that surprised us there; even though I got sick with a stomach bug the night before the race, Faith caught the bug a few days later and then John had it too. I felt too weak to compete but could not stay in the hotel room... Had a BALL cheering on the TEAM! Had a BALL cheering on everyone!!! God even let me SEE one of the fast ladies run! Catriona Morrison was a blur as she ran under the bridge my little girl and I were standing on ringing the bells for the runners! (If I had raced I would never have gotten to see that or experience the race as a cheerleader with my daughter!) Thank you God for unexpected gifts like this :) I also saw the many, many, many families cheering on their dad's, mom's, brother's, sister's and friends. I heard more languages than I ever dreamed possible as people were there from allllllllllllllllllll over the world. I saw the race from the perspective of the family and see it is something THEY deserve a medal for too :) Waiting for 5 to 8 hours on a dear loved one in PAIN is hard!!!
I am and was disappointed that I didn't make myself at least do the swim but I tried to just be happy and see the bright side but ya know what? if I am not honest with myself I cannot move on and not moving on is making me depressed, frustrated and experience an emotion I am not comfortable with and seldom feel... angry!. There is a ride a six flags over Texas called the "The Big Spin" As some of you know I am SCARED of fast rides and this one describes my emotions... Up, down, pushed side to side, out of control, spinning and then repeat. At several points I just wanted off the Ironman 70.3 ride and to go home and sit on the couch and eat ice cream and forget I have a heart condition and pretend what I eat and if I exercise, well it really does not matter!!! I wanted to give up this dream of doing the half Ironman and Ironman... When I went to sleep that night I thought good.... this is OVER maybe this crazy idea will go away now!!! I mean I get tired of people asking WHY? do you want to do this and hearing them tell me NOT TO DO IT. or You CAN'T DO IT! I am a pleaser at heart and when I think someone does not approve of what I am doing I try to stop. so when I got sick I thought ok let it GO SUSAN... just do water-aerobics, run some, doing half marathons is ok but let go of the full ones and the bike that still scares you and just move ON... but when I woke up I couldn't do that... It is like it calls me... like it is something I HAVE TO DO!!! so the part of me that knows this.... wants to find a race and just get it over with like a tooth that needs to be pulled - just pull it!!! :) But if I am honest with myself I know that I am at a cross roads... do I push past this fear set another goal and not give up, do I shrink back keep pleasing everyone else and living for what I THINK people WANT me to do, do I just give up or do I TRUST and OBEY God and the call He is calling me to? Do I REALLY believe "All things are possible?"
I read an article tonight "The Kona Journey" by Catriona Morrison 2009 2010 "Two Ironman World Championships: both plagued with illness and followed by "What ifs," "Maybes," "Should haves," "would have" and "Could haves." Cat and I are worlds apart in athletic ability, age and sponsors :) but a few days ago I did not even know who she was and yet God let our paths cross and tonight I read this article and it helps me see.... old - young - athlete - survivor - we are allllll on a JOURNEY and God willing we all want to finish STRONG! To God be the Glory!!!
I tried to register for my favorite half marathon tonight. I have told hundreds of people about this Hills and Heels marathon and wear my race shirt almost daily! In a ironic way I probably helped it fill up and now it is sold OUT. I'm Out again... Quit on the CowTown Ultra - Sick on the Ironman 70.3 to late for the Hills and Heels BUT..... I also read this tonight... about the race director
"Throughout this event's journey, Paula's personal journey is equally amazing – diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis on April 1, 1999, Female winner of a 12 hour event (50+ miles), 1 ultra marathon, 18 marathons, 35+ half marathons, a duathalon and other events, including the Dallas Avon 3 Day Walk and the MS 150 bike ride. Paula started a running streak on July 1, 2009 and has run at least one mile each day and 100+ miles each month. Paula achieved her goal of a sub 5 hour marathon with a 4:56 finish time at The Cowtown Marathon in February 2010." More HOPE..... Thank you God for HOPE and DREAMS and PASSION and most of all for your gift of salvation.... note to self SUSN.... any IS possible Susan... BE INSPIRED!!!
We lost three dear friends. Traveled and Traveled to funerals. I am emotionally exhausted. My mom passed this last June - this is our first Easter without her. I miss her!!!
Physically I feel LOST. We made it to the Ironman 70.3 Galveston was more beautiful than I expected and we had a wonderful time together as a family and with friends that surprised us there; even though I got sick with a stomach bug the night before the race, Faith caught the bug a few days later and then John had it too. I felt too weak to compete but could not stay in the hotel room... Had a BALL cheering on the TEAM! Had a BALL cheering on everyone!!! God even let me SEE one of the fast ladies run! Catriona Morrison was a blur as she ran under the bridge my little girl and I were standing on ringing the bells for the runners! (If I had raced I would never have gotten to see that or experience the race as a cheerleader with my daughter!) Thank you God for unexpected gifts like this :) I also saw the many, many, many families cheering on their dad's, mom's, brother's, sister's and friends. I heard more languages than I ever dreamed possible as people were there from allllllllllllllllllll over the world. I saw the race from the perspective of the family and see it is something THEY deserve a medal for too :) Waiting for 5 to 8 hours on a dear loved one in PAIN is hard!!!
I am and was disappointed that I didn't make myself at least do the swim but I tried to just be happy and see the bright side but ya know what? if I am not honest with myself I cannot move on and not moving on is making me depressed, frustrated and experience an emotion I am not comfortable with and seldom feel... angry!. There is a ride a six flags over Texas called the "The Big Spin" As some of you know I am SCARED of fast rides and this one describes my emotions... Up, down, pushed side to side, out of control, spinning and then repeat. At several points I just wanted off the Ironman 70.3 ride and to go home and sit on the couch and eat ice cream and forget I have a heart condition and pretend what I eat and if I exercise, well it really does not matter!!! I wanted to give up this dream of doing the half Ironman and Ironman... When I went to sleep that night I thought good.... this is OVER maybe this crazy idea will go away now!!! I mean I get tired of people asking WHY? do you want to do this and hearing them tell me NOT TO DO IT. or You CAN'T DO IT! I am a pleaser at heart and when I think someone does not approve of what I am doing I try to stop. so when I got sick I thought ok let it GO SUSAN... just do water-aerobics, run some, doing half marathons is ok but let go of the full ones and the bike that still scares you and just move ON... but when I woke up I couldn't do that... It is like it calls me... like it is something I HAVE TO DO!!! so the part of me that knows this.... wants to find a race and just get it over with like a tooth that needs to be pulled - just pull it!!! :) But if I am honest with myself I know that I am at a cross roads... do I push past this fear set another goal and not give up, do I shrink back keep pleasing everyone else and living for what I THINK people WANT me to do, do I just give up or do I TRUST and OBEY God and the call He is calling me to? Do I REALLY believe "All things are possible?"
I read an article tonight "The Kona Journey" by Catriona Morrison 2009 2010 "Two Ironman World Championships: both plagued with illness and followed by "What ifs," "Maybes," "Should haves," "would have" and "Could haves." Cat and I are worlds apart in athletic ability, age and sponsors :) but a few days ago I did not even know who she was and yet God let our paths cross and tonight I read this article and it helps me see.... old - young - athlete - survivor - we are allllll on a JOURNEY and God willing we all want to finish STRONG! To God be the Glory!!!
I tried to register for my favorite half marathon tonight. I have told hundreds of people about this Hills and Heels marathon and wear my race shirt almost daily! In a ironic way I probably helped it fill up and now it is sold OUT. I'm Out again... Quit on the CowTown Ultra - Sick on the Ironman 70.3 to late for the Hills and Heels BUT..... I also read this tonight... about the race director
"Throughout this event's journey, Paula's personal journey is equally amazing – diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis on April 1, 1999, Female winner of a 12 hour event (50+ miles), 1 ultra marathon, 18 marathons, 35+ half marathons, a duathalon and other events, including the Dallas Avon 3 Day Walk and the MS 150 bike ride. Paula started a running streak on July 1, 2009 and has run at least one mile each day and 100+ miles each month. Paula achieved her goal of a sub 5 hour marathon with a 4:56 finish time at The Cowtown Marathon in February 2010." More HOPE..... Thank you God for HOPE and DREAMS and PASSION and most of all for your gift of salvation.... note to self SUSN.... any IS possible Susan... BE INSPIRED!!!
Saturday, March 5, 2011
The agony of de feet!
caring military officers you used to start the race…
and most of all made us feel safe J
in the last corral ya know… we are there to obey the rules and to finish… we
are not in it to win it but most of us if not all of us have a story of
something we are trying to Endure… (Endurance Race J) for me it is a heart condition… running gives me hope and strength J I often finish last and it is ironic that finishing last STILL somehow gives me strength and hope! My mom passed to Heaven unexpected to us 9 months ago and the
running has helped me process the earthly loss and run off the sadness J
keep people safe, have an orderly start and keep people from getting trampled...) this race had 20,000 runners.
to our family were you – let my little 8 year girl, Faith pass out
water – Faith LOVED IT!!! She loved the shirt you gave her and the way you
made her feel important… Honestly in all the races I have run the kids are
soooooooooooooo endearing! J
To see a child volunteer is inspiring! When a girl scout or boy scout
or ANY child passes you water with a smile – I mean, it just makes your
day J Our
little girl also enjoyed helping the tired runners run in… Faith
would run to them and run WITH them to the water station over and over… my
husband volunteered too and he said when Faith ran to help the tired runners it
brought tears to his eyes and tears to many of the eyes of the people she
helped… YOU PROVIDED a way for her to SHOW LOVE! Thank you! She
also LOVED seeing the motorcycle police officers! What a
wonderful place for her to see Officers in their service/protection role!
To see them as the GOOD GUYS they are! J
going another 5 miles, or 31 miles overall)... I have finished many half
marathons(13.1 miles) and 3 full ones(26.2 miles) but for some reason I could
not sleep the night before the race and only got 3 hours sleep :( but I still
tried to run! The police officers were AWESOME! They
followed behind me and another runner who was determined to finish. At
mile 21 the pain was too much for me and I'm sad to say I gave up. I assured
the officers following me that my husband would come get me and they continued
to follow Steve the friend I made that was still IN the race. I sat on a
park bench and began to cry in disappointment and out pops this kind officer
with sweet words of encouragement. He waited with me for like 15 min
until my husband and daughter found me... on top of that another lady officer
joined him after about 5 min and also shared kind words with me... I
thought the officers would feel like (well at least one more is off the roads
so we can go home now) but I learned something... THEY LOVE US! THEY
REALLY CARE!!! THEY REALLY WANT TO HELP US IN ANY WAY THEY CAN!
officers and police officer was HEAVEN SENT!!! Ephesians 3:20-21
and were there to keep us safe. I have an internal loop device(sort of an
implanted heart monitor) in my chest and your medical student noticed it and
gave me kind words of wisdom J
with the rug in front, PLENTY of toilet paper J,
flowers, butterflies, course map of YOU are HERE, the basket of hand wipes, bio
o freeze samples (THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU) they helped
soooooooooooooo much!!! band aids, Vaseline for our feet , I mean EVERYTHING
was in there… It’s all in the details and she knew about the details…
AMAZING! I praise God for you!!!
help me with my blisters until the last marathon – it was a Rock and Roll
marathon and they have people in the middle of the street with Vaseline on
popsicle sticks passing them out! BRILIANT! I mean I don’t think
about the blisters until it is too late (see photo below) – they passed
them out at mile 7 and 17 and at 7 It made me think YEP I need it and I fixed
em then at 17 I was thinking yep that would be good to put on again and that
was
the FIRST race I did not get a blister on or lose a toe nail J
They also pass out SALT… packets… and you know that
REALLY helped the cramps… mile 18 I think they were there passing out salt…
REALLY helped the cramps… mile 18 I think they were there passing out salt…
Mile 20…. The medics were calling people out…. Hey come
over here and let us wrap that knee so you can keep going… J Their medics were IN the road at
hum the 4th hour J
you had to run past and around them – it made you do a gut check --- do I
neeeed these guys… J They
were sooooooooooooo nice…. They had lawn chairs for folks to sit in and wrapped
knees, took blood pressures and it made the DIFFERNCE for at least TWO people I
saw… in the brief seconds it took me to pass them I could tell they were a
tent of angels hard at work J
You know after mile 20, for me at least, I am not thinking real straight… I am
thinking FINISH, FINISH, FINISH not … what do I NEED to do to take care of my
body… THEY did the thinking for folks… they didn’t call me out so I thought
hum, yes I’m tired, I'm hurting a bit but I’m not limping and I’m ok and
thank you thank you thank you Jesus they are helping those that neeeeed it… It
helped me AND the ones that they were putting ice on knees and so
on…
over here and let us wrap that knee so you can keep going… J Their medics were IN the road at
hum the 4th hour J
you had to run past and around them – it made you do a gut check --- do I
neeeed these guys… J They
were sooooooooooooo nice…. They had lawn chairs for folks to sit in and wrapped
knees, took blood pressures and it made the DIFFERNCE for at least TWO people I
saw… in the brief seconds it took me to pass them I could tell they were a
tent of angels hard at work J
You know after mile 20, for me at least, I am not thinking real straight… I am
thinking FINISH, FINISH, FINISH not … what do I NEED to do to take care of my
body… THEY did the thinking for folks… they didn’t call me out so I thought
hum, yes I’m tired, I'm hurting a bit but I’m not limping and I’m ok and
thank you thank you thank you Jesus they are helping those that neeeeed it… It
helped me AND the ones that they were putting ice on knees and so
on…
Anyway that is just my interesting observations… interesting
to me I hope they were to you…
to me I hope they were to you…
Oh also your water stations were AWESOME, AWESOME,
AWESOME!!!! You guys stayed until the last of us came through… It was
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo nice….I mean you even had a dozen or so
cups of water and power aide on the table when we, the last two came through
so, so kind of you! … that was sooooooooooooooooooooo kind… I mean we
were the last two running and you did not give up on us…. AMAZING LOVE, AMAZING
LOVE!!!! In one marathon I was in, the water stations left and left
us two water bottles on the side of the street and they went home. I felt
like I was being swept up with the trash that was being swept up on the
streets... it was sad. You made us feel loved!!!
AWESOME!!!! You guys stayed until the last of us came through… It was
sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo nice….I mean you even had a dozen or so
cups of water and power aide on the table when we, the last two came through
so, so kind of you! … that was sooooooooooooooooooooo kind… I mean we
were the last two running and you did not give up on us…. AMAZING LOVE, AMAZING
LOVE!!!! In one marathon I was in, the water stations left and left
us two water bottles on the side of the street and they went home. I felt
like I was being swept up with the trash that was being swept up on the
streets... it was sad. You made us feel loved!!!
Oh did you know some races are letting us old, slow,
folks that are not in it to win it but in it to endure it and find hope and
strength along the way start early… like at 6:00a.m. and 5:00a.m. – I heard
it goes something like this...
folks that are not in it to win it but in it to endure it and find hope and
strength along the way start early… like at 6:00a.m. and 5:00a.m. – I heard
it goes something like this...
Our chip timers start the time. We stay out the way of the
fast guys and honestly it would be sooooooooooooooooo amazing to hear the
fast runners breath as they pass us! Their Breath of health would spills
out on us and helps us finish! There are always a few officers that are
early and WE don’t mind waiting for the traffic lights… 2 min is not a big
thing to us J we are 15 min milers
so we would only get 4 to 8 miles ahead depending on if you let us start at
6:00 or 5:00a.m. but it helps us finish and get off the road when the
volunteers are tired and ready to go home J
The first water stations are setting up as we go by and we are fine we bring
our own water J It’s a blessing….
the pack… or, I call it the (FLOCK of geese) J would hit us about mile 6 or so and honestly LIKE
geese in flight they carry us and we speed up J yay God!!!
fast guys and honestly it would be sooooooooooooooooo amazing to hear the
fast runners breath as they pass us! Their Breath of health would spills
out on us and helps us finish! There are always a few officers that are
early and WE don’t mind waiting for the traffic lights… 2 min is not a big
thing to us J we are 15 min milers
so we would only get 4 to 8 miles ahead depending on if you let us start at
6:00 or 5:00a.m. but it helps us finish and get off the road when the
volunteers are tired and ready to go home J
The first water stations are setting up as we go by and we are fine we bring
our own water J It’s a blessing….
the pack… or, I call it the (FLOCK of geese) J would hit us about mile 6 or so and honestly LIKE
geese in flight they carry us and we speed up J yay God!!!
Oh I just have to tell you about “Kool N Fit”! In the marathon in Kauai they had these two
stations that had dozens of volunteers with BIG BUG Sprayers FULL of Kool n Fit! The company that made the product donated the supplies anyway it was awesome!!!! We had to run up a mountain 5,000 feet elevation J at the base
of the hill and the top of the hill coming down they offered to spray our legs,
back whatever we wanted…It is like spray on bio o freeze!!! It is AWESOME!
Anyway you guys neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed them to come volunteer your race for the
base of a couple of your hills J I mean I can’t wait to go back to
Kauai and it was a harder course than yours but felt easier J… I think the
Kool n Fit helped a lot!!! :O on a side note you could let em spray our feet
before we go over the cobble stone at the ft worth stock yards toooo J the
stock yards was a GREAT view and will make awesome photos but ouch!!! It was
worth it J
don’t get me wrong – don’t change the course that was FUN to run through J and the hill
up to the capital was FUN too don’t change the course just help us with the
pain J
and most of all hills or valleys... in life or on a marathon - God is with
us!!! Amen :)
stations that had dozens of volunteers with BIG BUG Sprayers FULL of Kool n Fit! The company that made the product donated the supplies anyway it was awesome!!!! We had to run up a mountain 5,000 feet elevation J at the base
of the hill and the top of the hill coming down they offered to spray our legs,
back whatever we wanted…It is like spray on bio o freeze!!! It is AWESOME!
Anyway you guys neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeed them to come volunteer your race for the
base of a couple of your hills J I mean I can’t wait to go back to
Kauai and it was a harder course than yours but felt easier J… I think the
Kool n Fit helped a lot!!! :O on a side note you could let em spray our feet
before we go over the cobble stone at the ft worth stock yards toooo J the
stock yards was a GREAT view and will make awesome photos but ouch!!! It was
worth it J
don’t get me wrong – don’t change the course that was FUN to run through J and the hill
up to the capital was FUN too don’t change the course just help us with the
pain J
and most of all hills or valleys... in life or on a marathon - God is with
us!!! Amen :)
Ephesians
3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.
God bless each of you and may you be refreshed for
allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
you did!!!
allllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll
you did!!!
Love in Christ, Susan Mathis
Thank you John and Susan.... You are a great team member and
I praise God for your friendship, love and prayers. May God bless you in
your hills, and valleys.... Win or Loose... First or Last... God is with us!!!!
I praise God for your friendship, love and prayers. May God bless you in
your hills, and valleys.... Win or Loose... First or Last... God is with us!!!!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Feb 23rd Weekly Prayer and Praise Report
Weekly Prayer and Praise Report
Wow, you are great inspiration! Within minutes of sending out e-mails to you last week, Faith and I were out the door and ran 5 miles that day! As you can see from the picture, she rollerblades beside me. One mile we did with both dogs. Now that is agility training!
We Praise God on High for your prayers! They are the greatest gift in the world. Thank you for praying for my honored hero, Ethan(Age 5), and the other children, families and friends touched by this horrible disease. We are all working together as a team to help, and we Praise God so many of you gave us high fives last week; YAY God!
So, the weekly update continues…
This week brought confidence that God in me CAN finish this race! After the half marathon Saturday, I was tired - very tired but hopeful! For those who prayed for me, Hugs to you and thank you for your prayers and your giving!
Only 6 more swim, bike, and run classes before my Ironman 70.3 mile race - Can that be true WOW!? Is the race really that close! WOW!
I signed up for an Ultra Marathon, 31 miles is this coming Sunday! 5 days away! Yes, I'm scared. Scared that I do not have the endurance; Scared that it will hurt! And that I will not finish in the official time limit! But I am also hopeful! All things are possible with God! I hope He has his track shoes on this weekend, cause I think I need Him to carry me!
As to my FUNraising… Only 25 days left to raise the other 56% of the goal! Yes I'm trusting God!
58 days and counting. On April 10, I will, God Willing, run an Ironman 70.3 race. In case you were wondering, that’s a 1.2 mile swim in the ocean, followed by a 56 mile bike race, followed by a 13.1 mile run. Why, you may ask yourself? I do it for God’s Glory. God is glorified, because this is beyond my ability. I can ONLY do it through Him. I also do this to raise money for the fight against cancer. Team in Training is part of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. They raise money to fight blood cancer, and all donations are tax deductable. It gets to me when I hear the stories of the kids that are fighting for their lives, and they know these huge names of their disease. Kids shouldn’t know those words. They should be playing and having fun, instead, some are learning about Lymphoma, Blastoma, Carcinoma, and many others. So, join me in working to eliminate this awful disease. Your donation helps fund research, medicine, and care for those who have cancer. No amount is too small (or too large).
You can donate on line at this link, or if you prefer, you can send your check to:
The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society
c/o Susan Mathis
5402 N. Briar Ridge Circle
McKinney, TX 75070
"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God, I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10
I am praying that you feel God with you, strengthen you, and helping you today!
Finally, I covet your prayers. Will you pray for creative ways to raise the rest of the money. I am starting a new decorating and design business. (DesignDoctor247) For those who are interested, I will encourage and offer suggestions as they decorate a room in their home. If you need help making decisions about design, I work for donations!
Will you pray for us to have a happy family day at the ultra marathon next Saturday, for as little pain a possible and for us to encourage others and be encouraged in the Lord.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Hi! Everyone
We are on the countdown now.
8 more swim, bike, and run classes
14 days until the next half Marathon
22 days until the next Ultra Marathon, 31 miles! Yes I'm scared!
and only 47 days left to raise the other 75% of the goal! Yes I'm trusting God!
64 days until God in me will swim 1.2 miles, bike 56 miles, and run 13.1 miles back to back to raise money for the fight against cancer! Yes I know ONLY God in me can accomplish this.
Praying for a corporate sponsor if God ever calls me to do this again :)
"Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God, I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will uphold you with my victorious right hand." Isaiah 41:10
Praying you feel God with you, strengthen you, and helping you today!
Monday, January 31, 2011
1-29-2011 Texas Half Marathon
Texas Half Marathon - White Rock Lake Dallas, TX 1-29-2011
"The Zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this" (Isaiah 37:32) We get tired. Who gives strength? The Lord Almighty
Favorite part of race - The nap I am going to take in a few minutes! The icy hot patches! Oh and the meal at OutBack Steak house with family after the race Yummy Yummy Thank you God! Also Thankful John and Faith ran the 10K and everyone in the race was safe! God bless the many volunteers!
Had a sore throat and only 4 hours sleep - almost didn't go to race. Thankful for a supportive family who encouraged me and got me there. Thankful to friends and family who prayed me through it.
Temp - started in the 50ies ended in the 70ies beautiful clear sunny day
Port-O-Potties steps from where we parked - no lines :) on the race plenty of port-o-potties- One at the first mile! No line and I was thankful because I had to go again!!! :)
Traffic - I'm thankful for the traffic! We arrived at 6:00 a.m. which turned out to be a perfect time. The parking lots filled within minutes. Once started, I'm thankful for the fuel. I took two "Gu's" (for those of you who don't run marathons, they are these little slimy packets of energy. Some of them even taste... ok). Anyway, I took two... which lasted till I got to mile 4 or so... arrgggghhhh!!! What was I thinking. I'm already out, and still need one for every 30 min. or so after! The race gave half cups of m&m's at mile 8. Nice. After finally dragging my bootie across the finish line, they had bagels and bananas there. That was good... But I want MEAT! (Hence... Outback :)
Spectators/ sings/ bells and noise makers = few/no signs :(/no noise makers - I need!!! them :)
Hazards - TONS of bikers... yelling on your left on your right - by mile 11 I did not know my left from my right, 5 hills or so, a wooden bridge, a mile or so of rough road surface. Finish line UP HILL with no crowd to cheer you on.
Blessings - Lots of volunteers to work the water stations, wonderful ROTC students passed out medals, my husband and daughter came with me and ran the 10K
Water Stations - had plenty of water and Gatorade - spaced well until mile 6 then got sparse. Had to stop at water fountain twice but Praise God for the water fountains :)
Shirt - Blue with a large Texas on it - sweat wicking material **** four star see picture attached
Medal - Red Texas on a silver square with the date ****four star see picture attached
Crowd - I estimate 500 for the half marathon - nice calm non competitive start in my opinion
Friendly, encouraging group of runners and volunteers - over 1,000 signed up in both events
Favorite memories - talk to a guy the first 6 miles who is training to run the marathon in Greece. Sounds so fun!!! 12 min mile pace for the first 6 miles! That's good for me. Mile 7 almost gave up- thighs began to cramp/heart rate 217!/and ran out of water - Team in training mentor shared his water with me :) Called my husband and said I am about to give up - this is my first time in 7 half marathons and 3 full marathons to call and say I was giving up... I joked and said come get me and He said, "No! Later you will be mad if I do!" He was right of course and glad he didn't but just talking to him and knowing he was praying helped so much!!! Then met two teachers from Oklahoma and ran the next 5 with them. They were fun and funny and time passed quickly - Thank you Jesus... Last two miles saw a lady with GOD on her back and ALL things are possible with on the front of her shirt, she was struggling so I stopped and told her I had Victory in Jesus on my back and Ephesians 3:20-21 on my front and we could finish the race together :) she was encouraged and started to run again. She thanked me over and over - I told her it was God helping her not me :) Played my Christian Music on the Iphone out loud from mile 8 to 13.1 Tons of people said thanks for the inspiring music. My buddy from the first 6 miles found me at the end of the race! In my mind this was the childhood buddy I told you about in the last blog who had a very hard week and we were running together!!! I had no idea I had helped him but he told me several times thanks for helping him with those first 6 miles :) I told him it was God not me... As I ran I saw a lady who looked familiar and sure enough she found me at the end of the race and said she remembered running Kauai with me... what a small world we live in :) Her name is Cheryl and she said she has done the Cow Town Ultra 3!!! times and would look for me and help me finish that race next month... Thank you - Thank you - Jesus when you call us tooooo something you REALLY do bring us through it. To God be the GLORY Great things HE did!!!!
Would I race it again? Yep in a couple hours after this nap, God willing :)
IDEA for a new marathon concept... Race to the Restaurant!!!
So here is the concept:
Instead of T-shirts you get a FREE meal at one of 7 or so Restaurants along a running path... you know the string that always show up together on the freeways... OUTBACK, Chilies, Olive Garden, Fuddruckers, Chinese, and on and on... So you run 13 :) Hit the restaurant and have a nice meal and rest for an hour :) Then get back out there and run the second half!!! Good idea right??? After that meal and rest I know I could have run 13 more... ok so maybe I am delirious... I really would have needed a nap tooooo and what would the cut off time have to be extended toooo hum.... 8:00 to noon for the first half... 1:00 to 5:00 for the second half... anyone want to plan a race like this with me... I bet we would do wellll!!!! The restaurants would donate the food for free advertisement :) Hey now we can give the T-shirts toooo God bless and good night...
If this crazy little race review inspired you to sign up for Team in Training to raise money for cancer will you tell them Susan sent ya??? It helps with my fund raising goal that I have to make.
If this crazy little race review inspired you to sign up for a race will you consider donating $10.00 To the attached link... if ya just had fun reading it how about $5.00 --- Most of all have a blessed day :) God is good!
Thursday, January 27, 2011
The Towel now wraps around me!
Jan 26, 2011 by Susan Middleton-Mathis
Today I am Praising God that the towel now wraps around me! Took TWO years to feel brave enough to take off my clothes in the gym shower and wrap the towel around me to get to the dressing room. I would shower in my swim suite and dry off with the suite still on and then wrap the towel around me - swim suite and all. It's a little thing but it means a lot. If YOU are in this place today... know that you are not alone - I was there and most of God is there... Is it doable yes... You can DO IT! Believe and Achieve!
Praising God for prayers that got me off the couch, into exercising and eating better just two short years ago when I found out I had a heart condition. Yep this is me at 240lbs. God is amazing! He in me has lost 90 lbs - God help me keep praying "Give me the desire to eat what you want me to Lord and to exercise in the way you want me to Lord" To God be the Glory - Great things HE did!!! He loves to help us all :) YAY GOD! He did it in me and He can do it in you!
Praising God I did NOT have to have breast reduction surgery
they DID reduce
God did it the natural way with diet and exercise
This is how it all started - A few years ago I was so frustrated.
My whole body hurt, my back, my feet, you name it - it hurt.
I was depressed and upset with myself!
I would try to exercise and eat right only to fall apart in hours or even minutes of waking up! I had gotten so large to walk, let alone run HURT! so I almost gave up... I laid on the closest floor and began to cry out to God!
I thought, ok, I am going to go ask for a breast reduction cause I just can't walk, let alone run with this weight on me and I am in pain all the time. (In high school I had lost weight by running so I knew it was possible the only other thing I remember that worked was aerobics class and I was just toooo big to enjoy jumping around in aerobics class or running and it was ALL I knew)
so off I went to my doctor! She said she would give me a referral for a breast reduction and thought that it was a good idea. I asked if I lost the weight would the breasts reduce themselves. She said she didn't believe so because the breast weight came on after childbirth. So, I agreed the breast reduction was the only thing to do.
She said she had to do an EKG, just as a precaution, before making the referral. To the SOCK of both of us it came back abnormal!!
The next thing I knew I was in a cardiologist office having an exam. He said I was in NO SHAPE to have a surgery of any kind and that I had a weak heart - cardiomyopathy.
In more despair than ever before I cried out to God again- what now God!?!
He had my full attention now!
I asked a friend how she lost her weight? "She said, "I pray every day, God give me the desire to eat what you want me to and the desire to exercise in the way you want me to!" I started doing that.
Back then I did not think we had money for a gym and if I am totally honest didn't feel WORTHY of a gym membership but knew I HAD to do something!!! So for the next month I took the FREE 7 day pass at four different gyms.
God let me find water aerobics and I felt LIGHT for the first time in years and years in the water. I ENJOYED the exercise. I was tired don't get me wrong. so tired I couldn't wait to get home for a nap but I looked forward to the classes. Each day I was HAPPY after I did water aerobics and slowly, slowly, noticed my body getting stronger and the weight came off - VERY SLOWLY but it came off!
and now I believed I HAD NO CHOICE but to eat right so started the heart healthy diet. My husband saw me sticking to the workouts and diet! One day he said we would make joining the gym work. So I joined Lifetime Fitness and for almost two years now I have been working out 4 to 7 days a week. All Praise to God on High!!!
Didn't have the breast reduction surgery but they DID reduce... God did it the natural way, with diet and exercise... Many days I wanted to give up - didn't see progress but it took years to put the weight on and would take years to get it off. To God be the glory for answering my prayers - not the way I expected Him too but HE DID answer. He will answer yours toooo :) "Comfort, yes comfort my people, says your God." Isaiah 40:1 Help us God find comfort in your word and not food or other things!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Honored Hero's Team in Training 70.3 Triathlon
Ethan Tate
On January 14, 2010, Ethan, 5 years old at the time, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. It was a complete shock for all who know him and his family! Prayers and support began pouring in immediately from friends, family, his teachers, his school, his church, and even from perfect strangers! These prayers have helped us to be reminded of how blessed we truly are that Ethan's prognosis is good, that he is in remission, and that God is here with us through each and every step of the way. Ethan has learned more in these past few months about doctors, hospitals, chemo, side effects, transfusions, and procedures than many adults will ever learn in a lifetime. But most importantly, he has learned that faith in God can get him through anything! He is the strongest, most courageous little man I have ever known! Although his life is anything but normal for a 6 year old, we are grateful for every phase of his treatment that he completes, for every hair on his head that is beginning to grow back, for every hour at school he feels like attending, for every donor who has made his blood & platelets transfusions possible, and for every mile that is conquered by Team in Training members who have made the research possible to find a cure for Ethan's condition.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Meza
Name - George Meza
Age - 55
Diagnosis - Follicular B Cell Lymphoma
I have been participating in TNT events since 2005. I have completed numerous Cycling Century rides, a half marathon, and I am currently training to participate in a TNT Half Ironman. I have held the positions of Participant, Mentor, Captain, and I am currently a TNT Cycling Coach. I was diagnosed in August of 2009 with Stage 4 Follicular B Cell Lymphoma (a treatable but not curable form of blood cancer). During 2009 I underwent intensive chemotherapy and during January 2010 I was re-staged as in Remission. Currently, I am undergoing maintenance chemotherapy, which will prolong the time before the illness returns.
On January 14, 2010, Ethan, 5 years old at the time, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia. It was a complete shock for all who know him and his family! Prayers and support began pouring in immediately from friends, family, his teachers, his school, his church, and even from perfect strangers! These prayers have helped us to be reminded of how blessed we truly are that Ethan's prognosis is good, that he is in remission, and that God is here with us through each and every step of the way. Ethan has learned more in these past few months about doctors, hospitals, chemo, side effects, transfusions, and procedures than many adults will ever learn in a lifetime. But most importantly, he has learned that faith in God can get him through anything! He is the strongest, most courageous little man I have ever known! Although his life is anything but normal for a 6 year old, we are grateful for every phase of his treatment that he completes, for every hair on his head that is beginning to grow back, for every hour at school he feels like attending, for every donor who has made his blood & platelets transfusions possible, and for every mile that is conquered by Team in Training members who have made the research possible to find a cure for Ethan's condition.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
George Meza
Name - George Meza
Age - 55
Diagnosis - Follicular B Cell Lymphoma
I have been participating in TNT events since 2005. I have completed numerous Cycling Century rides, a half marathon, and I am currently training to participate in a TNT Half Ironman. I have held the positions of Participant, Mentor, Captain, and I am currently a TNT Cycling Coach. I was diagnosed in August of 2009 with Stage 4 Follicular B Cell Lymphoma (a treatable but not curable form of blood cancer). During 2009 I underwent intensive chemotherapy and during January 2010 I was re-staged as in Remission. Currently, I am undergoing maintenance chemotherapy, which will prolong the time before the illness returns.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)