My First Half Marathon

It is done! :)

On Saturday, bright and early (ok, just early) - I got up at 515am. I ate a whole wheat bagel with pb and honey on one side and pb/preserves on the other side. Got dressed, put my chip on my shoe, pinned my bib to my shirt, and hitched a ride with the parental Dawkinses to the Laura and David's house. Our whole group finally got there and we headed out to Iroquois to the start line.

By 730 it was already 75 degrees - wow it was going to be warm. (If that tells you anything, the men's marathon winner from this year finished 20 minutes slower than last year's winner.) It was in the 80s by the time I finished!

But, we were off. I ran most of the race with a new friend (and Gator fan) Emily. We ran and powerwalked. I found out from her that the two (running and power walking) use two different sets of muscles. I found it hard to keep up with her running distance and she found it hard to keep up me at the speed of power walking.

My first mile was 10.5 - the fastest I've done by 1 minute. I think I came out of the gate a little fast though.

I finished in 3 hours 7 seconds.

Here are my thoughts from my first half marathon:

1. About mile 12, I realized (while listening to the second time of All Because of Jesus on my iPod) that if I didn't finish this in 3 hours flat, God was not going to love me any less, and I wasn't a better person, more worthy of love, if I did. It would be ok in the end. In the words of Franscesca Bottecilli (or however you spell her name): Perfection is my enemy.

2. Running with friends is great. I had my cell with me and receiving texts the entire time and sending them out was a great source of encouragement for me. Having Laura, the parental dawkinses, and others at the finish line was so encouraging as well. They all finished the half faster than me, but we were still waiting on David and Reid's marathon to finish.

3. It was very neat to see marathon runners finishing with half marathoners and patting them on the back, encouraging them to keep going.

4. I was crying when older women would finish the half, or when 7mth pregnant ladies would finish the half, or when relay teams would hold hands and finish all together. Running is such a community sport - in the broader sense of the term.

5. My stomach didn't fare too well the rest of the day.

6. I need to prepare my quad muscles - strengthen them. I will be doing that more before my next half.

7. Train hard, run harder - I didn't do this and I need to do better at it - without injury - for which I'm so glad and thankful.

8. I will never be a pretty runner.

9. I need to work on toning my arms.

10. When looking at these pictures you would never think I've lost 40 lbs - can I lose another 40?

10b. I love this running skort - its an Adidas one and I got it for a really good sale price at Kohls (I love Kohls). So this may be something I run in a for a while for races! Especially when it is this hot!

11. I love to run! or power walk or interval. Its good exercise! :)

11b. Can't wait for the Zoo 5k in less than 2 weeks!

12. I'm thankful for these friends and the many in FL and NC who are such an encouragement to me!

Compliments and Other Good Things

This week has been full of great compliments for me. I always don't know how to take them, because I definitely don't believe them all. I've learned just to say "thank you" and keep going.
1. You are seriously skinny!
2. You are shrinking!
3. You are so pretty - people have it easy to make you look pretty.

These are hard to take. But I keep them and thank them.

Also...
1. I ran the furthest w/o stopping - 1.3 miles. Gotta keep adding to that!
2. Tonight I ran the fastest I've run a mile - 11 1/2 minutes. Whoohooo! :)

Mini is only 3 days away! I'm so excited. Picking up bib, driving route on Thursday!

Goals - Updated in Moleskin 4.17.09

I took some time today to write down some of my goals. I have a moleskin (love those things) for weight, how I feel each day, and my goals. So, I thought I would share the goals with you (for all who read it - which isn't very many). But this is a tangible way for me to stay on track.
Races:
Mini-Derby - 4.25.09 - 1/2 Marathon - less than 3 hours.
Through the Zoo - 5.9.09 - 5k - under 39 minutes
Berea Trail Run - 6.6.09 - 8k - 1.10
Joe Huber's - 6.13.09 - 10k - less than 1.19
Bluegrass 10 - 7.4.09 - Under whatever my Hubers time is...

These are more general goals:
Goal Weight by Erin's wedding (8.9.09) - 9 lbs to go!
1 diet coke or carbonated beverage per/week - right now I'm at about 3, so I need to cut those down.
Stop eating when full. This will do me good because some times I eat real fast and don't take time to think about why I am eating.
Memorize Scripture about food, my body, healthy living, etc.
Snack healthier - I don't need to consume processed foods.
Try new grains. Wheatberries, etc. I need to broaden my horizons when it comes to good-for-me grains.
More veggies - this will be much easier in the summer! :) Bring on the farmer's markets
Sale Produce/meat - even if it means trying new things or maybe eating a lot of the same things cooked in different ways - at least I'll be doing good on the checkbook!
Eat on small plates. I don't like big dinner plates - because I fill them up!
Toning - I do 200 weighted twists/punches each night. I need to keep that up - get that core and those arms in shape!
Body Fat - I need to get that in a good range and first need to get it tested. I've already put out an email regarding that.
Cholesterol. I'm having that checked in 10 days. See where it is. See what I need to do with it. If it is not in a healthy range, then make it there!

Ok - now to get to it! :)

Aches and Pains

Well - moving in my bike this weekend and putting it off and on the bike rack (learning how) has strained some muscles. I think I would rather have a pulled muscle in my leg. But, I have strained the muscle on the inside of my right shoulder blade - which is attached to a muscle in my chest. That just hurts running. I had a horrible mile.2 yesterday. Today I must go do more. It should be nice weather on Thursday and Saturday for longer runs.
The derby is 10 days away. I am looking forward to it. Goal time anywhere below 3 hours. It will depend on the weather and the pulled muscle. But, I can push through it - right?

Guest Blog: Laura Dawkins

Yeah - its time to hear from someone else other than me.
Both seminaries I have worked for have produced friendships with amazing women, both older and younger than me.
Laura works down the hall from me. I came to know her through her sister-in-law. I love stopping by her office, telling her my accomplishments, getting encouragement from her, seeing all the cool things she does with photography, sewing, food, table decorations, etc. She is also a very consistent runner.
She posted this blog today. I thought I would share it with you (with permission). It is on discipline, and growing in discipline.
Thanks Laura!

Motivation

There are days when I am extra motivated. There are days when I need more motivation than ever.
One of those days was yesterday - yes, when both happened.
I was the lowest on the scale that I've been (168.8) in 2 years. I wore a belt to church and was complimented on it. I ate too much healthy food because I didn't have very much protein all day - and that's what keeps me full. It was my day off for exercising, so I didn't do anything. And I read Runners World - which always is a great motivator!
So...thought I would put down some motivations that work for me. What are yours to eat healthy, lose weight, exercise?
1. My body is not my own - I am bought with a price. Overeating is a sin - and I want to please Jesus. This is underlying, but definitely not the first one I think about all the time.
2. My clothes fit better. I love being able to make almost anything out of my closet and have it fit - unlike a year ago when I had 5 outfits.
3. Compliments from others.
4. Runners World - always motivates me to keep running.
5. Harder moves, longer holds in pilates - keeps me coming back.
6. Races - this is why I sign up for them because I need something more than just my own self running to keep me aiming toward something.
7. Great vegetables always make me want to keep eating healthy.
8. I am less at risk for certain health issues now that I have lost 40 lbs - but still want to lose another 20-25.
9. ANTM - Watching that show motivates me as well. The heaviest winner (from last season), Whitney, is 5'9" and 159. So, I figure to look as good as her, I have to be 148 because I'm shorter.
10. The scale. But, I know this isn't the best motivator because I am a woman and it fluctuates.

Goals and Changes

Sometimes I get clearly ahead of myself and don't think things through. Oh, well. But, there is always grace.
I had planned on doing the Sprint Tri in Chapel Hill in August. I was fine with the 50$ entry fee, but then I would have buy a helmet, a good suit to swim in, make sure my bike is in good biking order.
So, I just don't think it is going to happen - just financially not a good decision right now.
So, here is what is coming up:
Mini-derby (3 weeks out)
Throo the Zoo - 5 weeks out
Hubers (maybe) - June
Lexington Bluegrass 10k - July 4
Louisville Marathon is a possibility in October.

Training: I do get my bike next wknd, so that will fun to take and do something besides running. Pilates is still going great. I love the toning work. I do a cardio class usually once a week - and that is a great sweat producer. I'm running this week about 1.2 a day - just because of time constraints. I hope to get in a long one this Saturday before the bball games begin.
Eating: This week I've eaten many more vegetables and I'm definitely noticing a drop in weight. That is very good. The scale was below 170 - I love hitting those 10 lbs marks! So, I just gotta keep at it!

Anyway - those are just little things...