Half Marathon Results

Today's half marathon was a great race! Following the beautiful Spokane River, it was a fairly flat course. I finished in 2:51. I am very happy with the time since I'd finished my last half marathon in 3:30. I'm learning that I really need to have Gatorade or something similar in my system very early in the race so my right leg doesn't go weird on me at Mile 5. Those electolytes are definitely important! I tend to start out slow and then pick up speed towards the end, too. We'll see how the next race goes as I change a few things around.

My afternoon nap of 3 hours was longer than my race! I enjoyed every minute of it and woke up feeling quite refreshed & not so sore. Some people say I wasted a gorgeous afternoon here by sleeping but the nap was a great recharger for me. Tomorrow I'll do a short run for recovery! Then it's back to training for the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon in June.

Train Your Spirit!

I was going to title this post "Press on for the prize", which reminds me to keep looking forward, keep focused and don't stop! I started looking around my creatively organized office (aka messy!) to see if I could locate a Bible to look up the actual verse. I didn't see one at first or second glance, but my new devotional book was sitting on the ironing board. (Those ironing boards work for great little side tables!)

Having gotten sidetracked already from typing this post, I decided to look up and see what today's devotion is all about. AMAZING how God sends us little nuggets of truth in different form. "Train Your Spirit" is the title of my devotion today! How funny because I just signed up this morning for a half marathon in Spokane on May 16th and I'm participating in a 5K run in Ft. Worth next Saturday. June 27th is the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon.

Moving on with the devotional, I read that Titus 2:12 says "Grace has trained us to reject and renounce all ungodliness and wordly desires, to live discreet, upright and devote lives in this present world."

The author of this devotional says "spending time with God is 'spirit' practice. As you do it diligently, your spirit will grow strong and will start to overcome the habits of the flesh....become a spiritual athlete. Put yourself in training by practicing the things of God. Build your spirit muscles through fellowship with Him."

I've been physically training hard. Lots of miles under my belt, sometimes two workouts a day, losing weight and inches, gaining strength and endurance to run-walk these races to make sure I'm not be totally exhausted at the end. Today's devotional makes me think about my spiritual walk and how much time I don't spend in "training" with the Lord. I know I mess up big time and I'm told to not get discourage when I stumble and fall. It takes discipline, just like it does training for these events. I want Him to say at the end of the earthly race "well done, my good and faithful servant."

You must excuse me...I need to change into my workout clothes, grab my MP3 player that has great Christian music on it and head to the gym! You can be sure I'll also be talking to my "trainer" while I'm on that treadmill.

Personal Update! No more excuses~

I'm happy to announce a PERSONAL UPDATE on my fitness training!

I hadn't been keeping track of how much I've lost, either poundage or inches, because I didn't have a scale that worked very well. It'd say one weight the first time I stepped on, step on it again and I'd either gained or lost two pounds in 20 seconds.

I bought a new digital scale yesterday, one with BIG numbers so these 44 yr old eyes could see the display. Being 5'8" makes it difficult to see down to my toes! (Thankfully it's just the distance, not because my tummy is in the way!)

Such exciting news!! I'm down to 157....last May I weighed in at 178!!! (and I wasn't even pregnant..quite sad.) Clothes fit so much differently and although I'm wearing a size 10, I feel quite thin and lean. There's still some inches to go....and seven more pounds to my goal. The gym and I have become bestest friends and as I train for the Seattle Rock and Roll Half Marathon, I'm reminded every day to not let the committee win. Even when I don't want to drag my hiney into the gym or walk with the Beagle Boys outside, I need to go! No more excuses and baby steps if needed. If you're struggling with losing weight or need incentive to get going, let me know...I'll be your biggest cheerleader!!!

I just wanted to share the exciting news with you...perhaps I'll see if the Duke will take a picture of me in my new dress that is adorable with polka dots! I went to dinner tonight with a girlfriend and ate just a shrimp & spinach salad. It's so easy to remember calories when you know how long you have to be on the treadmill to lose those calories! :)

Happy rest of your week.... remember, NO MORE EXCUSES! :)