April showers bring.... May.

It's May!  In fact, it's half way to June!  Here is a re-cap of our Spring Happenings...

• I ran a 1/2 Marathon with a great friend of mine the day before Easter.  We had a great time running a couple of long runs (oh, how I love the conversational twists and turns of those lactic acid delirium runs!).  I beat my time from the Rock-n-Roll run by 4 minutes... woo hoo!  Oh, the hills by Lake Mead were killer, but we powered through and I had a great time!

• The easter egg hunt after the race was a highlight for the kids.  They had a blast getting easter baskets filled with candy, stuffed animals and a crayon box with a sharpener built in!  So amazing that my teenage daughter was so thrilled by the crayon box that we had to get her a new coloring book so she could use them!  I love days like that.....

• Easter was especially important to our family this year, we watched The Passion of the Christ with Rose & Bella.  So amazing to see them realize what Jesus gave up for them.  I am so grateful to be able to share his love and sacrifice with the very gifts that he gave me.  

• On Easter our friends came over for lunch and another Easter Egg Hunt!  Easter services were wonderful, we always go to the Sunrise service that the youth puts on in the courtyard of our church.  It was so moving, the songs sung by sweet young voices always move me as the sun rises against the backdrop of the steel cross in the middle of the walkway.  After the service we went to McDonalds for breakfast and were joined by most of the youth!  They always make me laugh, how I love those kids....  We then went back to the first "traditional" service and the music, complete with choir (including my favorite opera singer and Bestie), orchestra, organ and of course, an amazing sermon by our Pastor.   He is moving on to be District Superintendent in July and it was bittersweet knowing this is probably the last holiday we will hear his wonderful words. 

I'm sure there are more highlights, I may post later (pun intended....)

Rock-n-Roll-n-Runnin'

I did it! 

My first race ever!  The Las Vegas Rock-n-Roll 1/2 Marathon!  I think I may be hooked on this running thang!  I had the best time, it was a lot of hard work, but oh so much fun!  The race started out bright and early, I had to be there at 5:00 to prepare for the starting gun at 6:15.  There were 27,000 runners with running Elvi, a run through wedding, people dressed up in costumes (my personal favorite was a guy dressed up like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz - including bright red ruby slippers instead of running shoes! or maybe they were be-dazzled running shoes?), there was also show girls, tigers in cages and rock-n-roll bands every couple of miles!  Including a couple guys from church playing with their bands! 
The run was very well organized ~ I am so glad I joined the running group though.  I would have been a mess without the guidance of the coaches and my team mates and I couldn't have done it without the support of my hubby and kiddos!   

Here's some training and race memories:

• Saturday Morning Running Group: 5:30 every saturday from June to December
• Two pairs of running shoes - Saucony all the way!
• Lots of running clothes - gotta make it fun to keep motivated, right?
• Shin splints for 4 months, so glad I figured out I had the wrong shoes for my tootsies by race time!  (So much for the fancy gait analysis, I hated those shoes)
• Logged 250 miles in 6 months!  Never thought that would happen!
• Couldn't do it without my I-pod and my mantra "the Lord is my Strength and Song and is become my Savior"
• Bananas are the sweetest reward after a long run!
• New friends and coaches (and a LOUD alarm clock!) depending on me helped get me up in the morning!
• Lost 10 pounds - 6 from running and last 4 stubborn ones by cutting out candy... boo hoo.
• Running is the best stress reliever I have found, yoga (my first passion) is a great reward afterwards!
• Cars really do not watch for runners... keep on your toes!
• Gel is so yummy and gives much needed pep in your step!  Vanilla, vanilla, vanilla....
• Race Day is so much fun!
• Racing in December is a tad bit cold - 36 degrees to be exact.  Love Under Armor, gloves and headbands!  My toes finally thawed out at mile 3!
• Running on the strip was a blast!  A whole new view of Las Vegas (and a reminder that it isn't so glam in the daytime, haha!).  City Center looks like Gotham City, I'm a little scared of it.
• Miles 1-11 rocked! 
• Mile 12 was tough, I couldn't figure out why I was so tired, I had trained hard and was prepared....
• Mile 13 - saw the family and a bestie in front of the Luxor - they cheered me on and energized me!
• Finish Line!  Cross one off the Bucket List and add to the yearly to-do list!
• Now I know why I was so tired - finish time of 2:19:28!!  I had projected to finish in 2 1/2 hours! 
• Sweet, sweet endorphins, family and friends.  Life is good.

One Foot, Two Foot

So, I did it!
I joined a running group AND signed up for a 1/2 Marathon in December! I have been running with the running group on saturday mornings for a month now.... yes, I have gotten up at 5:00 every Saturday for the last five weeks and went running! Hubby thinks I am an alien being who is just a substitute for his adorable, sleepy, grumpy in the morning wifie.
I must say, I am actually addicted to running now and love chatting with new friends while I am out on those longer runs (only up to four miles, but hey - race day isn't until DECEMBER!). I love the running group so far and have learned a lot of new things about the sport. The typical Saturday morning routine is:

• arrive at 5:30 and stretch for 15 minutes with the instructor while people are trying to pry their eyes open. My trick is to just use the toothpicks to keep them open - thank you Tom & Jerry, you did come in handy! (although the coffee does help! :)
• Walk / Run for the determined amount of time per your own customized training schedule (some people are just crazy and are doing the whole marathon, and everyone is at different skill levels). The running group uses the Galloway Method, which is walk 3 minutes, then run 2, repeat for duration of run. Every week we switch the minutes walking / running until we are running 4 minutes, walking 1 for recovery. It's great, I always thought you had to RUN, no wonder I always got frustrated. It's nice to be able to enjoy it and breathe!
• Finish at local Trader Joe's who provides us with bananas and water.
• Cool down walk back to the Sports Club.
• Stretching and more stretching while a local fitness professional gives a lecture and hands out tons of samples! Yay! Love this part! We have listened to a Kinesiologist, Physical Therapist and Shoe Store Owner Guy. Who knew there was so much to running?!
• Home just in time for little ones to wake up and start the weekend!

I went and bought new shoes last week, got a gait analysis done and Shoe Store Owner Guy recommended totally different shoes than I have been running in.......

I now have blisters on the backs of my heels and muscles hurt from running that haven't hurt before. I guess it's my first dissappointment with this new sport and I am irritated. Now I need to drive all the way across town and complain about how my fancy shoes that the gait machine told me would be perfect for me don't like me. Shoes that cost that much moola shouldn't eat your feet for lunch. Just sayin'.

I really don't want to lose my momentum and let this get me down. After all, this is what I am doing for ME AND ONLY ME. This busy life of mine can be exhausting and frustrating and running has become my outlet. So, rather than be grumpy, I guess I should drive back to the shoe store and try new shoes tonight so that by our run on Saturday I am looking forward to the run and can pry myself out of my comfy bed and into friendly, cushy, spiffy new shoes!

So, to end on a positive note - I will focus on the fact that I have logged 30 MILES this month and I'm just getting started! I have noticed my shape changing and tightening and have lost several pounds, so what if I have a couple of blisters. They'll heal, and I'll run!

Run, Forest, Run!

Best 5k time ever yesterday! I must say, it was AWESOME! My friend, who is currently training for her first Triathalon and has run several 1/2 marathons, gave me a Runner's World beginners guide to running and it had some great tips. I followed the advice to have an energy-giving snack an hour or two before the run. I had a 1/4 cup of nuts and a banana... yummy fuel! I ran the whole 3.1 miles without walking (a first, please applaud!) and finished in 33 minutes. "11 minute miles" wooo hooo! getting better!

I am attempting to re-create my i-pod playlist, as I had it on shuffle and need desperately to remember what songs I ran like lightening to!

• Breakfast, Newsboys
• Author of Life, Phil Joel
• Bet on it, Zac Efron
• Watching You, White Tie Affair
• Panama, Van Halen
• Return, Needtobreathe

Good, but not long enough for me, I like to FF to the next song when I get bored...

Here is my actual Running Playlist as well;

• Welcome to the Jungle, Guns n Roses
• By Myself, Linkin Park
• Survior, Destiny's Child
• Rehab, Amy Winehouse
• Have a Nice Day, Bon Jovi
• Cheap and Evil Girl, Bree Sharp
• Fighter, Christina Aguilara
• Hollaback Girl, Gwen Stefani
• Kickstart my Heart, Motley Crew (my favorite when I need a push!)
• In Better Hands, Natalie Grant
• Smells like Teen Spirit, Nirvana
• Crushcrushcrush, Paramore
• Author of Life, Phil Joel (funny that this would come up on my shuffle list as well :)
• Funhouse, Pink
• Breakin Dishes, Rihanna
• Shake It, Metro Station
• You are my King, Newsboys

Well, there 'tis. I run best to the Newsboys or any worship music... something about focusing on what's important ya know!

Give me fuel

Give me fire

Give me that which I desire

beat, beat, beat, beat..... 160 beats per minute... I feel a run coming on...

WHAT???? There's no Metallica on my playlist. That's just wrong, man.

Running Proclamation

I just returned from an amazing weekend in San Diego with 26 teenagers and 8 adults who attended Aquire the Fire (ATF), which is a Christian Conference for teenagers.... see www.aquirethefire.com for more info. I will post more on that later, when I have processed the overwhelming worship, learning and sheer awe of our Youth Group that went on the last few days.

While in San Diego, we stayed at the local UMC campus. It was an amazing church, very old and very traditional. On Sunday morning we had the opportunity to attend worship. I loved the psaltar reading, and as a runner will use this as a devotional before my future runs:

• I believe in God Almighty, who sets life before us like a course to be run, and gives us bodies and minds with which to run it.
• I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, who has shown us what it is to run with commitment, and has revealed in his resurrection the rewards to those who finish the course.
• I believe in the Holy Spirit, who breathes into us the strength to run long distances, the wisdom to pace ourselves, and the love to respect all other runners.
• I believe in the Church Universal, that gives us a sense of fellowship as we run, and the feeling that if anything happened on the course we would be supported by those who care.
• I believe in the Life Everlasting, where the course we have run in this life gives way to a course finer than any we have ever known, and where our spirits shall run with a grace and beauty we have not yet experienced.
• I believe- and because I believe, I run better! Amen.

I have been running for over a year now, and am really enjoying it. I started running as a way to release some STRESS buildup that seems to follow me around like a lost puppy. I now crave the run, although the furthest I have gone is 3.5 miles and my average is 12 1/2 minute miles. I am thinking of getting serious about it, and am going to run a 5k to see if I like competition while running. If I do, I might consider a 1/2 marathon. Hmmmm, the Las Vegas Marathon is December 8th. Rock and Roll Marathon no less.....

The gears are crankin'.......