Detroit Half Marathon Recap

The Detroit Half Marathon was SO. MUCH. FUN.!!!  I think there were 13 of us that ran.  We met in Detroit on Saturday and went to the expo.  I finally bought a marathon stick!  I Love it!  I'd been using my pampered chef rolling pin but this is even better.  

 Above is Jeannell and I.  This was the sign we made for our room.  It says No Down Dog Zone, lol!  It was kind of a private joke we had going on within the group.

 This is some of us at the expo.  Everyone in this picture except me was getting ready to do their first 1/2 marathon.  There was so much nervous excitement going around, it was awesome!

We had reservations at an Italian restaurant that was in the hotel.  I had Lasagna!  The picture looks kind of gross, but it was really good.

Later that night we made sure to all lay on our backs with our feet up in the air for 15 minutes!  I tell you what, that seems to help me so much!  It is supposed to help with lactic acid build up during your run.  Maybe it's just mental, but it really helps me!

The morning of the race was perfect.  The weather was so good that day.  Running the bridge right at sunset is amazing!  I spent the first 3 miles just giving God thanks and praising him for my health, friends and the beauty He has given us all around!

Anyway, the important stuff, I missed a PR by NINE seconds!!!!  I was bummed about that, but I beat my time from last month and this was a much tougher course.  My time was 1:59:33.  I have ran 5 1/2 marathons now and 4 of them have been in 1:59 something!  I want so badly to break that!  A big part of it will be to lose some weight.  I have a hunch that if I can get down 20 pounds that I could probably run a 1:55 1/2 marathon!  That has always been my ultimate goal!  

On a sadder note, my husbands Grandpa passed away Sunday evening.  His Dad flew in from Arizona that afternoon and they decided to take him off the ventilator.  He never even took a breath on his own. So this week we had the visitation and the funeral was yesterday.  Grandma is at peace, we know without a doubt that we will see him again someday.  It is still hard though, they were married 62 years, so I'm just praying that God will give her the strength she needs to get through everyday.  The message at the funeral was very positive and the gospel was given!  

I started dieting on Monday.  Now that the race is over, diet will be my top priority.  I don't have to worry about energy levels and performance.  I am counting my calories and eating as clean and healthy as I can.  I'm teaching 3 yoga classes a week, 1 circuit class and I'm going to start lifting regularly again.  I would like to start focusing on the goals that I've had forever:  

10 Pull Ups

21 something 5K

1:55 half marathon

Weight between 129-133

Getting ready for Half Marathon and focusing on things above!

3 days until the Detroit half!  This pic was taken before one of our group runs this week.  It should be a fun weekend!  My friend Jeannell came over on Tuesday and we made a sign for each hotel room door!  We put some funny stuff on them.  I will have to take pics and post them later.  I also printed 80 something pictures from over the past year of the green team at different races and events.  I'm going to crop them and put them on a board to hang up so that we can have fun looking back and reminiscing over the hard work they put in this past year.

I've still been following along with the Good Morning Girls devotion in Colossians.  The video that was posted on Monday went right along with my life this week.  I had my whole family watch it with me and had my kids memorize colossians 3:2 Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.  I've been thinking about heaven a lot this week.  My husband's Grandpa was diagnosed with lung cancer in June.  His health started to decline rapidly and this past week he was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia.  Well yesterday my husband called me and asked me if I could go and get the kids out of school and all come up to the hospital.  He just felt like it was a good time for us to all be there together with him at the same time.  We all walked in the door and the first thing he did was look each one of us in the eyes, one at a time, and say I love you, I love you, I love you, I love you  and I love you!!  Later last night he stopped breathing on his own and he is now on a ventilator.  I know he will be with the Lord real soon.  It makes me sad, but it also makes me dream and ponder of what heaven will be like.  It gives me goosebumps to think that soon he will meet his creator!  Even though he is in his 80's and has lived a long life, it REALLY IS just such a short short little blip of time!  God, please help me to set my mind on things above, NOT on earthly things!

The Lord placed on my heart to write Grandpa and Grandma Davis a letter last night.  I told them how thankful I was for the Godly example they have been in our lives and how much their hugs, encouragement, and sacrifices have meant to me over the years.  I told them that I was praying for strength and peace for them.  Well, you know what?  Chris (my husband) took that letter up with him at midnight when he got the call that he had stopped breathing, and Grandpa never got to read it.  Grandma read it, and Chris said she eventually laid down and fell asleep with that letter still in her hand.  But, God has given ME such a peace and a joy in my heart because I feel so good that I was able to express that to them!  I was the one who got the blessing from it.  I think part of it was because I listened to what God placed on my heart.  So many times I feel little nudges and I ignore them.  Like call this person, see what you can do for that person, etc.  It's so easy to ignore them and carry on with my own life.  But I want to start following through with the things God places on my heart.  I know there are boundaries and not all "good" things are what God wants me to necessarily do, so I pray that God will help me know when I need to act!

Choose to lose

I can't believe it's Friday already!  This has been a good week.  Like I said in my last post, God had really been speaking to my heart this week.  Not all good things have happened this week, but I've been in the Word daily and I'm working on being thankful.  And there was one prayer request I had that God clearly answered that just awed me and renewed my faith even more.  I'm hoping to use this blog to keep myself accountable to do my bible study and continually rely on Him for TRUE STRENGTH!  I know not every prayer request will be answered the way I want it to, but I do know that God will answer every prayer request in His time and according to His will!  How awesome is that?!

Below is my daughter Naomi. Her and I are heading out tonight for Indiana for her last soccer tournament of the fall season.  I know we will have a great time and lots of bonding moments!  I thank God every day for her.  I grew up with 4 younger brothers, then my first born was a son, so to have a girl (even though she's a major tomboy) in my life, has been so  much more of a blessing than I could have ever imagined!  My husband will be home with the boys taking them to football and baseball games.

 Below is me with my Choose to Lose team from this past year.  I am a personal trainer and fitness instructor and have been for 15 years.  The last 3 years at the Y center where I work, we have done our own little biggest loser program.  It is hard work, but so rewarding!  Today we had a meeting with the 5 trainers and started planning for this coming contest that will start in January.  I want to start praying for who God picks to be on my team.  This is such an opportunity for me to minister to women.  

Every year has brought unique people and situations and I look forward to what God has planned this year.  This last year this group bonded so well, that we continued on after the contest, and set some goals.  The goal was to do a 5k, a 10k, a sprint triathlon, and a 1/2 marathon together!  Well, we have done all that except the 1/2 marathon which is NEXT Sunday in Detroit!  I'm so proud of them all, because some had never ran more than a mile when they started the program last year.  And it's not even about the distance, it's about setting a goal and having a support team and following through!

Sometime I will share my story of my weight loss journey and how God made a ministry out of fitness for me.  It all started with a program at my church called 3D and the verse Hebrews 12:11.  Unfortunately, I've also been through valleys where I think I can do it on my own and have veered from God's plan for me.  I'm kind of at the point right now.  I've not been being a good steward of my body and have a million excuses that I think should justify why.  But deep down I know there is no excuse.  I'm realizing this week that not being obedient with how I treat my body is affecting more than just my clothing size or my energy.  It's affecting my spiritual life!  I need to go back to the day I was 180 something pounds and decided I couldn't do this alone and that I truly wanted to change so that God could use me and I wouldn't be held back by physical issues OR mental issues from turning to food instead of God.  True strength comes from knowing I'm weak but knowing I have a God that helps me do all things through Him that strengthens me!

Have a great weekend!