Wednesday, April 22, 2015

Which comes first?

In March I ran the Cowtown half marathon, as a training run. The weather the week before had been less than desirable. Snow and ice had blanketed Fort Worth so much that the 5k and 10k that were supposed to be held on Saturday had been cancelled. Sunday morning I gave myself a little extra time to get to the starting line due to the road conditions but I wanted to run this rather than run on a treadmill for 13 miles. When I got to my corral I saw a friend and fellow tri club memeber, Ron. I went over said hi and asked if I could run with him for a little bit, until he left me, because I was using this as a training run so was not going to push very hard. He said I could and that he was using this as a training run as well. He told me his plan was to run a 10:30 pace but that he was going to start slow and work up to that pace. Hmmm...I have always tried this but always end up running way to fast in the beginning. Crews had worked hard over night to clear roads and sand them. I thought I would just pretend I was running on the beach with snow all around. Ron and I started running with an 11:00 pace for the first mile. The second mile was a 10:45 pace, mile 3 a 10:30 pace and mile 4 a 10:15 pace. The route was more beautiful to me today than it has been other years as it was covered in snow. The temperature was not that bad and my feet didn't get wet until mile 11. Ron and I talked a lot while we ran, at mile 6 I lost him somewhere though. So I ran the last 7 miles by myself. Mile 9 is mostly uphill into downtown Fort Worth and there on the side of the bridge was a friend ringing his cowbell cheering people on and I saw a few other people I knew in downtown cheering as well. As I approached mile 13, there were two women who looked to be struggling. I told them they were almost there and asked them to run to the finish line with me, which they both did. Close to the finish line were two more friends, Annick, who runs with me most Monday's and Fridays, and Monica who was one of my coaches for my first half ironman. They came out in this cold weather to cheer. Amazing!!!! I finished in 2:18. Just 8 minutes slower than my fastest time.


Why do I share this? I had more fun on this run than I may have had on any race. I felt great the whole time. I talked to and tried to encourage the people around me. And I feel like if I had raced this I would have had a PR. So the question is....which came first the great race or the geat attitude? The Bible says, "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold out the word of life- in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor for nothing." Philippians 2:14-16. This leads me to believe the attitude comes first. If I can get my mind right than the joy follows. Hmmm. Pretty powerful. How often during my training have I grumbled or complained...more than I would like to admit. Those training days were not very good either. What would happen if I went into my daily life with an attitude of thanksgiving and praise and didn't grumble and complain. I am pretty sure the outcome of my day or training would be completely different.


My husband asked me this morning if race day will be a joyful time or a grin and bear it kind of day. Would I be smiling or looking miserable? After reading this verse, I will be smiling as much as I can and encouraging those around me. "A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Proverbs 17:22 I want good medicine not dried up bones on race day and in life.


Friday, April 3, 2015

Everyone has a Story.

Everyone  has a story that is their own, and why they do what they do. Here is mine. I saw my first Ironman on television back in 1980, on Wide World of Sports. I was 10 years old, and I remember thinking that was one of the coolest things ever but there is no way I would ever be capable of doing something like that. My passion back then was soccer and continued to be that through college. I always watched the Ironman when it was televised and it always brought tears to my eyes because I was so impressed by not only their physical strength but also their mental strength. It always stirred up emotions in me watching it. Not sure I have still watched one without shedding a tear or two.

I grew up a soccer player, it was my passion. I even played soccer in college. As a result I have my share of injuries. In fact, I broke my ankle in college and didn't know about it for 7 years. I have had 8 surgeries. A double hernia, three knee surgeries, two on my left, one on my right, two back surgeries and two C-sections. I have had a lateral release in my left knee and have stage 4 chrondomalacia in my left knee. I have had a herniated disk in my back at the L5-S1 and waited too long for back surgery the first time and have permanent nerve damage in my right leg. I have a hard time getting up on my toes. This makes my running gait a little interesting. My back caused so much pain that I could not walk my dog without having to sit down on the curb until the pain subsided. I lived on the third floor of my apartment complex and couldn't walk up to my apartment without sitting down on each level because the pain was so intense. My last back surgery was 2003. I don't take my health for granted and am grateful I can be physically active.

I had put the thought of triathlon behind me until I started working at TCU, and a group of co-workers suggested training and doing one together. This was in 2004. So about 10 of us during our lunch break or before work would get together and train. I was slow, very slow. My first triathlon I did on my mountain bike and was the last to finish from our group. I may have been last but I had a blast. I continued to do sprint triathlons for the next 8 years. In 2012, I decided to do my first half ironman and trained with Team in Training. I had so much fun I signed up for another 6 months later. I joined the local triathlon club and was now surrounded by people who do Ironmans for fun. I decided to do one because it has been on my bucket list. I chose, Ironman Texas because it makes sense for my family. I have two young kids, a 3 and 5 year old, who I would love to see at the finish line. My husband is a high school teacher and coach so the Fall Ironmans do not work with our schedule. Ironman Texas was the perfect fit. I can't wait to get to the starting line.

Everyone has their reason why they are doing this. I can't wait to join the few people in the world who are called Ironmans. And even though I am doing this it is not what defines me. God is what defines me and that is so much bigger than this race.