part of the crazy life

proof that we do, indeed, have lives beyond running

Becky and her Fabulous Five win a bottle at the Town and Country wine tasting

Pirate girls! Jen and her daughter on their way to a Halloween Party



in Awe

I gotta be honest, sometimes this is what I get out of running.

I know you're thinking I'm crazy that running should be a religious experience.

But when I feel every breath coursing through me, and we're there to greet the sun, and I can develop a close relationship with the beauty of the world around me....

how can I not just lift that up to the Lord?

(so sometimes, you'll even catch me running and lifting my arms.... that's me thanking God for this crazy life)

~Jen

disclaimer: photo from Pinterest and in the public domains of the interwebs, unless someone wanders over with copyright.

what a gorgeous run day!

Imma let the pictures do all the talking

~ Jen



PUMP ME UP!

With cold weather knocking on our door, I now have some new goals for winter. I NEED TO STRENGTH TRAIN. There I said it, and now I can't go back. I want to do higher intensity workouts and actually try to have some muscle by the time spring rolls around. I LOVE to run. I really do, but I run to the point where I start hurting myself because I don't strengthen my muscles to help me keep running. Somedays I literally hear Jen in my ear saying "squats and lunges, squats and lunges". Yes, I know I need to do them, but I just want to RUN! I felt that I needed to put it down in writing so I really stick with it. Maybe a Tough Mudder can be in our future?!?
Becky

Don't talk to me about destiny....

Don't talk to me about destiny.

I believe in it up to a certain point. I believe I was destined to be with my husband and that despite the long, broken road, our story was nothing short of a miracle and therefore, destined.

But other than that, I believe that we get what we give, that we have to work, that we are changed by our challenges and journeys.

Because destiny doesn't push this hard. Destiny doesn't make me do speed drills till my lungs hurt. Destiny doesn't make me lace up my shoes and go for a 20 mile run. Destiny doesn't decide how my races go, I do.

Luck doesn't determine whether I hit my goals.

Destiny didn't really bring me my running friends.

I met Becky through a mutual friend because we wanted to have more fun with our runs. I stayed friends with her because she has inspired me to be a better, stronger woman!

I met Kathy because I had LOST to her in a race and I wanted to go congratulate and meet this cutie pie little thing that had kicked my butt. Her positive sunshiny attitude made me beg her to join us.

I met Glenda because our kids have been together since daycare days and when she was losing weight and starting to run, I wanted to include her and encourage her and share that positive experience!

Destiny did none of these things.

Luck doesn't bring you the horizon. Luck doesn't carry you to the finish line.

Fate doesn't determine your best efforts. Fate doesn't wake you up at 5am to go for a run (or anything else you love to do!). Fate doesn't say "man, this sucks. Gotta dig deep."

So don't leave your best moments to destiny! Destiny will never give you that inner strength. Destiny doesn't ever give you a feeling of accomplishment. Destiny isn't something you can be proud of. Destiny doesn't make you a better person than you were before.

YOU DO!!!!

~Jen



yeah, we actually have this much fun running. Me and Kathy-- and Becky's elbow-- Bismarck Marathon



Mental

So, Becky is out of town. And Kathy has family visiting so she's not coming in the morning. And I haven't heard from Glenda yet.

I might be on my own tomorrow. For 20 miles. It won't just be physical tomorrow, it will be brutally mental.

Because running buddies help keep you from defeating yourself.

It's typical for us to bounce off of each other, pull each other through the rough spots and help keep each other going. Where as I will be dying at mile 10, someone else in the group will be hitting their endorphin high and help encourage me through it. Or when they are slowing down at mile 16, it's my turn to dial up the positive encouragement. Being able to push each other and pull when necessary and not let the others down really keeps you motivated. It's reassuring and comforting and encouraging to know you can ask for help and borrow some strength and motivation from your running gals.

"Not gonna lie, my legs feel so heavy and I don't know if I can make it up this hill."

"Okay, babe, we'll slow it down but you're doing so awesome! We're almost there! You've got it!"
....

"I'm exhausted and not feeling this run right now."

"What? Are you kidding me? That's probably because you've been flying these last few miles. We'll take it easy for mile 16 but we'll pick it up again at mile 17, m'kay?"
.....

"OMG, I F*ING HATE THESE HILLS!"

"Ha ha! Come on!"
......

"Holy cow, I can't believe how far we've come already this morning! This is awesome! We're like practically super human right now!"

"I know right? This is so awesome! I love the world! Oh look, deer!"*

.................
*excerpts from actual conversations. Runner's high.

Right now I am hoping and praying Glenda answers my Facebook message by dawn because it's not the dang 20 miles, it's all the solitude. It's the voice inside that says "Let's go home, this is hard." That voice usually doesn't get a chance to interrupt our conversations so I've never had to deal with the mental struggle alone.

Tomorrow it will be a battle of body over mind, willpower over weakness. Lonely road vs. podcasts and music (I'm loving http://www.rockmyrun.com/ right now!).

Some days are like that. It's not just running 20 miles alone. It's the days that the problems pile up. The days when everyone wants to take something from you and take your attention and take your time. Some days you find yourself surrounded by people who thrive on negative attention. Some days you can't seem to put your keys or phone in one dang spot so you can find it again. Some days everyone wants to tear you down and you can't get to your family and friends who love you enough to build you back up again.

Somedays it's not enough that you can run the distance. It's not enough that you are, in fact, stronger and more disciplined than the people around you. Some days, it's not enough to be physically prepared.

Somedays, you have to find a way to not let the world drag you down. Some days, you have to find a way to rise above it. Some days you have to find the inner strength, the inner peace to calm the storm around you and inside your own head. Sometimes you have to dig deep and answer to no one but yourself.

Sometimes, it's all about mental toughness.

Jen

Mother Road Marathon Recap

So I ran the Tri-State Mother Road Marathon on Sunday. 10/9/11. I picked this race for a few reasons.... the first was that it runs through 3 states (OK, KS, and MO) and the second was that it was on my late friends 31st birthday and I thought that it would be a good day to get out there are really feel alive!

I figured that the weather in October would be a nice cool 50 degrees...not so much. The low was 70 and the high for the day was 83. So in a toasty 70 degrees in the middle of Commerce, OK I started out.

Mile 1: Ok..go out slow....
Mile 2: Just trying to get my rhythm here
Mile 3: Hmm the breeze feels kinda nice
Mile 4: Oh, I see a tree for 10 seconds of shade
Mile 5: Wow, it's really warm out here
Mile 6: I feel like I have a fever
Mile 7: ok 58 year old man that I'm pacing with...you go on ahead
Mile 8: CRASH ....POUT....WHINE....this sucks... I seriously called my friend that I was down there with to whine and cry that "Melissa...I'm so HOT" and to tell her that I'm not going to be on pace and I will not be making it to mile 20 at the time I was hoping for.
Mile 9: Ok..this is where I was really hurting and since it would have been Nina's birthday- I dedicated mile 9 to her and tried to look back on all the happy crazy things in life. I was going to dedicate each mile to someone from there on out. Which promptly ended when I reached mile 10.
Mile 10-16: I need to take care of myself before they find me on the side of this manure smelling road. I took in a water and a gatorade at every water stop. I walked ALOT. And I took virually all of my honey stingers. But I was feeling frisky by mile 18!!
Mile 18: "Excuse me does anyone have sunscreen"  I could feel my body cooking. Luckily a nice lady had some in her car...so I walked with her off the road to where her car was so she could dig around and get me some relief. Aaaugh that felt good. Oh and some nice folks had bottles of water there also. I grabbed one for the HUGE hill coming up at mile 19.
Mile 20-23: Did I mention that it was a strong head wind that day?? and that it was a very hilly course? I enjoy hills ( I really do), but these SUCKED. I usually don't mind wind either, but going up hill into a head wind when it's 77 degrees out...was not my idea of a good time.
Mile 23-26: Wow, I'm almost done!! I should be able to run the last 3 miles right?? I feel pretty good...HA. I don't know if I was able to run 1 whole mile. So I continued my run/walk business and happily finished the course.

The scenery was nothing spectacular, except in Galena there is the truck "Mater" from the movie Cars. So, I had some old lady standing by it take a picture of me. My son was so excited!! Melissa came out and met me around mile 20, 21, and I think 24 so I posed for a  few pictures for her.

Even though I was 45 minutes over my goal time, I had lots of fun. Sometimes I need to remember that not everything is a rush and being about getting a good time. This success came from finishing the race.

I was really thinking that I was one of the only ones severly affected by the heat, so when I looked at the results later that night, I was pleased to see that I took 4th overall for women and 1st in my age group. Maybe I wasn't just being a wuss.