Tea Time Talk

I am currently on COFFEE FREE DAY 9 and believe it or not, there has been no need to hide any bodies.   The first day or so I had excruciating headaches but I was determined not to give in to the temptation.  I had a few friends that kept telling me to wean myself off, to take baby steps.  But I know myself and if I had tried to ease off I’d still be swilling coffee right this very minute.  Oh I might be down to ONE cup a day but that one cup would be the size of North Dakota.  It has actually been much easier than I dreamed.   I guess just like smoking or giving up any habit, you have to get there in your mind first.  You have to want it for yourself, no one else.  I was determined and by golly I’m going to do it!  So far so good other than that one day while walking down the coffee isle at the grocery store.  I felt like Pavlov’s dog drooling over the smell.  I walked quickly and held my breath.  Yeah, me! *fist punches the air*

I really want to talk about something else today instead of the detox from my much beloved coffee. 

Last Friday I was at a tea party with a couple of my sweet lady friends.  While we sipped our green tea (my friend hosting made this concession due to my going on the coffee wagon), munched on healthy low-cal cookies, fruit and yogurt we chatted about our running, weight loss struggles and strategies and a topic came up that really opened my eyes.

I AM AN ATHLETE!

Athlete is never a term that I would have thought applied to me at any point in my life.  Not as a kid, teenager (even though I was in marching band and that is a sport all its own!), young adult or now even though I run.  I first heard “athlete” applied to me when I went for my measuring and weigh in for the Git Fit Challenge.  The man doing the initial numbers, who happens to now be my “diet coach”, complimented a part of my body I hate, my legs.  UGH!  Short, stocky and never a favorite part of myself he said I had great legs, with good muscle tone, I must be an ATHLETE.  Oh. My!……..it was all I could do not to giggle or swoon.  Then as we talked I told him I ran, but I pooh-poohed it like I normally do.  Like I am almost embarrassed to say it, admit it or that the fact somehow needs to be downplayed. 

That is until I had my tea talk with my friends. 

They both acknowledged they feel the same way, as if it is almost a dirty word or somehow taboo.  Here are the facts.  My friend L is amazing.  How she manages to do all she does is a mystery to me but she runs circles around us, with an oxygen tank!  If anyone qualifies as an ATHLETE it is her.  L, you are an ATHLETE!  My friend T is also amazing.  She started running not so long ago after quitting smoking.  She is currently preparing for her first full marathon and an iron man competition.  WOW.  T, you are an ATHLETE!  How can you be a runner or walker for that matter, whether you are training to run your first 5K, first full marathon or your 15^th half marathon and not be an athlete?  I think we are just so mired down in the fact that we came to this lifestyle later.  I will be 43 in less than a month but let me tell you this, I am stronger, healthier and more fit than I was at 23 and definitely more so than any other time in my life up until this point.  I am an athlete currently in training for a half marathon.  Let me rephrase that, I am currently training for 3 half marathons, a 55-mile relay and a 15K all before the end of May.  I’m pretty doggone sure that qualifies me as an athlete.  I am not the skinniest, the strongest, the youngest, etc but I am determined and I am here to say now in a clear voice for all to hear, especially myself: I AM AN ATHLETE!  It is time to embrace it because I’ve earned it.  Just as my friends T and L have earned it along with all my other fabulous runner girlfriends. 

WE ARE ATHLETES!

All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. 1 Corinthians 9:25-26 (NLT)

I've got to do what?!??!

A moment of insanity or a moment of courage; they often can seem quite similar. 

As you all know I began in earnest my training period for the Oak Barrel Half and Country Music Marathon Half this past Saturday.  It was a great morning for a run.  Brisk, sunny and I saw so many friends.  I ran with a fairly fast clip and had fewer puffs on my inhaler than I had feared at the beginning.  Life is good. 

I also jumped feet first into a new challenge and one that I have high hopes will help me reach the long sought after weight loss goal.  There is a program that is just beginning here called the Git Fit Murfreesboro Challenge.  The object is to see how FIT you can get within a 12 week period.  Lots of great prizes and incentives are to be had but mostly the end result, being more fit, is a great motivator.  I really hadn’t given the Challenge much thought prior to this weekend because I thought I was on my way to reaching my goal on another path, didn’t think that I really qualified for the program since in the grand scheme of things I don’t have a lot of weight to lose and in my own way, I am already fit.  After all, I run!  But after some depressing thoughts about how my weight loss journey had stymied, knowing I was about to start hard training and thinking back to how I was constantly hungry and unhappy the last go around, I thought “what the heck!” and decided to give it a try.  I signed up, got measured and yesterday I went to get my menu, etc. 

Imagine my surprise, nay, HORROR, when I was told that I really needed to give up what I laughingly, but not really, refer to as my life’s blood, coffee.  According to the diet plan I was given, the food recommendations, etc are all determined by blood types and your activity levels.  OK, so the blood type seems a bit weird but I was really happy to finally hear someone ask me about my activity level.  What I do, when during the day I exercise, what races, etc I was working toward.  Instead of the “stick with the plan, the plan works” I heard we need to fuel your body and when you get where you are adding more mileage and before your big races, we’ll tweak your menu to get you ready.  What?  You mean I don’t have to be hungry???

My new “diet coach” also said that my blood type determines how my body processes and reacts to certain foods, etc.  Oh boy…I really didn’t want to hear some of the things he said I needed to cut out, especially when he said COFFEE, but after I got to thinking about it, some of the foods he said were bad for me do actually kind of bother me, like cabbage and certain beans.  He also said that my beloved coffee could be part of the reason I’m not having any luck losing weight since it works against my body/blood type. OoooooKayyyyyyy.   So, with a positive mindset (we will not discuss the withdrawal headache I am currently sporting) I ditched my coffee this morning for a cup of approved green tea. PATOOIE!  As I type this blog post let it be noted I am currently over 24 hours without coffee in my hand, system and life!

I’m not sure what all I will be eating as the twelve weeks progress but what I have been given for my first week menu is amazing and full.  I am scheduled to eat three meals a day and three healthy/light snacks.  Even if nothing was added, I feel like I could train hard with this week’s menu and not be starved.  There is a lot of food on there!  There are a few things I’ll have to learn to love, like almonds, but there are also lots of items I have always loved but wasn’t allowed, like cherries.  If I can just successfully get past this first coffee free week, without bloodshed, I’ll have made it.  I will still have a cup with my runner friends after our long Saturday runs if I so desire, but one cup a week compared to an average of 5/6 per day should balance out.

Relay running!

You also know I’ve had visions of Ragnar running through my head for some time. In May there is a local 55-mile relay race that a bunch of us Boro Diva ladies have jumped on like white on rice.  I am on an “Ultra” team of 5 ladies. The teams are either 10-person or 5- person.  When we Boro Divas heard about the relay, we all went nuts and formed approximately 6 teams right off the bat, long before the race sponsor even really started promoting the race! It is going to be so much fun!  I think this will also be a good test for me to see if I really want to do Ragnar.  This is kind of like a mini version.

Courage, ho!

This diet and fitness challenge is like my commitment to running, it is going to take more than a fair amount of courage on my part.  There will be times when I am discouraged and want to toss in the towel but I’ve committed.  Just like I have currently committed to The Oak Barrel Half, The Country Music Half, the Rutherford Relay and also the Women’s Half, the Git Fit Challenge and I are in this for the long haul.  A fresh diet plan, new ideas and a more activity/training focus are things that I am hopeful will get me over this hump and back on the road to where I want to be.  Thinner, healthier, stronger and more fit. 

I’m sure I’ll have some negative thoughts to share with you about all this later but right now the only thing that appears in the negative is my separation with coffee.  I’m telling myself that it is only 12 weeks and I can do anything for that amount of time!  Remember back when I started my running?  The NoBo program was only 12 weeks and I could tough it out that long, even though I hated it.  Yeah, now look at me!

Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you. Deuteronomy 31:6

Pretty Pebbles

Friendship can be one of the most wonderful things in this race we call life.  When you are blessed with a truly good one, or many if you are especially fortunate, you realize quickly and often painfully the harshness of those that are, shall we say, not always the brightest spots in our universe.

Friendships are also a two-way street.  You can’t truly expect to dish, dish, dish and dish some more and not have any flack or fall out.  But often, as I am discovering these are the types of friends that I like to call “Pebbles”.  Why Pebbles?  Because much like those microscopic seemingly insignificant pebbles that somehow find their way into your shoes, they don’t always grate, they don’t always hurt and you don’t always notice them; until it happens.  >BLAMMO<  The tiny Pebble pokes you right in a tender spot and you are hurt. 

I’m not going to pretend that I am the end all, be all as a friend.  Shoot, far from it!  I am about as selfish, self-serving and opinionated as they come.  I have not always been a good friend and as sad as it is to admit, I know I’m going to fall flat on my face many times in the future as far as that goes.  I’m just prayerful that my friends will love me in spite of myself.  It is the true friend that will love you, warts, runner’s BO and all.

So where am I going with this?  I have a friend that tends to be on the rougher side in word and action.  I’m not saying this Pebble is a bad person.  Not in the least, but this Pebble is starting to poke and prod and my sock isn’t exactly buffering my aching foot (heart) from the rub.  I’ve watched, prayed and gently tried to redirect but the poke of the Pebble is still there and it is staring to hurt.  Am I just being too sensitive?  While part of me would like to take off the shoe and shake that Pebble right out and run off in the other direction, I am not sure that is what I need to do. 

Today on Facebook Joyce Meyer had a wonderful quote that was both timely and to the point in this Pebble issue.  I will share it with you here:  Your faith is not to help you avoid problems but to go through problems with stability.  Perhaps I need to shore up my faith a bit and be more of a rock to my Pebble of a friend.  Maybe I need to not focus so much on the PEBBLE but the ROCK.  I’m not going to just lay myself out there, wide open and keep fingers and toes crossed my Pebble will not flay me alive.  I am going to guard myself a little more closely but also remember to be in prayer for my Pebble.  I think as with all of us, Pebble has her demons and her cross to bear.  A step back, a deep breath and a more cautious stance may be just what the Doctor ordered. 

Pebbles once smoothed out can turn into something very beautiful.  Maybe this one just needs some prayerful and loving “smoothing”.  I’m not sure I’m the one for the task but you never know.  

Do you have Pebbles in your life?

My God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior--from violent men you save me. ~ 2 Samuel 22:3

Rocky starts

2012 has gotten off to a bit of a rocky start.  Well, perhaps I should say it is a carryover from a rocky end of 2011.  I was sick at Thanksgiving and I don’t think I ever really recovered.  Last week after a month of feeling like road kill and at the request of my children and nagging from several runner girlfriends I went to the doctor.  Diagnosis:  doorsteps of pneumonia.  Although I think if he had made me go on and get a chest x-ray it would have been a full diagnosis of P.  Thankfully, he didn’t because then the house arrest time would have been longer!  DR put me out of work and off running (OH MY!) for a week and it was pure torture.  But I behaved and even acquiesced and filled and have been taking the prescription of my known enemy, prednisone.

Last night was my first run and it was hard, chest burning, booty whipping and glorious all at the same time.  I don’t know what to say here other than I am apparently a crazy.  I had to quit just shy (only .4) of 3 miles because I had sucked my inhaler dry and was nervous about an episode before I could get home.  I want to give a huge shout-out of thanks to P and our friends, A and M.  P, A and I all ran while M followed up on his bike.  When you are running at night, it is a huge comfort to know there is someone back behind you that literally has your back. 

Now that I am on the mend, somewhat, what is next?  Slowly but surely I’m getting better.  I just have to be cautious and not over do.  Saturday marks the official beginning of my training for the Country Music Half at the end of April.  Nervous and excited, just like last time!  I also signed up to run the Oak Barrel Half at the first of April.  Right now I am telling myself the OBH will be a “fun” run and I can use it as a training event, not to worry about time, etc.  We’ll see if I can keep that in mind. Ha ha!  Registration opens for the Nashville Women’s Half this week so I’ll be sure to sign up for that one too.  I have plans on rockin’ that one and it has some fabulous BLING!  You know it is all about the bling, baby.

Look at the neat BLING for the Oak Barrel Half!

Once I get myself straightened out this may turn out to be the year of the 13.1!  I just have to laugh at myself.  There was a time, not so very long ago, I couldn’t fathom a reason any person, sane or crazy, would want to run 13.1 and now look at me.

Love my 13.1 sign made by my sweet friend, T.

I may never be first in the race but I’m first in the long run because ultimately I’m doing this all for the betterment of myself.

Run happy and strong!

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?  Run in such a way that you may obtain it.  ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24

Fresh Starts!

WOW!  The holidays are finally over and I’m not going to lie, I’m glad in a lot of ways.  The weeks of excess, stress and over indulgence are behind me and some how I managed to survive.

So what lies ahead at the beginning of this bright and shiny New Year?  I’m still a work in progress from last year.  I don’t know that I’ll ever be “done” so why go there?  I do have a few goals laid out for myself.  Since I share almost everything with you, my precious blog readers, I’ll list them here where I can’t cave later!

• Lose the weight I still want to shed.  I’m not going to come right out and name a number because I think actually the number is fluid.  What I say I want to lose today may not be what I settle on as the year progresses.  Also if I put something out there I’ll hold onto it like it is carved in stone and that isn’t a good thing for me when weight loss is concerned.  I need shades of grey not black and white.
• Read the Bible in a year.  I have attempted this journey in years past but I always picked the 90 day plan.  I think it is totally doable in 90 days but I am a backslider and let time and activities take control sometimes so I’ve decided on a different schedule.  If I get it read before, yeah me! And if it takes me all year, well, that is great too.
• Commit to and run at least 4 half marathons.  Yes…you read that last one correctly. I think this is also totally doable.  I’ve committed to it in my mind which as we all know is half (pun intended) the battle.  I’ve signed up and paid for the County Music ½ in April and will probably sign up for the Oak Barrel ½ in the next week or so.  That will get me two half marathons by the spring.  I am mentally committed to The Women’s Half in September and the Middle Half in October.  Who knows what else I’ll be dumb enough…erm….crazy….ADVENTUROUS enough to sign up for between now and then.
• RAGNAR.  I’ve been excited about this relay race since I first heard about it over a year ago.  This past November I had many friends participate in the Tennessee Ragnar and was thrilled, jealous, in awe, etc by their adventures.  I would like to do it at least once.  Several of us runner girls have expressed the same desire and it is possible we’ll manage to get a DIVA team together and run the race this year.  I’m excited by the prospect.  It is definitely something to work toward. 
• TRI.  I had thought seriously about participating in a TRI this spring but on closer evaluation I think that I will put this on the back burner until next year.  I am not a good swimmer.  I almost always choke on the pool water and sink.  I also really haven’t been much of a bike rider in recent decades either.  I looked over the requirements for a TRI held here locally at MTSU and while I’m sure I could compete and complete, I don’t think I’m ready just yet.  But I am not totally ruling a TRI out.  Who knows what lies ahead as I grow as athlete (who would have ever thought I’d use that term to describe myself!) and challenge myself more.  I first need to be reintroduced to a pool.

There they are; my goals for the year.  Not resolutions, because I don’t like that word.  I resolve to give them my best efforts but I like the word goal because that is what I am working toward.

I am willing, although I will not put in on my list, to go out on a few dates this year, too.  I actually did go out on a few at the end of the year and while it didn’t amount to anything more than friendship, I survived.  Who knows, maybe this year will bring someone into my circle that will be worth all the effort and work relationships require.  If not, I’m perfectly OK with that as well. 

That is my fresh start list.   It is time to begin the journey.  It is time to work toward the goal. 

So the question remains, do you have a fresh start list?

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  Philippians 3:13-14