Running, the great leveler

I had all sorts of funny comments and good stories going on in my head as I was out running today. I thought I must get these down on my blog and now that I am home they all seem to have left me. Maybe I need something to eat and then I can try again. Excuse me for a few minutes...
Ok I have had something to eat and a shower, I think my brain is functioning again. So this is what I was thinking this morning: A very wise man once told me that "running is the great leveler." In other words sometimes you feel great when you are out running and other days are just plain hard and you finish your run feeling kinda of despondent. Well that is how I felt last week, my training had been going fairly well, I decided one hot afternoon to do a bit of speed work, you know just a quick 6km run, well it was going well until about half way.I looked up and saw two ladies running towards me but as they got closer I realized it was just one lady, and then everything around me just seemed fuzzy and I got so dizzy. So I just ran home, no sense in waiting around to faint on the trail. I got home and had a pounding headache and just felt awful. After a lot of fluids and some rest I started to feel better. I think I just got dehydrated as it was about 98 degrees at 6 in the evening. I did recover from that and have since run a number of times and have felt fine. But is always scary when you are out there and just don't feel good. I am realizing more and more that you need to listen to your body, don't push it if you are not feeling good. Anyway I certainly hope that I have a good day on October 9th.

So these are some of the things that I think are working for me, I get up early on a Saturday morning and have half a cup of coffee and a small bowl of granola and a banana and I spend about half an hour just eating breakfast and reading my bible and praying. It is a great time in the morning, everyone is still asleep, so no one needs anything and I just have a bit of quiet before setting out on my run. This routine seems to be working for me, so I think I will stick with it for marathon day. The other thing I like to do is set my clothes out the night before, I have a number of cute running outfits now and so I keep trying different combinations each time I run, to see what I like best and then I will use that for marathon day. I am also trying out some different socks, I got some socks that have toes. I want to see if that helps with some of the callouses I have got between my toes. (Gross I know) anyway I have done one training run with them and they seem great and my toes don't hurt as much.
On my long runs I been taking GU with me and trying that out, well I can't say I love the taste, but it does help with the energy levels. I have developed a new word for describing it, "gloopy," because that is how it feels as it goes down your throat and it is especially bad once the GU has gotten warm. But as I say it does do the job and I know that is what they have on race day, so it is good to get your stomach used to those things before race day.

Generally my long runs have been going well and I really enjoy being out on the trail in the early morning, just enjoying the peace and quiet and also the sense of accomplishment when I complete the long runs. I also head out on a Sunday morning on my bike just to add some cross training and that has been great and is helping with the fitness levels.
The other thing I really enjoy with the long runs is listening to K- Love, a great Christian radio station and it is amazing how encouraging it is. I will be running along and one of my favorite songs will come on at just the right moment I need some motivation, or I will hear a song that one of my girls really enjoys and I will think about them and use that time to pray for them. One of the songs that I am finding so encouraging at the moment is a song by Matthew West called "Strong Enough." Here are some of lines from the song which really make me realize that God is strong enough. "Lord right now I'm asking you to be, strong enough, strong enough , for the both of us." and  "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength and I don't have to be strong enough, strong enough." Even though running is not a spiritual thing, I know that God is with me and He is giving me the strength to push through. Perseverance is one of the biggest lessons I am learning and I think it is something we need to learn in every area of our lives because lets face it, life is not always easy but God is strong enough.

Here is one of my favorite scriptures about perseverance, Romans 5:3-4 " Not only so, but we rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character and character, hope." Wow isn't it wonderful to know that God is working in our lives and developing our character. So whatever you may be going through right now please know that God is strong enough and He loves you.
So I continue to press in and enjoy my running despite a few aches and pains that I guess go with running long distances. I have painful right ankle and sore toe but I am trusting that my ankle will heal quickly. Today I am trying to rest as much as possible so that I am refreshed for tomorrow when I shall attempt to run about 18 miles.

Oh yes, Scott bought me a new and very cute little MP3 player, so I have loaded a running play list on to that, so instead of listening to the radio tomorrow I can listen to a lot of my favorite music. The thing I like about this MP3 player is that it can just clip to my running clothes, much easier than an arm band or making sure that I run with shorts that have a pocket. Ok I guess that was a bit useless information.

Thank you for reading. Mom and Dad if you are reading, I love you lots. A big thank you to my amazing husband and wonderful kids who put up with all my running, you guys are wonderful and I love you so much.

Oh yes and in case you are wondering who the wise man is, from the beginning of the blog, that would be my dad, he always used to encourage me with that, especially if I had had a bad race, tomorrow will be better, don't give up.