Gratitude

This was a little blessing in my path yesterday

While running PF Chang's race in January, I hurt my hip. I was complaining in my mind about the pain and whining to God. Then, at about mile 10, I came upon a beautiful, strong, little woman, who had no use of her polio ridden legs. She had done the entire race on crutches; the kind that are strapped on at the shoulders. I could only imagine how painful it must have been for her arms and shoulders. But as I passed her, she looked up at me and smiled the most radiant smile. Suddenly my little ache in the hip didn't seem so big. I began to count my blessings. Which also prompted me to pray for her strength. Wow! What a lesson for me. Praise God for two good legs!

In that same race I kept intermittently passing a man and his son. You want to talk about determination! This man ran pushing his grown son in a wheelchair the entire race.  The poor man was so exhausted you could just see it all over him. But he never quit, he just kept pushing. Wow! Thank you God for my healthy children, for my healthy body. How could I complained about a little pain in my hip!

Next time I start to feel sorry for myself, I will remember how truly blessed I am. No matter how bad things get, there is always someone who has it worse than me. I am so blessed to have been born at this time in history, in this country, to loving, godly parents, and to have good relationships with all my family members. And have a strong, healthy body and capable mind.

True success,  happiness, wholeness and peace in life are impossible without gratitude. When a person looks around them and counts their blessings instead of complaints, the complaints seem to fade away.

Will you take the time today to count the blessings in your life and pray for those less fortunate than you?  I think you will be glad you did.

My newest little blessing, Justin Max

Have a blessed day.

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The Narrow Branch.

I'm an average woman; a woman no different than any other..  Average abilities, lower than average height and higher than average weight (for my height).  I step out of bed one foot at a time, I don't function without a cup of coffee in the morning.  I've lived a less than exciting life (with a few moments of shear ecstasy woven in).  I have a less than average education (one year of college), less than average job excitement (Ive changed jobs an average of every three to five years most of my adult life).  And I have raised 3 healthy (thank God) adult children, (not sure how they turned out so good.)

I'm just saying that there is nothing in my life that marks me as special, gifted, wise, etc.  And yet I have done some pretty amazing things that I never thought I could or would ever do.  It really makes me wonder why other people wont step out on that narrow branch and spread their wings to fly.

I know that there are those gifted people who shine in their area of expertise ( the Michael Jordan's of the world), not that their achievements aren't hard earned, but they do seem to have an edge over the rest of us.  But, I'm talking about overcoming the fear, procrastination, laziness, time constraints, etc and all the other excuses (because that's what they are) and doing something they have always wanted to do.  Just throwing off the constraints; yelling to the world "Screw it!!!" And plunging in with everything they have!!!

I never thought I would be a runner.  I'm too short, too slow, too fat, too old, to whatever! But at 40 years old, 5' tall and 180 pounds, I decided " Oh what the heck!  I'm tired of all the excuses!  I'm tired of being fat, I'm tired of being tired!  I'm too poor to join the gym, and don't have time anyway!"  So I started running. well, walking first.  There was no way I could run more than a few feet a that point in time.  But I decided to move my butt!   (Why don't people decide to move their butts?!!!)

Yes, I had to make some sacrifices!  I had to get up earlier in the morning.  I had to endure sore achy muscles as I added more time and speed.  After quite a long time and humiliation (being passed by an 80 year old man), I worked my way up to 3 miles of jogging.  I lost 50 pounds and eventually moved o Arizona ( from WA state), where my darling sister spurred me on to add more and more mileage.  The first year here, every run brought a new milestone.  First 5 miles, then 6, 7, 8 (this one was huge!)  I ran my first half marathon in 2006 and I felt like I had accomplished a flight o the moon and back   We continued to add events and worked up to 3 half marathons per year.  Until 2009 -   When my Friend and coach convinced me to run a full marathon.  She told me that my sister said she would if I would and told my sister the same about me.

We ran the Tuscon half in December, the PF Chang's Rock and Roll in January and the IMS Arizona Half in February.  Then 2 and a half months later or first full marathon.  26.2 miles in San Diego California (which was totally awesome!)  But the 2.5 months of training just about killed me!  You want to talk about sacrifice!  We were on the road by 5 am two mornings per week and ran 5 to 20 miles on those days as well as 2 medium sized runs during the week in the evenings.  We ran in freezing rain (on the 18 mile day), we ran in the heat (101 degrees on the 20 mile day).  We got dehydrated, chafed, blistered, sick, sunburned, and chilled to the bone.

Yet we continued our practice runs long past when we hit the wall and were ready to quit, long past throwing up on the side of the road, being chased by dogs, getting lost in the desert and screaming at the top of our lungs (mine in particular) "I'm done!!!  Bring me the truck!  I'm not taking another step!"  (that was on the 101 degree, 20 mile day.  Thank God it was our last long practice run!)  We continued.

What made it all worth it?  What made it so good?  It was crossing that finish line in San Diego  with a smile on my face!  I had endured the hard parts - those practices.  The real race, in 62 degree San Diego was a breeze!  tI not only was physically easier (because of climate), but it changed me.  I learned some things about myself.

I learned that I'm not just an average, short, chubby, girl.  No!  I elevated myself  into a whole new bracket.  I am above average!!  I have accomplished something that 95% of people will not even take the first step to accomplish.  That puts me in the top 5% of people in the world.  If I can run a 26.2 mile foot race in a short, chubby, average, 49 year old body, what else might I be able to accomplish?  The sky's the limit!

I've started to raise my expectation of myself.  I've continued to run at least 2 halves every year and I've run in some really neat places like Seattle.  I've also hiked the Grand Canyon, North to South rim.  I've changed careers yet again and have doubled my income in the last 2 years!

I've learned that "average" is a state of mind.
And everything worth having or accomplishing is worth working for.

And the doors have continued to open for me.  Sometimes taking a step toward the door is all it takes to open it.  As long as they continue to open for me, I'm going to walk, or Run, through them.

I hope you will too.

I can do all things... like running 13.1 miles on a whim

Me and my friends Becky (left)  and Michelle (right)

I ran my 6th PF Chang's Rock and Roll half marathon yesterday. I know I wasn't as prepared as I should have been. Actually my training leading up to the event was pretty lame. So lame that I had decided to downgrade to the "Mini", which is about 5.4 miles. My friend and running partner, Michelle and I had made this decision weeks before when we hadn't gotten our miles up past 5 miles, and our training time was running out. But, when I picked her up on Friday to go to the expo to pick up our packets, she suggested that we go ahead with the half, since that's what we we signed up for, but instead of running the whole thing, we could run half and walk half. I thought this was acceptable so I agreed.

I have to admit that this isn't the first time that I haven't felt totally trained and ready for a race. This same scenario has happened several times before. This time I was a little more apprehensive because I have put on 10 pounds since my last race, and I'm not as young as I use to be. But there are some things that I know from all my years of running that made it not only possible but super fun.

1. The old cliche "it's 99% mental" is not just a cliche'. When I stepped onto my regular running path the previous Saturday morning, I was thinking,"I really don't think I can run five miles this morning," and came up with a thousand excuses why, I was absolutely right. In fact I turned around at 2 and only did a total of 4. When I know I need to get in more miles, no matter how I'm feeling, when I tell myself I can do it, I just do it. So I decided that I could and would do the 13.1 miles, and I did.  The power of the mind is incredible. " (Romans 12:12 "be transformed by the renewal of your mind) (Phil 4:8 whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praise worthy, think on these things)

2.  I remember learning about muscle memory when I first started running with my group in 2005. My trainer at the time had been running for many years and she said that after a while your body just knows what to do and does it. I remember thinking " I can't wait for that to happen to me, and wishing it would hurry up already.   I think I'm finally there. I didn't feel any differently during the race than I did when I was full trained. 

3.Moral support from good friends is an awesome motivator.(Ecclesiastes 4:12 a chord of 3 strands is not easily broken.) We know we are not trying to break any records. We just love to run together for three reasons; exercise, social and motivation. Any task shared with a friend or two makes lighter work. Whether its doing the dishes or running 13 miles it's always more fun with a friend. 

4.  Keep your eye on the prize.(Phil 3:14, press on toward the goal. 1 Cor 9:24 run in such a way as to get the prize) I think about it this way.  When I take that first step across the start line, knowing that its going to be long time (2 to 3 hours) before I cross that finish line, I visualize crossing that line.  I know what the end feels like, so I pre-live it in my mind.  It's kind of like presetting your GPS navigational system in the car. As long as you keep pressing the accelerator and following the path laid out there, you will get to your destination.  I love that I always do.

5. Pacing yourself and taking mini breaks is crucial to finishing.  (Ex 34:21 God demanded rest.) My friends and I are not fast and we know it.  And we are okay with that. This may not be the philosophy of most racers, but our goal is different that theirs.  So we take it nice and slow.  I didn't know if I would be able to run more that five miles, and I was okay with walking the rest, but because we didn't push too hard in the beginning, we had enough energy to make it to the end, running (or shall I call it jogging) most of the time. Slow and steady finishes the race, (i know, another cliche').

6   You don't have to look like an athlete to be one. Appearance isn't everything.  (Ps 139:14 You are fearfully and wonderfully made).   My body was not made for running.  I'm 5 foot even.  So I cant say I look like a gazelle when running.  But it really doesn't matter.  Any body shape can run, or swim, or bike-ride, or you fill in the blank. The idea is to just get moving. (1 Tim 4:8 bodily training is of value, 2 Tim 2:5, 1 Cor 6:19 your body is a temple) Don't let yourself off the hook because you don't look the part, or feel it for that matter.  Just DO IT.

Only .1 mile left to go.  We rocked it!

Though this was my 6th Rock and Roll half Marathon, I've probably done 15 or more, (I've lost count), plus one full.  Before I moved to Avondale, AZ 8 years ago, I had only run 3 to 5 miles maximum.  I never thought I would run a half marathon!  And while I don't recommend doing it the way that I did this time. I do recommend pushing yourself hard to do something you never thought you would do.  The rewards are more than just physical.  But that,s a subject for another day.  

Thanks for stopping by the blog.  I pray you have a very blessed day.

Shut the door on negativity.

My friend Candace Jo wrote a post on her blog this morning at http://www.hopeinthehealing.com/2013/12/31/negativity-fast-a-fresh-start/

She is challenging all of her readers to a "negativity fast". And I have decided to accept the challenge.

Bad things happen in this world that we live in. Whether it be on a personal level or an international one, or somewhere in between We are constantly being reminded about them on the news on television, the internet, radio and even our own smart phones.

  But how we respond and talk about them is really what will determine the effect that they have in our lives and the lives of those around us.

I encourage you to read Candace Jo's blog and let me know if you will go on a negativity fast with me.

I want to wish you a very healthy, prosperous and positive 2014.

Debbie.

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