If you have ever been thrown a curve ball in life….read this!!

Pushing through to the curve balls:

So, I have shared with you about the reason for my journey, and how things have gone so far. But, my goal for this message is to share with you exactly how I came about the journey....giving you a little more insight into what was happening sorta “behind the scenes” in hopes that someone might benefit and can start their new journey with the start of the new year.

I have said before that I have struggled with my weight, during all of my “adult” years. It has been a time of overeating, stress eating, sad eating, happy eating, and then starting some absurd “diet” usually with great success, only to gain it all PLUS back so that I can start over again. It has seemed like a never ending battle of the bulges and war with my psyche…..No “diet” ever taught me how to combat the overeating, stress eating, sad eating, or happy eating, nor did they teach me what to do when life threw me some REALLY big curve balls. Within a matter of less than 10 years, I got divorced, moved three times, changed jobs, had a couple of car accidents, had back surgery, got married, lost my sister, and almost lost my husband…..WOW…those are some more curve balls…huh? In the process, I managed to gain about 55 pounds!!!

So, when these curve balls happened, I had no clue what to do with myself….so I resorted to my old friend food, getting larger and larger all while I was trying to figure out my “issues”.  Oh, I did pray a LOT and know that my comfort and ability to get through these difficulties were truly through the amazing grace of God. But I never could seem to turn my eating habits loose.

Then one day…it just clicked…I realized that although God controls my life and existence, I must be responsible for the choices I make as well as how I let these “curve balls” affect my life. I could either get moving and make the needed changes in my eating and exercise habits, or I could stay where I was and wallow in self pity caused by my weight and the curve balls. Don’t be fooled though, this choice was not a one time decision…I have to make the decision every single day and with every single meal to make the right choices and do the right things. I have to run / walk when I don’t feel like it, and eat healthier when I really want a Heath bar blizzard. And when I don’t make the right choice every time, I have had to learn to forgive myself of that choice, and then move past it and not let that decision rule the rest of my day or the rest of my choices! I move forward from that decision, learn from it, knowing that there will be other times when I don’t make the right or the best decision. The difference is that now, I instead of having daily pity parties, I am able to enjoy my life and know that when the curve balls do come….I am better equipped to handle them!!

To anyone reading this who is or has been struggling with the same issues, I say: keep the faith and stop beating yourself up. Get out of the mire shake off what is pulling you down and start doing something that you like or that makes you happy!! Make the decision to dust yourself off each and every time you fall and then keep on going.

It is not the curve balls that define your life…it is how you handle them!!

May God bless everyone in the year 2011!!

August 10, 2010

So you ask...why is the title of this post August 10, 2010? Well....it is because that is the date that this part of my journey / adventure began, and  is quickly coming to fruition!! It is hard to believe that 4 months and 16 days ago I hit the send button on the registration form for both the Silver Comet Half Marathon, and the Disney Full Marathon!!
How did I feel then (you ask)? Nervous, fearful, and wondering if I could use the "buyers remorse" excuse to get my money back! Wondering how I got to the point in my life where I would even consider such a crazy notion.
How do I feel now (you ask)? Well, 4 months and 16 days into it...I feel Nervous, fearful, know that I can not use the "buyers remorse" excuse any longer....but NOW, I also feel "ready". Ready to conquer the finish line after running 26.2 miles through the amazing world of Disney!! Ready, no matter what, to leave my room at 3a.m. to be at the starting corral in time to hit the ground running and do what I have been training to do AND try to have fun at the same time!!
It is amazing when I look back over the last 4+ months, at the progress my body has made. Specifically, I remember doing my first 10 mile run, with Frank riding on his bike and cheering and coaching me the entire way. At mile 1-3 I had my usual, "I hate running" speech going through my head. Then at miles 3-6 I thought, this is a breeze. I think I even told Frank " this is easy peasy!!" haha.. Mile 7 got tough, both mentally and physically, THEN at miles 8-10 I was in pure misery and pain and we miscalculated the mileage and had another mile that I almost literally crawled through to the truck. Self doubt abounded!!!
Last week I did my 20 mile long run, and it was amazing that during the first 3 miles I did my usual "I hate running routine", then breezed through the next 12 miles and did not hit that misery mode until about mile 17!! Now,  I call that progress :0) ! Miles 18-20 were tough, but it was during those miles that I thought about how far I had come in just 4 short months and was very proud of even making those last 2-3 miles in the upright position. In only 4 short months I had gone from running 2-3 times a week for 1-3 miles each...to running short runs, long runs, sprints / speed drills 4-5 days a week and doing cross training on the other 3-4 days. I have proven to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to...Not just things that come easy to me, but things that I have to work at in order to be successful. With goal setting, and a plan, and perserverance, I CAN do what ever I set out to do!!!

With only t-minus 14 days until the big day, I want to take the time to say thanks to all of my cheerleaders / supporters, motivators!!
Frank- my husband, my coach, my supporter, my cheerleader and "endorser" (haha), I love you and could NOT do this without you!!
Michael and Paula- my friends, my encouragers, and my running buddies, my fellow "atheletes"!!! You don't know how much your encouragement and support has meant to me!! PJ, we will ROCK this marathon!!
All of my FB friends / family and Blog  readers (to many to name) who have kept me grounded and endured the many posts about runs, injuries, frustrations, and successes...your support and words of encouragement have meant more than  you will know!!
To my Bro and Shell-Shell: Thanks for getting me started in the world of running and for encouraging me to do more!! LOVE YOU BOTH!!
To my parents, although you might not understand the whole running thing....your unconditional love and support encourages me to keep on keeping on!!
Diana, can't tell you what it meant for you to be at my first half- marathon!! Thanks for always supporting me and cheering me on!!
To the Ketchum's thanks for all your words of encouragement and support!! I am blessed to have such great "in-laws"!!
Donna, my newest friend, massage therapist, and trainer....What would I have done if God had not placed you in my life at the most perfect time!! What a joy it has been to get to know you and to learn from a true athelete!!!
If I did not mention your name, do not think that your support has gone un-noticed...but if I named everyone, who has supported and encouraged me, this blog would probably exceed that maximum word allowance! (haha).

Seriously, thanks to everyone for making this an amazing journey!! But, don't think this is my last blog...as there are more bumps in the road stories to tell, and we still have tales of the Marathon to come!! WOOHOO!!

Learning curves:

I think that in training for a marathon, I have learned that some of the same types of lessons  learned and feelings I have felt are the same feelings we all have during the various phases we all experience throughout our lives. The beginning or end of each phase brings on feelings of anxiety, sadness, gladness, and uncertainty, but if we have truly learned from our "training" and experiences, we can move into the new phase with confidence know that we have done our best to prepare for this new phase.

So why do I bring this up now? Because, I can not believe that a small part of my journey, that has consummed a large part of my life over the last 5 months is quickly coming to fruition. I can not believe that in less than 4 weeks I will be one day away from running in my FIRST marathon!!! And, I have very mixed emotions about the entire thing!

First I am anxious about the run since next week is my last long run (20 miles) before the big day (you have to taper down your long runs for 2 weeks before the marathon...so they say :o). I guess the anxiety comes from not knowing how I will really do, wanting to set a time frame to complete the race in as close to 5 and 1/2 hours as possible, but then really just want to make it to the finish line in the upright position *smile*.

My next emotion would have to be some sadness and glad that all the training I have been doing will slow down. I have learned A LOT about myself over the last 5 months with what it has taken to train for a marathon.  I don't know how any person can keep up with the training required for marathons on a consistant basis, but there are many who do it for years on end. For me, it has required a lot of both mental and physical perparation to get to this point. So I will be sad to leave behind some of the training, but will be glad to have some normalcy for a while. Don't get me wrong, I will keep running, but think I might just stick to 5k, 10k, and half marathons in the future! BUT, who knows..I have been told that I might just feel very differently after running the first marathon..we shall see!

Now, on to what I have learned about myself over the last 5 months of training. Most of it has to do with getting and sustaining the motivation to train (perserverance). It is about putting miles on your shoes / moving your feet, even when your mind and body tells you that you are too tired or don't feel well. And what I learned from this, it that I feel so much better after moving than I would have if I had stayed inside and taken a nap or been a couch potato. Not only do I have more energy, but I have enjoyed the beautiful world that God has created for us, and potentially solved all the worlds problems by the time I am done *laugh*!!

Patience as come from learning to deal with things like injury, weather conditions, and life in general. When in training mode, it is hard to slow down and nurse an injury, but I learned the hard way that is important if you want to keep running. And, I know you all will find it hard to believe that I have control issues.....LOL...I don't like it when things like injury, rain, travels, sick pets, etc. get in the way of my training plan!! BUT, I have learned that I am not always in control (that was a hard comment to swallow!!) and that it is okay to make changed and adaptations to the plan....BAH...who knew!!! This was such an important lesson for me though, because I think if I had not learned to be patient with myself, I would have quit training about one week into it!

It seems like just yesterday that I made the decision to do the marathon, and here I am now, just one month from it....hoping that I have trained enough, learned enough, and am ready to run the race! Boy, how much does that sound like every part of the journey of our lives? Transitioning from high school to college we wondered if we were ready, then from college to our first "real job"...each phase of our lives is really no different than preparing for a marathon...have we studied enough, listened enough, prayed enough, learned enough...So now, as I start the final weeks of preparation for this part of the journey, my hope is to feel confident that I have trained as I should and learned to listen to my body, and just enjoy then end of this part of the journey!!