Taking care of the Loner..

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, Who is in you, Whom you have received from God? ... So use every part of your body to give glory back to God..."  1 Corinthians 6:19-20

Lets say a good friend of yours came over to your house and said, "I have this beautiful sports car I want to loan you." You look out the window and see it, and it is everything you love. Your friend continues, " All I ask is that you take care of it for me till I come back for it. I am not sure when I will be back but till them it is yours."
This is a great friend, a friend you love and respect, a friend that you have known all your life. So this vehicle is one that you are sure to honor and take good care of.
When you go for rides in it everyone looks and gawks. People ask you about your car.
No one really ever noticed you before and now people noticing you, an audience. You feel guilty about the attention because you know it is not yours and can not take any credit.
So because you are so blessed by this you tell people, "It is not my car, my good friend gave it to me to take care of."
***
This is a illustration I have made for myself. This is how I feel God has made each of us. God has given each of us a body perfect in his eyes. We may not see ourselves "wonderfully and fearfully made" But HE does.
He has given us this Body on LOAN.
I can't take credit for something that is not mine to take credit for.
But similar to a loaner car I can't take advantage of it either. I put into it fuel that will give me the best performance. I maintain and manage it the best I can. But I also have to remember that while it is great to honor my body, It is equally important to not let it be my identity.
The Body is only one part. If I do not grow in knowledge and my relationship with HIM than I will not properly be able to care for this body.

One day He is coming back. I know this ole body does not hold the same value to him, the value lies in the heart. In the Engine of the vehicle!
I am blessed to have the opportunity to do all that I do. I do not take it for granted. I have used this body to try and honor God.
I have been able to use my running to share my love for Christ.

Katie, my partner for Run For A Remedy

I have raised money to benefit others with my running. I raised over $5000 for Leukemia Lymphoma.
I direct a 5k RUN called "Run For a Remedy". This run helps raise for Childrens Leukemia Foundation. This is the 5th year for this Race! www.runforaremedy.net
There are so many ways we can give back.
I encourage you if you have never ran for something bigger than you it is the most powerful feeling.
Give honor and Glory to God. He Provides, He Heals, He supplies. He has blessed me...And You!

"Running is real and relatively simple...but it ain't easy." - Mark Will-Weber

 THE RUN DOWN:

Miles- 7.50

Time- 57:24

Average Pace- 7:39

Repeats- 4-800 METER repeats

Summary- Ran early to beat the thunderstorm....HMM..still not raining 3 hours later!
2.5 miles to the track at 8.3 minute pace.
Then repeats at the track.  I have to have Andy help me figure out my pace for the repeats. All I can tell you is my legs went wobbly and I hurt really bad. It is two times around the track running at race pace. 
I would walk for 30 seconds and do it again. After I finished I thought " Good Grief, I still have to run home!" Although I was tired it still felt better running home at a breathable pace compared to what I had just left at the track. To be honest, I felt pretty good. Tired yes, but my legs were still moving forward and that alone was encouraging!

RUN VOCABULARY:

1.Fartlek - Swedish word meaning speedplay, in which one runs irregular distances at varying speeds interspersed with jogging intervals.

2. Repeats- Running race pace for a distance and then repeating it...(800meter repeats for me then walk for 30 sec. then do it again.) This helps to build your speed.

It is official..I have Andys blessing!

I have been thinking hard and long about what I want to do next. I have put nothing on my plate since Dexter Ann Arbor.
After running Boston I  convinced myself I was running the Detroit Marathon and was going to attempt to get a better time to present for the Boston. I re-qualified at Boston BUT..I was only 6 minutes faster. This time does not guarantee me my entrance into the marathon.

Back and forth I have gone. I have prayed about it and haven't  had any  peace with trying to achieve a faster time..

So recently I have entertained a new idea.

ING New York City Marathon. The qualifications are actually tighter for this marathon BUT...You can present a half marathon. That means I could train this summer and run a fall Half Marathon without the commitment of all those miles.
It also means I am going to have to shave 3 minutes off my fastest Half Marathon!
What does that mean?

1. 7:23 minute miles compared to 7:41
2. Speed work in the summer
3. Training with vision and purpose
4. Core work and stretching 
5. Finding my Half marathon to qualify me

So the cat is now out of the bag! I have been roomanating this idea for a little while now. Last night I shared my ideas with Andy during dinner at Ruby Tuesdays.  He was skeptical at first..He is always on the cautious side initially, but then he responded with the 5 points I shared above. But he shared it with a smirk, a glow, a glitter in his eye. His was of giving his blessing!

It feels good to have a goal. There is purpose.
I would love to add The ING Marathon to the Chicago and Boston. That would be so awesome.
So for the next several weeks I am going to need some encouragement and support!

THE RUN DOWN: "The Oak Tree"
Weather- 86` degrees, 46% humidity Partly cloudy.
It was a great day for a run but it was getting hot quick. I was shocked at how much energy I had after church and breakfast today. I was ready to roll!
I gathered the supplies for my run and off I went.
I really didn't know what I wanted to do other than run 10 miles. All this talk about training I thought I
should start having more quality runs.
Runs with Purpose.
Runs with a Design
Here is what I came up with, Repeats.
Mile One: Warm up.
Mile Two: 9 min pace
Mile Three: FASTER than a 8 minute pace

The tools..Ipod, Garmin, Burts Bee lip balm, and Juice Plus Chews

Then Repeat that every mile up to 10 miles.

That WAS the plan...I think I was a little to enthusiastic. The heat at 12pm was not really factored in!
At every " fast" repeat I thought I was going to puke and die by only half way in! By the time I had gotten to 5 miles I was already talking myself out of NOT finishing these dreadful repeats.
The running fast part was really hard about half way into finishing the mile.
The running slow part was difficult because I was having a hard time pacing myself to stay there.
I started looking for shade, feeling for a breeze, and just looking for any hand out for relief. 

That's when I saw it...A huge OAK TREE. I used that as my focal point and decided it would be a good place to take a minute and recover from the brutal sun.
You have to know your limits. I knew I was at mine. I was making dying dog noises, a mixture of huffing and grunting..Very unattractive.
I was struggling catching my breath and liking the idea of quitting all together.
I kept glancing at my Garmin checking my pace. I was determined to follow through with my original plan and put it on pause under that big Oak Tree where I was going to reassess the plan.

This was my OAK TREE!

Trees in the Bible:
The Joshua Tree .. Because the name 'Joshua' in Hebrew translates to 'Jesus' in Greek, this can be interpreted as the 'Jesus Tree...
Elijah sat under a Juniper Tree for refuge..discouraged and depressed.

Deborah held court under a Palm tree that could represent wisdom.
There are actually over 41 references to trees in the bible.

This Oak Trees for me was a vision of relief, a place of refuge.  I needed a place to connect my thoughts and recover. Yes, I was discouraged as well. I was at 7.95 miles with just a little bit more than 2 miles to run.
"Just Breath." I told myself. "Calm down and take a drink of water and breath."
" Lord, I have given it a good go today, If it is your will for me to finish this out let me know, give me strength, and wisdom."
I went back and forth for a couple minutes with the idea of finishing up the game plan or just making home when ever.
I chose to finish the game plan. I took this breather and now I needed to put it back in gear. This is training right?! There is going to be pain involved. It is time to dig deep and get back out there. Enough..

And with sweat stinking my eyes and weights on my ankles I ran out from under the protection of that big Oak tree.
Mile 8 was was the speed work. So the rest and hydration was powerful in my attempt to run this mile under 8 minutes.
I finished my ten miler. Felt pretty good to follow a program. Yes, I was a bit bummed that I stopped 2 times but it was brief and I did not let it poison the accomplishment.

It is important to not major on the minors. I have a idea where I am and where I have to go after running today. I am going to have to do a lot more speedwork. And running with variable components helps make you more flexible and prepare. We can bend we do not have to break.

So yes I did finish..But was I able to do the plan? When I got home I stretched, showered, drank my Kefir then Checked the Garmin....
YES!!! I did it with an average pace of 8:27.

A new race to run and the invitation to an old friend..."Training" with her sidekick.."Pain"!

"People ask why I run. I say, "If you have to ask, you will never understand". It is something only those select few know. Those who put themselves through pain, but know, deep down, how good it really feels."
Erin Leonard