Week 4

Week:4

 Total miles run: 17 (4 miles, 5 miles, 8 miles)

Weight loss: -2 lbs.

This weekend I ran my first race in 19 years.  The last time I crossed a finish line it was last place in the Thanksgiving Turkey Trot at 7 years old.  Luckily, my first ever 5K this weekend was pretty low pressure.  I won't even count that 3.1 miles as part of my training because I ended up walking most of it. 

No, I haven't regressed catastrophically.  I was actually a volunteer buddy at the Girls on the Run event at Soldier Field--a program designed to promote self-confidence in young girls.  It was an early morning, a hot day, and there are about 5 teeny-bopper songs I will never listen to again as a result (sorry Carly Rae Jepsen, I'm calling you NEVER.)   I was assigned the Speedy Gonzalez of the group and was a little bit intimidated that this 11 year old was going to leave me in the dust.  She did--for about the first mile--then petered out the rest of the race, save a couple desperate sprints in between despite all my cajoling to go at an easy, maintainable pace.

It was fun to be apart of a run that I approached as a piece of cake in the grand scheme of things because of all my hard training.  I also particularly liked the moment when my runner was floored to find out I wasn't 17.

Another highlight of the training week was last night when I plowed through an 8 mile run in 90 degree temps.  Too anxious to wait until twilight to start it, I ended up running at the hottest part of the day (4 pm-ish) and only suffered a little for it.  Knowing what a mind game these long runs can be, I used the time well to do some prayer for other people and keep my mind off of me as much as possible. Had I brought water on the run, I think I could have kept going just fine. This is promising as I anticipate it can't possibly get up to 90 degrees at 6:30 AM on July 22nd even if it's the hottest day of the year (I think. Gulp).

With some more weight loss and people finally starting to notice (Thanks, Brittany!) I'm definitely starting to feel how worth while this all is if only for a confidence booster. I even ventured to the pool in the ol' bikini this week *gasp*! It takes a really confident day to do that.  More than just my vanity, God has been sending lots of gifts my way to remind me of my value and I'm grateful for that.


Psalm 17:8  Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings