Half Crazy

The forecast for Saturday, September 22 didn't look promising.  When I went to bed on Friday night, they were calling for a 60% chance of showers.  I got up in plenty of time on Saturday morning to eat breakfast and get ready and the sun was shining.  My friend from church, Erica, met me at our house and we pinned our number bibs to our shirts and put our chips on our shoes. 

We headed out in plenty of time for the race...so we thought!  Traffic was backed up for a couple of miles getting on the road where the race started.  We passed the first parking lot and it was packed.  We knew that we had 30 minutes left before the race would start.  By time we made it down to the second lot, we had less than 25 minutes.  There wasn't enough time to walk/jog to the starting line at the church(over a mile away), so we opted to wait for the shuttle bus.  We made it to the starting line with 10 minutes to spare, but we needed to check our bags and jackets and use the bathroom.  The lines for the port-a-potties were really long so we decided to wear our jackets and carry our bag until we found Mike and his parents somewhere around the 6 mile mark...it was either that or have to stop along the route to use the bathroom.  We actually were in the bathroom when the race started, but since the race was chipped that didn't matter. 

The race started out good, Erica and I settled into a good pace (around a 10 minute mile) and enjoyed the cool dry weather.  Around mile 5 we were running along the lakeshore by Lake Macatawa when we heard thunder.  Clouds were rolling in, but it wasn't raining.  We passed Mike and his parents just past mile 6 and they cheered us on.  Since we were coming up on the halfway point, Erica and I both took a Gu and then a drink from the water/Gatorade stand. 

And then it went downhill for me.  I got a bad side cramp (I think from the water) and had to slow down.  Erica kept up her pace and before I knew it she was out of sight! (Go Erica!)  I kept on running and I got to the Holland State Park. 

I was just entering the park when I started hearing people say that the race was called because the lightning was getting too close.  It wasn't raining and I had only seen a few bolts of lightning so I kept on running.  I got confirmation from a race volunteer that we would be able to continue running if we desired but the race was cancelled and we would not receive an official time. Since I was past the 8 mile mark by this time I decided that I would keep on going.  Then the rain decided to come down and the wind picked up.  I found another lady to keep pace with so we chatted for a bit and we both decided we were going to finish the race (there were volunteers and police officers offering rides back to the finish line if we wanted).  I kept on going and the rain kept on coming, harder and harder.  My phone stopped playing music, so I was left in silence except for the thunder and rain and wind.  I had put a plastic bag in my pocket in case of rain so I stuck my phone in there, thinking I had probably already ruined it with the water.  I kept running and running...it felt like forever. 

After the 10 mile mark (the furthest I'd run thus far), the mile markers were packed up so I had no idea where I was.  I was freezing and completely soaked.  My shoes felt like they weighed 50 pounds a piece because I was running through puddles 2 inches deep.  As I would catch up to other runners (or as they would catch up to me), we'd offer words of encouragement.  I guessed that I had about 2 miles to go at this point, but by time I finished it felt like I had run 5.  I turned the corner to the street I knew the church was on and I picked up a bit.  I left the lady I had been talking to and saw Erica coming back for me.  (Thanks again!)  She asked if I had it in me and we sprinted toward the finished line.

I DID IT!  I RAN A HALF-MARATHON!  13.1 MILES! My mind was spinning as I hugged Mike and his parents.  They went back to the car to stay dry (you guys rock for putting up with the weather!).  Erica and I went to get our finishers medals and some food.  The race was really tough, but I can honestly say that I never once thought about quitting or getting a ride back.  I also never stopped running, unless you could 3 steps that I walked while drinking water around mile 8 :)  I'm proud of myself for accomplishing a huge goal, and I'm hoping to run another one in the future...and hopefully get an official time!

Success or failure

Source

Do you ever wonder if we, as a society, have such great expectations that we set ourselves up for failure?  I follow quite a few fitness/weight-loss blogs, and I have many friends (myself included) who are on a journey to get healthier and/or lose weight. 
While I quite often see posts rejoicing in a faster mile time, or lost weight, I also see posts where my friends are putting themselves down and kicking themselves for not losing "enough" weight or not setting a personal record.  I've been in that boat...I have some stubborn weight that I've gained since my wedding, and I just can't get rid of it!  It seems we're just not happy unless we can run a sub-30 5k, or lose 15 pounds.  But where do we get that from?

Now don't get me wrong, I'm with everyone else, striving for the best run time and to drop this stubborn weight, but don't you think we're a little hard on ourselves?  I know when I see shows like "Biggest Loser" and I see the dramatic transformations in the lives of the contestants, I want to acheive results like them!  But is that really possible?

We expect "Biggest Loser" results, but they are living a completely different lifestyle than most of us.  They are isolated on the ranch, with (presumably) only healthy foods to eat, no jobs to go to, and the opportunity to exercise 10+ hours per day!  No wonder they're dropping the weight they are! Now look at us: we go to work every day, eat the food that we have in our house and try to resist the temptation of that cookie (running a food blog doesn't help here!), and with all the other responsiblities of running a household, we're lucky to squeeze in an hour of exercise.

I do have to give shows like "Biggest Loser" credit, because I think what they do is awesome, they really are changing people's lives.  However, I think it also sets us up for unrealisitic expectations.  Now when I get on the scale each week only to find out that I gained a pound instead of losing one (or more), I'm disappointed.  I think, why can't I lose weight like those other people?  What am I doing wrong?  I might as well give up!  Instead, I should be focusing on the fact that I worked out every day that week, I have gained muscle mass (probably hopefully the cause for the weight gain), I feel stronger, and I feel healthier! 

I wonder how our perspectives would change if we looked at the positives intead of the negatives.  Rather than I'm fat, ugly, lazy, worthless, why don't we focus on I'm getting fit, I'm eating healthy, I have more energy.  I really think in time our perspectives would change and we'd feel good in our own skin!  Not only that, but I really believe that if we have a positive outlook, we'll start making positive choices which will (theoretically) lead to us acheiving our personal goals!

Let's focus on setting ourselves up for success!

(Thanks for listening to my ramblings, I've been thinking about this for a while, it just took some time to put it into the right words.)

My Bucket List

Have you ever watched the movie, The Bucket List?  It's an inspirational movie about two men who are dying and go on a journey to cross off item's on their "bucket lists".  

When I was in high school, my senior English teacher encouraged us all to make our own "bucket list".  I think we had to make a list about 20 long or so, but I really liked the idea and I came up with 100 things I'd like to do someday.  I used to have this list hanging in my bedroom and each time I completed something, I'd cross it off.  Who knows if I'll complete it all before I die...there are some things on there that have changed since I created the list and I no longer want to do.  I'm sure this list will go through many updates though my life, but it's fun to cross items off!  I've done a lot, but I still have much more to do!  Do you have a "bucket list"?

1.       Go skydiving

2.       Get married

3.       Have kids

4.       Adopt kids

5.       Visit all 7 continents

6.       Tour Europe

7.       Visit Mescalero (my birthplace)

8.       Perform for a large audience

9.       Go on a cruise

10.   Go scuba diving

11.   Take a dance class

12.   Fall in love

13.   Write a song

14.   Get a truck

15.   Open my own hotel/resort

16.   Swim in all the oceans

17.   Live in another country

18.   Go mountain climbing

19.   Be kissed on the top of a ferris wheel

20.   Shoot a gun

21.   Go hunting

22.   Parasail

23.   Design/decorate my own house

24.   Drive a Hummer

25.   Save a life

26.   Break my PR for discus and shot put

27.   Run 5 miles  (Accomplished June 10, 2011!!!)

28.   Work/advocate for a pro-life movement

29.   Ride a roller coaster with my hands in the air

30.   Go on a road trip

31.   Speak Spanish fluently

32.   Go backpacking

33.   Own my own business

34.   Meet the president

35.   Go surfboarding

36.   Learn how to knee board

37.   Publish a story

38.   Sell some of my photography

39.   Get a college degree

40.   Go to Las Vegas

41.   Sleep outside

42.   Be kissed

43.   Go to a major sporting event

44.   Get my belly button pierced

45.   Read the Bible all the way through

46.   Go to a movie on opening night

47.   Watch the sunset at the beach

48.   Live below my means

49.   Graduate high school

50.   Drive a motorcycle

51.   Go to a club

52.   Meet some one famous

53.   Play a real game of soccer

54.   Play on a softball team

55.   Stay out partying all night

56.   Cook a gourmet meal

57.   Spend time with all my aunts and uncles

58.   Hitch hike

59.   Go to Disney Land

60.   Go to Times Square on New Year’s Eve

61.   Buy something from a famous designer

62.   Go fishing and actually clean the fish I catch

63.   Go skinny dipping

64.   Make a prank phone call

65.   Be kissed while watching fireworks

66.   Host a dinner party

67.   Plan a huge event

68.   Go to a circus

69.   Get laser eye surgery

70.   Go to a spa

71.   Stargaze

72.   Go to Hawaii

73.   Visit a Ripley’s Believe It or Not

74.   Visit Stonehenge

75.   Ride in a limo

76.   Touch a giraffe

77.   Swim with dolphins

78.   Ride in a helicopter

79.   Bike around Mackinaw Island

80.   Bench press my body weight

81.   Start a blog

82.   Learn how to play guitar

83.   Go to the top of the Empire State Building

84.   Go to Ground Zero

85.   Eat a whole slice of cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory

86.   Live on my own

87.   Take a self-defense class

88.   Go on a trip with no destination in mind

89.   Watch a horror movie

90.   Go tenting in the middle of the woods

91.   Cook over an open fire

92.   Walk across the Mackinaw Bridge

93.   Ride a horse bareback

94.   Spend a night in a mansion

95.   Drive a Viper

96.   Choreograph a song

97.   Finish my photo wall

98.   Watch the Olympics in real life

99.   Live a day in the life of someone else

100. Ride in a hot air balloon

Friend Makin' Mondays: Giving the Boys a Chance

Whoo hoo! It's Monday!  The weekend always seems to go by way too fast!  On Saturday, we spent a ton of time at Home Depot picking out new window treatments for our house.  (We currently have none...well we do have super cheap Walmart blinds on our bathroom and bedroom windows ;)  Some things a necessary!)  We decided it was high time to make our house a little more complete.  We are really happy with what we picked out and our blinds should be up in the next 2 weeks or so!

Sunday we went to church and then to my parent's for lunch.  Then we went to Mike's parent's for dinner.  It was busy yet relaxing at the same time.  All in all, a great weekend, but way too short!

There aren't too many males who participate in Friend Makin' Monday, but those that do may have struggled a bit with last week's question about their favorite make-up..haha!  This week, Kenz's friend Josh, made up the more male-friendly questions!

FMM: Giving the Boys A Chance

1. Who is your pick for the Final Four? 

I've never filled out a bracket in my life.  Not my thing, I have no idea who to pick...although from what I hear this year I could have just picked random teams and had a good chance!  I leave the sports up to Mike!

2. What is your favorite workout/fitness activity? 

I like just about anything, but I like to mix it up so I don't get bored.  Recently, I've discovered that I really like to jog/run.  I also enjoy the variety of workouts I get with the Biggest Loser for my Wii.

3. Do you have a favorite healthy snack? Something that REALLY hits the spot? 

I love apples with peanut butter!

4. What is your dream car? 

A silver Mustang convertible!

5. Have you set any goals for yourself this month? What are they? 

My goal for this month is to work-out at least 6 days a week.  I've recently gotten into a new routine that I really enjoy so my goal is to keep it up!  Also, I have a few baking based goals which include making puff pastry and croissants.  If I have time, I want to make them soon!