Half Marathon Progress... and Inspiration Board!!

So... I'm kind of losing my motivation to keep running. Or, more accurately, I'm coming to the realization that the half marathon race is less than two months away and I am freaking out. haha... I'm not sure what I expected considering I hated running to begin with... and have never been good at it. I must admit though, I am improving and I am beginning to enjoy those improvements. ;) I don't dread running anymore (at least not the act of running)... but I really needed to get "A Plan" in motion for the remaining two months.

I feel like I am so behind schedule... mostly due to health issues...not major ones, but just little roadblocks. For instance, I had been having off and on stomach pains for the past year. They weren't debilitating just annoying... and every time I thought I should go to the doctor about it... they would go away within a few days. I thought perhaps it was an ulcer... and the more that I stewed on it... the more I was certain that I had a ginormous stomach tumor that would aggressively eat all of my vital organs if I didn't get it checked out. So I went to the doctor, had blood work done... not an ulcer, not anemic... white blood cell count looked good... everything was normal. So, of course... I had to get an Upper GI. OK. Has anyone ever had one of these? Seriously, it was so awful. They make you drink this fizzy crap that makes your stomach feel like someone just filled it up like a helium balloon.... then they make you swallow this sludgy metal crap that tastes like... like... crap while they make you do log rolls (round and round in circles) while they snap xrays. And that's not it... they make you gulp this metal crap continuously for like 45 seconds. It was awful. And I'm probably a big baby. ;)

Anyway, so I ended up having a hiatal hernia in my stomach... which they were either going to prescribe me medicine to reduce the pain... or do surgery (that they couldn't guarantee would fix it anyway). So during the whole process of this ordeal (several weeks)... I wasn't really running out of fear that I would be making a bad situation worse. I finally got the OK from the doctor to exercise as normal... so I'm back in action.

But that's not all. So... I start running again and I have really bad knee pain now. So I diagnosed myself with Iliotibial Band Syndrome (just because I don't have an MD after my name, doesn't mean I don't know what I'm talking about. ;) You want a diagnoses? I'll give you one, all right!)
So it is basically excessive friction of your Iliotibial Band against your knee bone... which obviously causes major irritation and inflammation... and hurts to high heaven. You can't "run it off"... the more you continue to run the more inflamed it gets. The only remedy is to rest it for a few days... ice it, compress it and elevate it. And then stretch it. So I feel like I've been taking so many in between running days to rest the pain away... just for it to come back. UGH.

So, as a result, I have come to the conclusion that this half marathon business will be a "run/walk"... emphasis on the walk haha... instead of the other way around. Oh well. So anyway, I guess you can say I've been a little discouraged. I thought... if I just channel this frustration... maybe I will motivate myself. I'm a very visual person. I hate not having a plan I can see. I like checklists. I like to mark things off, cross things out... add things up to get a total. I'm a weirdo.

So what did I do? I made me an inspiration board!! With a plan!! That I can visualize! And I can write on and cross out and total up miles and stuff! Yeehaw. ;)

Here it is in all of it's glory. Jon will be lucky if he comes home and doesn't find it hanging in the living room. haha (Oh, don't you worry, the thought has already crossed my mind.)

Oh, you thought you would get away without touring my board? Oh you did, did you? Okay. Okay. haha... think again...I didn't spend 2 hours and half my glue stick for this thing not to be adored by the 3 of you who read my blog... ;)

So I cut out things that would motivate me. I made a daily schedule for myself... so I figured if I had to look at the board to see my schedule for the day... then I might as well like what I see... and if I like what I see, I'll be excited to come see the board every morning... which, in turn, will make me excited to go run....henceforth, giving me the motivation that I am desperately lacking. Yeah, that is Melissa-logic. You aren't the only one that doesn't get it. haha ;)

And I tied it with some pretty ribbon... Yes, those are thumb tacks. Get off my back, that's all I could find without going outside into the hot garage looking for a hammer that is probably misplaced anyway.

I added some inspiring bible verses all around... I like the run and not get tired part. Yes, allow me to translate that literally for reasons of the inspiration board. ;) You know... I have had reoccurring dreams for as long as I can remember about being able to run and run and run and never get tired. I wake up just craving a run...so I go and after .25 miles I am angry. and hot. and sweaty. and out of breath. and wondering why I am not more like the me in my dream. ;)

OK, so the whole board is themed Disney... obviously because I am running the Disneyland Half Marathon... so here is the castle... which we get to run through (hence, motivation! this isn't rocket science here. You following me, camera guy?)

More scripture... oh, oh... and the big A. I am so excited because the marathon trail goes into Angel stadium and you get to run the bases. I think I am more excited about that than running through Disneyland!

OK, so the girl in the orange doing those stretches is NOT me. I am sorry girl in the orange that I cut you out and put you on my board... but I need to see how you are stretching your Iliotibial Band...so I can do it, too... complete with instruction. :) PS girl in the orange... did you really paint those walls peachy salmon? I'll give you the benefit of the doubt...perhaps you are like me whose landlord won't allow you to paint over the ugly choice of color... poor, poor girl. I hope you negotiated that into the rent price.

I say this to myself when I run. Partly to reinforce it and meditate upon it in my head, partly because I think they may be my last thoughts before I pass out and die.

Another verse that you probably can't even read. Nevermind that. It's good, take my word for it.

So that is my progress. And that is my Marathon Inspiration Board. Now ask me in a week if I'm motivated and still following the schedule.

PS...be proud of me...I went to the gym on base all by myself today. haha I have no idea why...but going on base by myself scares me. I feel like I am doing everything wrong and I am going places I'm not supposed to be. I'm sure I will eventually get used to it but this whole military life is very new to me. And it doesn't help that there is nothing to do in town. I feel like such a hermit. A hermit that stays locked up in the house... making friggin inspiration boards and gets excited that I don't have to leave and go to Walmart when I find an unused glue stick in the craft room. I mean, who even uses a glue stick? I don't have kids. I don't have a reason. It must have been my lucky day. ha! Alright. I suppose Jon will want some dinner when he gets I home. I better go get his bowl of cereal ready... haha I kid. I kid. Maybe he'll get a hot dog. ;)

Toodaloo!

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Marathon Training: Day 2

Day 2: Fail.

I need to be featured on Fail Blog. Seriously though, it wasn't my fault. I had such good intentions! We had to drop my car off for an oil change...so we were already going to be in Corpus Christi. What better place to do day 2 of training than on the trail by the water?? Surely it would be much cooler in Corpus... and guaranteed to have some wind off the water to cool us down while we ran. So I packed my running shoes, got my water bottle and headed out! We left our house, 90 something degrees, blue skies and get to Corpus...71 degrees, torrential down pour and lightning. Seriously? Is God sending me a message? "Don't run two days in a row my child, for you will surely die". I heeded His warning and went to Chick-Fil-A instead. This is now officially my "rest" day so get off my back. ;) Besides, I just HAD to do a tablescape when I got home for Tablescape Thursday...and then fix dinner...and by the time I was done with all of that, it was really too late to go run.

BUT!!! I will go tomorrow. I promise. Today = Rest day.

I promise I won't update the marathon thing everyday... I won't do that to the few of you that are kind enough to read my ramblings. haha

Anyway, enough about that. Do you want to see some lightning?? I swear Texas has the weirdest, craziest weather!! Driving home from Church on Sunday... I swore our car was going to be struck. There were bolts of lightning hitting the farm fields all around us! It was scary. Jon and I debated what would happen if our giant heap of metal, lightning bolt attracting car was struck... would we die? I mean, airplanes get struck all of the time and they are usually just fine. I have heard that the rubber on the tires prevents you from being fatally affected. Jon disagreed and his resolve was to drive near the telephone poles since they would be struck first. I was certain if this were to happen that the pole would fall onto our car and we would die anyway, so it didn't matter either way. Nevertheless, we made it home without incident.

Later that evening, we watched the most incredible lightning show I've ever seen on land. The only topper was being above a storm (in an airplane) over the Arizona desert and looking down on a lightning storm... (if the mere sight of that kind of power doesn't convince you that God exists... I don't know what will). The evening sky was lit up (literally) by continuous lightning bolts... but without thunder. Very strange. It is a phenomenon known as heat lightning... called that because it usually happens in summer storms, especially with humidity. Air molecules will scatter and bend the sound waves upward, leaving virtually no sound to anyone farther than 8 miles away (give or take) .

I took a few pictures... kind of hard to see in the dark and it certainly doesn't give any justice to what we saw in real life... but something tells me that you haven't had your daily dose of weather pictures today. I'm here to remedy that. You're welcome. Now enjoy.




There you are. 'til next time my friends...



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Marathon Training: Day 1

As promised... I am reporting in that I have OFFICIALLY started my half-marathon training.
Jon was gracious enough to run with me today... We ran the track on base... mind you it was like 150 degrees outside with 99% Texas humidity... already a recipe for death. And then I get the bright idea to run outside. At the 1 mile mark my brain started to scramble like an egg and I was certain I was going to induce a stroke. Or a heart attack. Or pop a lung. Or suffocate to death from lack of oxygen. haha I'm in terrific shape, can't you tell? I made it a mile, which was both joyously shocking and completely discouraging, all rolled into one.
Conclusion after Day 1: Confirmed. I still hate running. Still out of shape. But not ready to quit just yet. I have decided that high noon is not the optimal time to go running in Texas. I know, right? I'm a master of the obvious? Yes, as a matter of fact I DO have a PhD in Common Sense. Perhaps tomorrow I will put the common sense to good use and run at the break of dawn. ;)

I need a miracle. And motivation. And a piece of pie.

Goodnight all.


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Disneyland Half Marathon

I can't tell you how much I hate running. Scratch that...how much I hate exercise in general, however, I hate running the most. With some deep introspection and my own version of psychoanalysis, I have concluded that my loathe for running stems from me completely sucking at it. Even in the days when I was in tip top shape... I still had a hard time finishing a mile without being completely winded. I had plenty of endurance to dance, stunt and do cheer routines for hours on end in high school...no problem. I could hike up mountains all day long or play a good game of tennis without hesitation. And nevermind short distance running, I would challenge anyone to a foot race. But when it came to long-distance running (yeah...anything over a mile is long-distance in my book), forget about it.
Accordingly, it may come as a complete shock that I have signed myself up to run a half marathon. THAT IS 13.1 MILES PEOPLE!!! I have actually been considering starting a running routine for quite some time (the thought usually only lasts momentarily haha)... my logic... -hear me out- is if I actually keep running consistently then I will naturally get better at it... and if I become good at running, then I surely will start to enjoy it. Right? As much as I tried to justify this wonky logic... I hadn't quite convinced myself to the point that I would get outside and start running.
THEN!!! My sister told me about the Disneyland Half Marathon that she was considering participating in. It goes all throughout Disneyland, through the castle, California Adventure, Downtown Disney, out to the streets of Anaheim, around the Honda Center...down the Santa Ana River...through the Big A...and back to Disneyland. And you are cheered on by characters along the way! How fun does that sound?? (minus the running part, haha)

Being born in Anaheim and raised in Southern California (not to mention owning a season pass to Disneyland for several years)...I have always had a soft spot for all things Disney. Both of my sisters have decided to do the marathon as well as a couple of our friends. PERFECT! Not only will this actually be the motivation that I need to get myself to start running but I can't make excuses for myself NOT to run. How embarrassing would it be to be the only one out of the group that can't keep up? And, even worse, having to get picked up by the lag wagon?? haha Seriously, if you can't keep up they pick you up in a cart and drop you off at the "family reunion" area at the end of the race. I think I would rather sneak off course into a back alley and call a cab to come pick me up and take me straight back to the hotel, than to accept a ride of shame on the lag wagon. But, considering you have to maintain a 16 minute mile (which I can easily walk), the only way that would happen is if I snapped an ankle or something. Then I would gladly accept a ride on the lag wagon to display what a warrior I was! I ran so hard I snapped my ankles. haha

Seriously, I was sold with the pyrotechnics at the start line.

I mean, Disneyland has yet to disappoint... but fire to start the race?
Even Mr. Walt Disney would nod in approval.

Look at these cute running outfits! Probably not the most practical, but I give them an A+ for having the Disney spirit! Too cute!

Even with all of this excitement and as much as I am looking forward to accomplishing such a huge goal... I am still scared to death that I am not going to be able to do it... or, even worse, that I will give up trying when I inevitably get frustrated at how hard I have to work at it. Considering I will be training by myself when I get home to Texas and don't have the social support that everyone has back home in California... I need to hold myself accountable somehow. So I have decided to post my weekly progress on my blog. Nothing like a little social shaming to get my butt in gear! ;) I promise to be honest... and if I don't have a post about running each week, from now until September 6th... feel free to give my a kick in the pants. :)

Right now... I am looking up at what seems like Mt Everest. For me, this is my impossible challenge...one that not even I can convince myself that I can achieve.

I love this guy at the Chicago marathon... how encouraging!

"I can do all things through HIM who gives me strength." Philippians 4:13

Can I get an Amen??

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