Run for God - Week 7 - I can!

Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

We began the class by writing this verse on an index card. Then, I asked the class to write "20 minute run" and any other struggles they were facing on that card as well. It doesn't matter if our struggles are physical, spiritual, emotional, financial, etc, we can do all things through CHRIST who gives us strength.

A wonderful sister in Christ, Kaci Lesley shared a little piece of her journey and insights from running. I really appreciate her for sharing and being "real" with us. I look forward to hearing the rest of her story one day! Maybe she'll blog about it (Hint, Hint)

Then we watched the "Can" video. It's the story of Dick and Rick Hoyt. You can see a similar video below.

As soon as the video was over, we left for our 20 minute run. 20 minutes of running with no break. I feel like I have been anticipating this day since last October. I remember what it felt like to run for that amount of time. I am so incredibly proud of each and every individual in the class! God protected us, encouraged us, and enabled us.

When we returned from the run, we shared stories. They were awesome! I wish I could share each one of them with you.

After the sharing time, I asked each person to write a letter addressed to his or herself! The letters will be given back to them on race day. In that same fashion, I shared this letter with our class today.

Fellow running partners,

 

First off, God is awesome. It is to him, all glory and honor should rise. He prepares the way, orchestrates the plan, and knows each step we'll take in the future. I am humbled by the opportunity to share in this journey with each and every one of you.

 

I am also incredibly encouraged by each of you. You accomplish more and more each week. You did it! 20 minutes of running. You ran your race! There will be longer runs ahead. It's not easy. There will probably be days when you don't like it... but if it were easy, everyone would do it.

 

 I've been told that this is about the point where attendance will start to dwindle... motivation starts to suffer... people just give up. Well I'm glad I don't listen to what people "say." They obviously haven't met you guys! Stay committed. Stay determined. When it's tough, praise him. When it's fun, praise him. Listen to praise music.  Pray while you run. Use running as an opportunity to draw closer to God.

 

Remember why you started this journey. Take time to reflect on how far you have come (in just a few short weeks). Although this journey will end soon, I hope you will continue to pursue physical, mental, and spiritual health.

 

God has each of us on this journey for a reason. I pray for you often. I pray for the next step in your (and my own) journey. I do not know what my future holds, but I trust in Christ to lead and guide my path. Who knows... maybe we'll be running a marathon together one day... 

 

Your running sister in Christ,

 

Charity Keller

If you are following along for the workouts. This week is 5 min warm up, 20 minute run, 5 min cool down/ stretch.

Motivational Monday - Running is Cheaper than Therapy

Sometimes you just need a good laugh... or a good run!

So if you have a case of the Monday blues today, get out for a run. Try a walk in the park. Take an exercise class. Do something.

And if you don't believe me... Here are some (kid tested- mother approved) benefits of Exercise!

1. Exercise makes you feel better!  Exercise + Release of endorphins = Happy :)
2. Releases stress and helps to improve mood. We all want that for ourselves (and everyone around us)!
3. Confidence! You just feel and look better after exercise even in your sweaty workout clothes.
4. Improve concentration and mental awareness. I could use all the extra help I can get. Did I mention it's Monday?
5. Exercise helps to develop discipline! Make a plan and stick to it. You won't regret it!
6. Combat sickness and disease. Exercise (and a healthy diet) help fight off infection and disease.
7. Look and feel better in your body. Maybe it's weight loss. Maybe its just to tone up, but exercise will make you look and feel better!

So go run, walk, jump, skip, dance your way to a happy, healthier you. Oh and Have a great Monday!

If you have other benefits of exercise. Share them with me! I may include them on a future post!

Caution: Marathoner in Training

After two years, lots of 5ks and 10ks, a couple half marathons and triathlons, and a running bible study... I am finally ready to take the next BIG step in running... a marathon. I've been talking about it for a while... thinking about the "perfect" first one... avoiding it... but as of Tuesday, March 19th, I am officially registered for a marathon!

On November 9th, I will run 26.2 miles in the Rock and Roll Marathon in Savannah, GA... just because I want to. Not running from zombies, not running from dogs with big teeth, not running from something chasing me with a knife... Just running - 26.2 miles of running.

Well it could be a little more than just "wanting" to. God has used running as a tool to draw me closer to him. You can see my testimony for more on that. I depend on him for strength. God is my running partner. When I am running, I am free. I don't worry about work, my home, chores, the day. It really is a great escape for me. I have also made great friends "on the trail."

Now don't get me wrong... Some days I do not want to run. I do it anyway... because I never regret finishing a run. I like running because I can set goals. Each run is a goal. Each run is a step toward another goal.

I'm a planner. My husband says I over plan, but I would rather "over plan" and be prepared than just wing it. Occasionally I just wing it, but it's usually by force or some spare of the moment event.

So I have developed a plan for the marathon. Starting on Mother's Day, I'll train for 26 weeks for the marathon. The plan is below if you want to follow along. Feel free to join me for runs as well! I could use the extra encouragement!

Week	Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday
1	Mother's Day	strength	3	strength	3	rest	5
2	fun	strength	3	strength	3	rest	6
3	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	8
4	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	6
5	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	9
6	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	6
7	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	10
8	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	11
9	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	12
10	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	13
11	fun	strength	4	strength	4	rest	14
12	fun	strength	5	strength	5	rest	12
13	fun	strength	5	strength	5	rest	17
14	fun	strength	5	strength	5	rest	15
15	fun	strength	5	strength	5	rest	12
16	fun	strength	5	strength	5	rest	20
17	fun	strength	5	strength	6	rest	10
18	fun	strength	5	strength	6	rest	12
19	fun	strength	5	strength	6	rest	23
20	fun	strength	5	strength	6	rest	15
21	fun	strength	6	strength	6	rest	25
22	fun	strength	6	strength	6	rest	Mud Run
23	10 mile run	strength	6	strength	6	rest	12
24	fun	strength	6	strength	6	rest	10
25	fun	strength	5	strength	4	rest	8
26	fun	strength	5	strength	5	rest	26.2 (11/9)

So there it is. If you add it all up... in 26 weeks, I (and hopefully some friends) will run 575 miles! Average 22 miles a week.

I would love for you to join me in this journey either as a running partner or as a support system. Starting in June, I'll document the journey (the good and the bad) on Fridays.

This girl is officially a marathoner in training :)

Run for God - Week 6 - Preparing for the next chapter

Week 6 was our last big "lecture" week. From this point on, we will no longer be walking during our workouts... we"ll be running the entire time. I planned to combine some lessons this week (since we are missing Easter Sunday) and so we had a short amount of time to fit a lot of stuff in.

I felt like week 6 was a big transition week as well. We did our scriptures with discussion groups. I didn't pick a story to use this week because we were combining two weeks. After discussion, we talked about nutrition. There are so many things to say about nutrition. I'll leave that for another time.

But here's where the magic happened in Week 6.

We're starting to prepare for 20 minutes of running. One of our participants is following an app on her phone and completed the 20 minute run prior to ours. It was so powerful to hear her explain how it felt to accomplish 20 minutes of running. It was also a great encouragement to everyone who will be completing that distance next week.

We also had quite a few of our participants to complete a 5k on Saturday with our fearless run leader setting a PR and placing first not only in one race but two! Way to go Olivia! We also had one of our husband/wife duos run the race together (and finish together). They both placed in their age groups!

We are starting to share more personal stories with each other. I think that's were the real "magic" happens. When we open our hearts and lives, good and bad, to each other for growth, encouragement, and accountability!

God is so good. He protects us, prepares us, encourages us, enables us, and even gives us the swift kick we need every now and then.

While this week seems like a big transition week (and a short wrap up), I am so excited to share next weeks journey!

I captured this picture of our prayer before we ran, and it reminds me daily to give God the glory, come to him often, and thank him with every breath I have!

If you are following along in the workouts: this week's workout is 5 min warm up, 8 min run, 2 min walk, 8 min run, 5 min cool down and stretch.

What's weighing you down? Part 3 - 10 Commandments of Weightloss



 Last night in Run for God, we discussed nutrition. I'll talk more about that in the wrap up post for Run for God this week. We also discussed weight loss and today, that's what our motivational Monday is about!

 

 

 Here's my take on the list above. I found this on Pinterest with no real direct link to its originator.

 

1. Lifestyle - AMEN! Crash diets and diets that promise significant weight loss quickly are not healthy. What's going to happen when you quit those? The weight will come right back! Even worse you may have damaged your metabolism. Make choices that you can implement daily. Choose wisely each time you eat or snack. Your diet should be your everyday choices to choose life!

 

2. Get Organized - The more organized you are with your food choices, the better your chances are of avoiding quick fixes like fast food, the vending machine, and frozen-prepackaged meals. Meal planning and creating single (Ziploc bag) servings of your snacks is a great way to prepare for an entire week in one afternoon.

 

3. Portion control - Eat on smaller plates, portion your meals for the week during your meal plan. We as Americans eat entirely too much each meal (Eating slower helps with this too - see below)

 

4. Leave food - It is OK to stop eating before the food is off your plate. If you are following the portion control above you should be putting less on your plate to begin with, but you still do not have to eat it all. If you feel really bad about wasting, save it for later as leftovers!

 

5. Don't feel deprived - Here's the "everything in moderation" part of weighloss... While some things like cookies, ice cream, and chocolate are not good on an everyday basis... it is OK to have them every now and then. You don't have to watch your friends have everything that you "can't" have and feel bad about it. Now self control plays a big role here. If you don't have self control... you might not want to have that splurge to start with. Just saying.

 

6. Make a meal out of it. - Have dinner as a family. Sit down at the table. Put your meal on "pretty" plates and enjoy it. I find that when I spend the time cooking, then setting the table, then eating, I always eat less (and that could be because I am exhausted after all that but it could also be because I am enjoying the conversation at the table, the beauty of the dinner, or just the fact that I can rest as I enjoy the meal)

 

7. Eat Slowly. - It takes your brain 20 minutes after consuming food to tell you that you are full. So if you are downing your food super quickly, you'll finish the entire meal before 20 minutes (or in 5) and then just feel stuffed when your brain realizes what you have done. I know this can be challenging, but if you take the time to slow down, you will eat less.

 

8. Enjoy your food - One of my sweet friends said one of her favorite quotes is "Eat to live; don't live to eat." It's kind of been said above, but food is meant to fuel our bodies, and we should enjoy the experience.

 

9. Exercise - Exercise combined with eating "right" is the only way to lose weight. Yup I said it. Only way. There is not a magic pill or magic "diet." You have to put in the work to see results. I promise it will be worth it! Like Nike says, "Just do it"

 

10. Sleep - Our sleep patterns do make a difference. Consistent hours of sleep are crucial to our body functions. I like to be in bed around 9 or 10. Call me an "Old lady" if you want, but I would rather be called "old" than "cranky" because that is exactly what I will be if I don't get adequate rest.

 

Here's a few other tips to add to the list:

• Set realistic goals. You are not going to lose 5 pounds in a week. That is not a healthy amount to lose every week.
• Take pictures of yourself. Sometimes the scale will not move, but you will be changing. Take lots of pictures to document your journey.
• Take measurements instead of just counting on the scale. Measure you hips, thighs, arms, what ever area you would like to see change in.
• Drink water (limit sodas).
• Make friends to encourage you along this journey. Remember it is a lifestyle, so surround yourself with people who support and encourage you.

You can achieve your goals with time, patience, and consistency. It does not happen over night, so pick one thing to adjust each day (or even one thing each week) as you develop your healthy lifestyle!

 

 

What's weighing you down? Part 2 - The mental workout

Here's the bottom line, to see results... You have to put in the work. You have to workout. How you workout, the intensity in which you work out, the workout you choose... is up to you... but the bottom line still exist. If you want to see the extra "yucky" off the body, you have to put in the effort to get it off.

 

You also have to limit what you put into your body. We'll talk more about nutrition and fuel for your body later, but today we are going to workout another part of the body... Our minds!

 

This image came from a blog here
 

Our minds are powerful. They control our thoughts and actions. Without getting your "brain" in the game, your body doesn't get the extra power to succeed. Every decision to move, to workout, to eat "healthy", to "stick to it", to endure... they all happen in our heads! So today we are going to focus on vision (or dream), goal setting, and positive thinking with actions.

 

Vision/Dreams

 

Where do you want to be? Who do you want to become? What are the big overlying themes about your journey to health?

 

Don't limit your vision. Dream big. Don't think about time frame, how you'll get there, how much work it will be. We'll take that on in goals.

 

Here's my vision - To be healthy - Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually, so that the work God has done in my life may encourage others to seek him and health in their own lives.

 

Now here's where the dream becomes reality...

 

Goals

 

I saw a pin on Pinterest that said, "goals are dreams with deadlines". That's pretty close to the truth. Goals go a little deeper than that thought. They serve as "action items" for our dreams. While our vision is our "mission impact" statement, goals allow us to break that mission down into specific achievable chunks. Goals are "SMART". Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time focused. Here's an example to break that down...

 

One of my goals is to run a marathon this year.

 

First I check to make sure my goal is in line with my vision - it fits my vision because it challenges me to be healthy in all 3 areas. I will have to trust in God to see me through months of training and endurance, and hopefully at the end, I will be able to share and encourage others to seek fitness through my example.

 

Second is this goal SMART?

Specific - run a marathon

Measurable - did I achieve it? yes or no?

Attainable - Can I reach this goal? yes I can with little goals on the way to it. Run 5k, 10k, half marathon, put in the training for the full marathon.

Relevant - Does it line up with my vision? Should I be doing this goal anyway? See above.

Timely - When am I going to achieve it? This year.

 

I have lots of goals. I love goals because they help to create a road map for my actions. I have 30 goals I want to achieve before age 30. You'll see that most if not all fall in line with my vision (but some are just for fun - it's good to just have fun sometimes!)

 

Finally - Positive thinking and action

 

Think positive. You can do it! Will it be tough sometimes? Probably so. I can't say that it won't be, but getting your mind to think through and push through with action will help you get one step closer to your goals and vision.

 

Learn to love you, learn to support you, be your biggest cheerleader. Reward yourself (and not with food) for accomplishing milestones and goals in your journey. Document your journey. Take pictures if your goal is to loose body fat or tone up. Seeing progress helps to encourage me.

 

While it can be encouraging to see others success stories, I can't say it enough. It's your race, your journey. Don't compare your goals and dreams to anyone else's. Focus on the positive in your life and focus on action! Take one step each day toward your goals and one day you will be sharing your success story with everyone!

 

Do you have a vision, goals, or action items to propell you? Please share them and we can encourage and help to hold you accountable! Happy Friday!

 



Run for God - Week 5 - The Hay is in the Barn

I am not going to lie... when I saw this title, I thought "What in the world could this have to do with running or my spiritual walk for that matter?"

If you "google" it (Yes I use google as a verb), blog after blog and image after image will appear of athletes training. Apparently, it is a really good comparison to our running AND our spiritual walk.

Here's the translation... The work is done. No more time to cram. No more time for improvement. You're at the point were there is nothing left you can do.

In our physical run/walk, we have to train and prepare for each race. We wouldn't wake up one day and run a marathon. It takes months (and sometimes years) of training to prepare. Even with a 5k, you need adequate training and preperation. You also need rest. Your body can not do too much to soon. But once all the practice, training, preperation, rest, etc is done. You race. There is nothing left you can do to prepare on race day. You just have to race!

In our spiritual walk, we have to put "spiritual hay" in our barns. We have to take time to practice, train, and prepare for our spiritual walk just as we have to prepare for our physical journey. We put "spiritual hay" in our barn by reading the Bible, praying, and deepening our relationship with Christ. That way once the hay is in the barn, we can compete in the race of life. We will have the adequate training when the storms rage and obstacles are thrown into our paths.

God doesn't promise that the journey will be easy. Your journey may have lots of hills. It may rain or you may have to endure freezing temperatures, but be confident in Christ and know that once the "hay is in the barn," all you have to do is run the race! Don't forget to replant, harvest and "refill" your barn.

If you are following along in the workouts this weeks workout is the same as last week!
5 min warm up then 3 min run; 90 second walk; 5 min run; 2 min walk (repeat one more time) 5 min cool down/ stretching.

Run for God - Week 4 - Free to Run

 

 

Week 4 we watched an interview with Olympic Marathoner Ryan Hall. While Ryan had tons of great things to say, one of his favorite scriptures stood out to me more than anything else: Isaiah 40:31. Feel free to research Ryan Hall. He is an exceptional runner with a firm foundation in Christ, but for this blog I'm going to focus in on Isaiah 40:31.

 

Now I am by no means a theologian. I'm sure each person can give you a little different interpretation of the scriptures but I want to take this verse with focus on specific words and share with you what it means to me.

 

"but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength"

 

Hope - in other translations this word is wait or trust. I like Hope. (Side note - My mom liked it too... it's my middle name :)) Hope means I believe. I believe the Lord is near me, he knows me, he sees my strengths and weaknesses. Hope is my desire for him, and expectation that their is full life in him, a feeling that no matter what circumstances I face today, I trust the Lord to lead and guide me.

 

With this hope, comes renewing of strength. Renew means to refresh, revive, to bring to life. It's a fresh start. My weakness is shows his strength. His strength refreshes and revives me. He makes my life new again no matter what circumstances or sins that I have committed. I am renewed in him.

 

"They will soar on wings like eagles"

 

Eagles are large, powerful birds of prey. The eagle is one of our national symbols. "War Eagle" is the battle cry for my Alma Mater. They are at the top of the food chain. Once an eagle is "paired" (aka hitched/married) they remain together until one dies.

 

One of my favorite things about an Auburn football game (Especially last season because we were... well below average) is to watch the eagle released and to see it soar around the football stadium. The beauty and power of this creature soaring just makes me think of the beauty of God and all he creates. Because I hope in the Lord, I can soar with strength and power like an eagle. Soaring resembles freedom for me... No strings attached. No weight holding me down... no need to flap my wings... I'm just free to soar above all the pain, problems, circumstance of the world.

 

"They will run and not grow weary, They will walk and not be faint"

 

I'm reminded of this every time I am on a run. When it gets hard or I'm tired, I pray or praise God. When my mind gets off of me and on him, I immediately stand taller and feel stronger. Does that mean the run is easy? NO. Does it mean that with Christ I can do anything? YES. He is the strength. When I am weak, he is strong.

 

This section of the verse also reminds me that it doesn't matter if I run, walk, crawl, or even be still, I still need him. Our pace doesn't determine our need for him. We are free to run, walk, crawl or sit still because of him. We need him ALL the time!

 

If you are following along for the weekly workouts, Week 4's workout is 5 min warm up then

3 min run; 90 second walk; 5 min run; 2 min walk (repeat one more time) 5 min cool down and stretch.