Race Recap...

I didn't sleep very well the night before the race. But alas at oh dark hundred hours the alarm went off and we were moving! We took the Dart to the start (Dallas' version of light rail). The funniest part was that they don't take credit cards and so Katie stuck a $20 bill in to buy all of our tickets and sure enough it spit out ALL coins for her change! HAHA! Rob carried more then $7 in change all 13.1 miles! So funny! Well we finally made it to the start area, made a MUST potty stop and then got in our corral. It was traditional Texas to the core! Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders, Troy Aikman starting the race, the National Anthem and a prayer for the race. Let me stop and tell you about this prayer real quick. I didn't even realize they were praying until I heard "oh God." I started to listen more intently and I realized she was praying not only for all of us runners, but also for every affected by breast cancer (Susan G. Komen was the officially charity). I tried so hard not to cry as I look straight at the ground, but man this lady was praying from every corner of her heart. It was so sweet, because so rarely does anyone do an "out-loud" prayer before the race, but she was and she was letting God's name be proclaimed! I loved it! With a hug from Katie, a high five from AA and some funny comment by Rob dog it was our corrals turn to GO! We were off! We lost Katie and Rob pretty quick. They were on a mission to have a sub 2 hour half (which they did! GOOD JOB!).

In the first mile we ran right by where JFK was shot. People were pointing to the ground and when we looked we realized that there were two X's where he was shot twice. It was very eerie, but also so cool to be running literally right over such a historic moment. As the race plugged along I knew very soon that my legs were not firing as they should be. I felt sluggish and heavy. We climbed a couple minor hills and AA slowed at the top to wait for me. He was doing amazing and I t old him to go if he wanted/could. He said NO with some authority so I knew he was staying with me the whole time (more on this in a sec). At mile 4 I broke out 2 watermelon GU chomps. YUM YUM! It also gave me something else to think about. About that time, a woman started to pass me and she gave me the thumbs up, smiled and said something about love. I was rocking out to Beyonce or Lady Gaga (I know surprise surprise) so I didn't exactly hear what she said. I smiled back and realized that she was talking about what was on the back of my shirt. I had a bib that said "In memory of my mom." It was so sweet that she would acknowledge that. After I realized what she was saying I started ot tear up. Just as fast as I started to cry I quickly told myself "okay silly goose you better get it together....we got 9 more miles to fly through...toughen up butter cup." Which I did. At mile 5 AA hears a pop in the back of his calf. Uh oh! He told me to keep going and he would would catch up. Which of course he did. He said it hurt but that he would be able to make it (turned out to be a minor calf strain). Before the race Rob dog and Katie kept saying that they couldn't wait to get to Swiss street because it was slightly downhill for about a mile and half. However, I heard "Spring St." Oh I am an idiot! So with every turn we would make I would look at the street sign and pray it would be Spring St. No freaking Spring St. ANYWHERE! I finally asked AA "Where in the H-E-Double hockey sticks is Spring St!!!!!!!!!!???????????" He told me it was SWISS ST! And that we were on it! Oh gosh, I am an idiot! HA! I had a pretty good laugh with Katie after the race about that one. Finally at about mile 8ish we saw Rob's mom, dad and brother. We all went crazy! It was so nice to have them come out and route us on! The funniest part of all of that is that they missed Rob and Katie (their own kids for goodness sakes!) because they were running to fast! No worries...you can watch us slow pokes! :) Right before we saw them I was having extreme hip pain. I walked for about 10 seconds and then started to run again and felt good. It hurt a little bit here and there but nothing like it was. My legs were finally starting to fire, a little too late, because AA was starting to feel it. And to put it simply there was no way I was leaving him (more on that in a sec). Finally after a GU stop and 2 miles through a not so nice part of Dallas we made it to the Texas State Fair. It was so cool! It is where the Cotton Bowl is played and where OU and Texas play their big game every year. AA and I watch every year and so it was cool to finally see it in person. We were rounding corner after corner and I knew the finish was coming soon. We passed the mile 13 sign and I knew we were close. I could smell the finish. AA was struggling and I told him a little sternly "get up here!" We were going to finish strong even if we died trying. I kept telling him how many minutes until we finished, "2 minutes, 1 minute." And then finally we turned the corner and there it was, the finishers shoot. I started to cry for so many reason. I took AA's hand and we ran the last little part hand in hand, AA being the strong stoic one and me be the blubbering fool. There is a surprise. We crossed the finish line with huge smiles, holding hands, arms held high. I knew we had made our goal of 2:15. In fact we were at 2:14:08. Not my fastest, not my slowest. I smiled at AA, trying not to burst into tears. I silently thanked Jesus for His power, grace and love. I thanked Him for allowing me to run this but more importantly that I got to run this race with my husband. I get chocked up thinking about that moment. As I type I am getting tearing eyed. AA and I have been through the ringer the last couple months and we didn't even know if I would be able to run this race. To be able to go through 2 hours, 14 minutes and 8 seconds of pain together, but to be able to cross the finish line with my best friend, partner and love of my life was one of the most symbolic moments in my life. I will NEVER forget that moment for as long as I live. AA has been by my side and he never had any intention of leaving me during this race and when we got further into the race I realzied that I was not leaving him either. It was such a tangible moment of our vows and I could cry about it for a long time, to remember how good God was in giving us each other.

God was so good to us during the last two months, as He has been our whole life. But during this time, He showed us what it meant to rely on Him, to be a good spouse, to trust Him and to love Him unconditionally. Never have I been more thankful to have a personal relationship with Him. He was my ultimate rock and my saving grace when the earth around me was sinking. All along the race coute there was signs with Isiah 40:31. That is the verse I have as the title of my blog and what really has made a profound impact on my life. It was like Jesus was reminding me every time I saw one of those signs how amazing He is. This half marathon, although not my fastest, not my most pain free, was by far my favorite. The rest of the weekend recap coming next!

Saturday recap....

We woke up to sun shining through our window. Thank you Jesus for the sun. We put on some running clothes and we all decided to walk/run to Starbs. We ran a total of .3 miles. Just enough of you ask me. It was so warm. Oh how I want some heat here in Seattle. After walking back and enjoying our cup'o'jo we got dressed and headed to brunch. Let me tell you something...this brunch was just what I needed. We got to sit outside, without a jacket on and enjoy truly yummy food. I had chicken migas. Thank you Jesus for migas, oh thank you Jesus for them! Then we headed to the expo. Oh the expo. I LOVE EXPOS!!! LOVE THEM! First, being able to go and get your race bib makes it really real. I picked up a hat and got to meet two contestants from the Biggest Loser, Jackie and Dan, one of my favorite shows! They are coming to Seattle next, so I might have to go cheer them on! They were sooo sweet and look great! AA picked up some body glide and Katie pick up some new shorts. After about an 1.5 hours we had made our way through the whole thing, won some prizes and were happy.

Katie and Rob then took us on a driving tour of Dallas. We saw where JFK was shot (more on that in Sunday's recap), drove on Straight Lane (I have never, I mean NEVER seen bigger homes), got to see some High 5 Highway thingymbobber. Something about the biggest highway overpass or something. Clearly this was for AA, not me. Then, one of the highlights of the trip, they took us to the SMU campus. Not only is it absolutely gorgeous, Rob's grandpa was the head basketball coach there for a number of years. He is quite famous in the state of Texas we learned. We went to see the practice facility that was named after him and we even snuck onto the actual court. That was so great! It really touched my heart that Rob would share this with us. His grandpa is still going to games and Rob has never called his grandpa, grandpa. Rather, they have always called him Coach. I LOVE IT! We tried to play Top Golf, but there was a three hour wait. No thanks.

Headed to dinner to CARB load...one of my favorite things about running. The Italian restaurant they took us to was so good. Oh yummmy yummu yummy! And of course, we went to ice cream after that. :) Headed home, watched some basketball and visited with Rob's brother Doug. Headed to bed early. After all, the next day was going to start early and we needed all the rest we could. Race day, coming next....

Friday Recap...

Wow...where do I start? It is always so hard to recap a race, because for almost all of my races there has been so much emotion going into it. This one was no different. But I will try...here is the weekend recap:

Friday: Our plane was supposed to leave at 9:15, arriving in Dallas at 4:15 (time change of 2 hours). Well we got on the plane, started to taxi to take off and then we realized we were headed right back to the gate. Hmm? Weird. Oh ps...if you don't know...I am SO SCARED of flying. It is something that I am seriously trying to deal with. Lots of prayer....LOTS! So anyway, we got off the plane and got on a new one. Total delay....2 hours. BOO! Had to stop in Albuquerque to drop some passengers off and pick some up on the way to Dallas. Well to say that it was a smooth landing would be the farthest thing from the truth. It was the most turbulence I have ever experienced. I was crying and telling AA "I can't do this" over and over again. People were starting to look. Awesome. I was "that" girl. AA, being the amazing man he is, tried to calm me down, which didn't work. He even said "you have to do this, what is the other option?" Great point AA, great point. Well anyway, we landed. Some people even clapped. Yup, it was that bad. I asked the flight attendant if the take off and landing were going to be that bad going to Dallas. She said no, and she was right, still bumpy but no where even close to that. Ugh! Way to start off the weekend.

Aywho, landed in Dallas, sans makeup after crying it all off. Katie and Rob dog were there to greet us! It was HOT! And we loved it!! They took us to their AMAZING new home so I could put more deodorant on (because somewhere Seattle and Dallas I had some massive flop sweats), and for goodness sakes put some mascara on (remember that whole crying thing?)....geez I looked horrible! Then we went to dinner and ice cream at their favorite spots. SOOOOO GOOD!

We even got to walk there, so it felt like West Seattle. Went home and watched some basketball and I pretty much fell asleep right there after all that emotion from the day. WOW, was I glad to be in Dallas.

Saturday coming next.....

It's go time baby....

Today, I tried yoga. Different story for a different day, but let me tell you that is HARD! My boss invited me to come with her, "beginner yoga, full of laughing not worshipping" she said. Sweet I'm in! I looked at her at one point and said "this stupid swan dive pigeon tree thingy pose is so stupid that it is hard!" As you can see I'm not very serious about yoga....AT ALL!

When you run an endurance race there is one thing in common at the start. There is a magnetic pull towards the start line. There isn't much talking, because really, what else is there to say? Training is done. Some people are programming watches, some people silently cry as they realize what is ahead of them, and some people pray, pray and pray some more, because they know the only thing getting them to the finish line is God. Everybody has a story. Everyone crosses the start line one person, knowing if they make it to the finish line, a tiny part of them will be different for the rest of their life.

How many of us can truly treasure the experience of a single day, that don't include a marriage or a birth of a baby, for the rest of your life? I can think of single days that I truly treasured:
1. The day that I accepted Jesus' role in my life, as Savior, King and love of my life.
2. The day I got married
3. The day I finished my first full marathon.
I have run 6 half marathons up to this point, and countless more in training, but I have a feeling that Sunday's race will be a race that will be one of those single days. I am so thankful God gave me the challenges that He did in the last couple months. Without them, I would not have re-learned to give every once of trust to Jesus, how grateful I am for family and friends, and the awesomeness of how ones' body is made.

So without further adue....it's go time baby...thank you Jesus!

The Pain Cave

You have all probably heard me talk about the pain cave. It was a concept I learned from Sonja. She uses the pain cave theory in all of her Ironmans. I know that a half marathon or even a full marathon is no where even close to an Ironman, but I think that no matter what level you are at you can use the pain cave theory. What it basically is, is knowing that you will be tested in any of these endurance sports and you need to decide how far into "the pain cave" you are willing to go. The pain cave is a scary place, because for most of us we feel our best just sitting around, or maybe going for a light workout. But all of these endurance sports requires us to be in some sort of pain. Some days/races the pain is minimal. Some days the pain is unbearable. So on every race you have to decide how deep into the cave you are willing to go, before you know what the pain will be like.

I didn't know of the pain cave when I ran my first full marathon. If I did, my finishing time would have been a whole lot faster. I might have collapsed at the finish line, but that time would have been faster.

On Sunday, the pain cave will be present, however I have already decided I am not going very far in. I might sneak in there part way, but I am not getting lost in the pain cave. My body is just too fragile right now. My lungs are just now starting to feel a tiny bit better, and well I want to race more in the future and going deep into the pain cave this weekend puts me at a higher rate of not being able to do that. Plus, we are staying with Katie and Rob Dog and I intend to stay there and not the hospital. I intend on Katie feeding me until I am fat and happy, not eating hospital mush. I intend on walking to Starbs with Katie in the morning, talking about life, not walking out of a hospital talking about what new drugs I am on. I intend....okay okay you get it you get it. :)

I started thinking yesterday about how blessed God has made my life. I complain about the dumbest stuff. Instead of complaining I need to praise God that I am even in the place to be complaining about something. For example, AA and I are being "grown ups" these days and are trying to buy a house. I was complaining here and there about it, and then caught myself. I need to thank Jesus that we even have the ability to buy a house, and need to pray that the house HE already has picked out for us would be a home where His name is proclaimed. I caught myself complaining about how my hamstring was killing me after running. Gosh I almost hit myself over the head with that one. I should be thanking God that I can run! I need to get into the GRATEFUL CAVE....and run as far into it as humanly possible!

Caves....who knew they could provide such insight on a Wednesday. :) What is something you have been complaining about, that you should actually be grateful for?

Excited!!

So I just posted this on Facebook and Ms. Katie, aka, "The Real Housewife of Dallas" aka, "OHM2" (stands for Old Married Hag 2, I was number 1, Erica is number 3) posted what she is excited for. Alas...I shall share it with you....

Shelby Lanting
Things I am excited for:
1. Seeing you and Rob Dog
2. Sun, I haven't seen it in a while
3. Heat, I have only felt it in a tanning bed
4. The expo....my American Express card is excited too! Aaron...not so much...
5. Food...good food
6. Seeing you...wait did I already say that?
7. Run, run, run, run!!!
8. To hear Rob dog tell funny stories
Oh the list could go on and on!

Katie Manor
Things I am excited for:
1. Seeing you and A
2. Sun, it really is underrated
3. Heat, but not too much on race day
4. The expo... I hope to continue with my Lululemon obsession...
5. Food...Mexican food! (to quote Rob: "My only thought during the race will be how I am going to take it 'deep' in Mexican food after running."
6. Seeing you too!
7. Run, run, run run
8. To hear you tell funny stories
9. To introduce you to the Big D!

That's it....I'M EXCITED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh boy!

Oh Monday. Today was been very stressful and it is only 12:30pm? How does this happen? Oh I know, I stop having faith that God is the driver of my life and I FREAK OUT! Ugh I hate when that happens. I am trying to calm down, remembering who controls my life and that,

"He has plans for me, they are plans for good, not for disaster, to give me a future and hope." Jer. 29: 11

That was a memory verse of mine last month....oh how quickly I forget. What am I stressed about? Well it doesn't really matter. What matters more, is that I serve a loving and giving God. So that is what I am focusing on today!

Sunday AA and I were supposed to go out for our last long run before this weekend. Well the sun was out...and so was the wind. We got a mile in a my hat almost blew off it was so windy. After much discussion, we decided I would run back to the car and pick AA up in an hour. We both agree that I cannot get sick before this weekend. So I ran super fast back to the car, I had a 7 year old rollerblader in front of me, who was pacing me! It was great! Drove to the gym, ran 30 minutes, back in the car to pick up AA. I finished 5 miles. AA finished almost 8. I am okay with that.

So today, here is what I know about the last 3 months of training and this weekend:
1. I have been a horrible training partner to AA. Not only getting PE, but being moody and not confident has not helped him be confident this weekend. I am sorry AA.
2. Am I ready for this weekend? I have no clue. Not one.
3. It was been 40 degrees, raining and windy every training run we have gone out one. Dallas: 85 degrees no wind. Awesome.
4. Will my lungs, heart and blood hold up this weekend? Again, no clue.
5. Will I finish, I sure hope so.
6. No matter what happens, is God good. YES!

3 things...

....that made me laugh/smile today:

1. A little convo that went like this:
Co-worker: "Shelby are you running like a seven minute mile these days?" Dead serious by the way
Me: Laughing "Nope a little slower."
Co-worker: "Oh right, you have PE, so what, like a 7:20 minute mile?"
Me: Laughing even harder, "nope like a 9:30 miles these days."
Co-worker: "Oh right. That sounds about right for you."

BAHAHAHAHAHA! That might be an insult, but these days I am so happy to even be able to run so I will take it as a joke!

2. Walk into the gym look up to see that the only treadmill open is next to a Gisele Bündchen lookalike, who is sprinting...I mean sprinting. Oh an PS...she has just a sports bra on rocking her hot bod. You know what I feel about people only wearing their sports bras, especially in the gym. For some reason I just let out a laugh. It was so ridiculous. Even better, got on the treadmill next to, again, the only one open, to see that she had been sprinting for the last 3 miles and continued sprinting for 4 more miles! Here I was love handles and all, just trottin' away next to her. Ha! I told my love handles not to be sad, "don't compare yourself to her non-existent love handles ladies, they don't even know what Ben and Jerry's taste like. You on the other do and don't even try to lie and say you don't love every bite."

3. I saw this leaving the gym...so cute three ladies on their lunch time run, all wearing BRIGHT GREEN! They were just running, laughing away. Love that!

Happy St. Pats day!

Oh and PS....GO GEORGIA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Inspiration Wednesday

Happy Wednesday! I am trying to think of some fun new things to do on this blog. I decided that Wednesdays will be "inspiration Wednesdays". We could all use some inspiration in the middle of the week. Some weeks, I will feature I will feature people, some weeks stories and some weeks who knows what.

This week I am featuring Cathy Wagner. Cathy is a dear family friend who is also my boss' boss. She was the one who helped me get my job now and continues to inspire me everyday. I could write a book bout how much Cathy inspires me. My mom was her triathlon coach, when she did her first triathlon. She quit her comfortable job to take on a job that literally touches more then 1 million under-served kids a year. She battled breast cancer and won. She talks about my mom, without abandonment. She loves Jesus and is not bashful about telling people.

And now, she is battling colon cancer. She has courageously fought through 6 weeks of chemo and radiation. And now, today at 10am she goes in for surgery. Because I work with Cathy I got an email last night that was sent out to our region. It explained her new work schedule for the next couple weeks. And then this is how the she ended the email:

"I’m blessed to have meaningful work, great friends, a loving husband and family and a strong faith. I’m so ready to move on through this journey and hope to be cancer free soon!

My oncologist nicked named me Lancecetta and calls me his female Lance Armstrong. So I thought I would share this quote.

“If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or fight like hell.” ~Lance Armstrong

Believe me Lancecetta is fighting like hell! Thank you for all your support!

With much appreciation,

Cathy"

Jesus, stay with Cathy. Love on her today and I ask for complete healing for her. Lord I thank you for Cathy and how she shines Your light.

A miracle....

"If I can do this 9 mile run it will be a miracle from God." Yup those were the words that came out of my mouth 5 minutes before we hit the pavement yesterday for a 9 miler. Oh the confidence I have these days. :)

Let's backup though. So we all know about the lovely infarction that has invaded my lung. And we all know that the doc perscribed me three days of steroids. And what we all might not know is that I was scared to death to take said steroids. So after two days the pain in my shoulder had left and I called said doctor to ask if I had to take the last day. He said NO! HOORAY! No more steroids! Now this doesn't mean I still don't have pain. I do, but not the sharp shooting pain in my shoulder. Now it is just a mild dull pain on the left side of my chest. It is just the infarction trying to heal itself. The pain comes and goes, so we are praying that it goes a lot more then it comes.

So anyway, with all that said on Saturday night I could not sleep. I mean I COULD NOT SLEEP AT ALL! The last time I looked at the clock it was 3am. Ouch. I calculated that in about 6 hours I would be sitting in church, which meant I would be up in 4.5 hours. Double Ouch. I prayed and prayed for sleep, and at 3am God granted me sleep. And then my alarm didn't go off! THANK GOODNESS AA said goodbye before he left for church (he goes before me sometimes b/c he is the church sound guy), or I would have slept forever! Finally, after a birthday lunch for my boss, it was about 3:30pm and AA said we better get this run done with. I thought I was going to secretly get out of the run, that maybe he would "forget". But bless his heart, he remembered. Got changed and headed down to the water to do a 4.5 mile out and back.

This is when the above comment came out. I truly did not think I could do it. No way, no how. But we started running. And I felt okay. And then about 2 miles into it, the rain started. And then 3.5 miles into it Heaven opened and it was DUMPING! I mean sideways rain, rain that hurt my head when it hit. We made it to the 4.5 mile mark and turned around. Then at about 5.5 miles it was raining even harder then before. We made it to a tree to hide underneath. We looked at each other and died laughing. This was so stupid it was funny. It was especially funny because we kept saying "it is 40 degrees and raining sideways here, and when we run in Dallas it will most likely be 70 degrees and 100% humidity!" We questioned whether or not we should call someone to pick us up. We figured by the time they got to us we could have ran back to to car. I said "What if we call Erica and Hammy? They will pick us up!" AA responded "if we see them drive by we will get in." HA! We were so far from their house...there was no seeing them. And so we kept running.

Then at mile 7.5, something snapped in AA's knee. Huh-oh! He tried to run but it hurt too bad. He told me to run and go get the car. He said it so casually, like "the car is just around the block, can you go get it and pick me up." But the car was not around the block, it was 2.5 miles away!!!!!! So I picked up my pace and got to movin'. At one point it felt like I was sprinting. My lung started to hurt, but I told my lung "quite down! I have to "save" my man!" I finally got to the car, jumped in, broke the law, driving with no licence, and sped to find my man. I finally found him, poor thing looked like a drowned rat. I mean, the most handsome, manly, hunka hunka burnin' love drowned rat I have ever seen. He is doing okay today, he is going to take it easy, ice it and see how he feels in a couple days.

So, I guess God granted me a miracle. I ran 9 miles. AA and I had some deep convo before mile 7.5 which was great. And I ran through the worst weather I have ever been faced with. There was not one mile that went by that I didn't pray. But I also did A LOT of praising. God has answered so many prayers in the last couple days. God is good. And He is still good, even if I wouldn't have finished those 9 miles.

Updates

To say that we are taking each day as it comes would be an understatement. When I thought we were out of the woods, we found out we were right back in them. I keep saying "we" because AA is as much a part of this and affected by this as me, even if he doesn't say it. So here are some updates for everyone:

Health: Soooo news to me, but when you have pulmonary embolism, like Serena Williams and I do (yes I just called her out! :) ), you can get what's called an infarction (no I didn't spell that wrong, and yes you should say that out loud, because it will make you giggle) in your lung. This means that part of your lung has died. Awesome. Not. What is so cool though, is that your body will rebuild that part of the lung and you will just be left with a small scar in your lung. But the problem is that when you have an infarction it causes you to bleed a little bit into the fluid area between your rib cage and lungs. This then causes you pain in WEIRD areas. For me it was a sharp pain in my collar bone/shoulder area, even though the blood in down by my diaphram. Weird yes. So I went and saw I lung specialist who advised that I take three days of steroids to decrease the inflammation and then reduce the pain. Well the problem with that is (SO MANY PROBLEMS!) steroids can cause bleeding in your intestines and when you are already on a blood thinner that doesn't help. So for the next couple days we are in what I call the danger zone (please cue Top Gun music). We are praying that we can get to Saturday morning at 8am to be officially out of the danger zone. That is a very specific prayer request that we are asking all of you to pray for. And trust me I CAN FEEL YOUR PRAYERS! So far, it has been working, the pain in my shoulder/collar bone is not there. But today I woke up with some overall mild pain in my chest area. So we are also praying that goes away too. I don't want to sound like a complainer, I just have completely left my pride at the door and am asking for prayer. God will heal me. I know He will.

Running: So....the good news in all of this is the doctor said that running neither hurts or helps my lungs. That it is pretty much a neutral activity. But I need to listen to my body and just take it slow. So I ran 5 very slow mile yesterday, but it was good to get back at it. I might take a break today and then run tomorrow morning. I will just see how I am feeling. AA has planned our nine mile run for Saturday morning, but if you have noticed, everything that has been planned in the last couple months has gone completely hay wried. So I guess we have it planned and I of course hope and pray we can run it together. But if, I am fine with that, as long as I am getting better. That is the main goal right now, to get better. We just got our race confirmation email from Dallas yesterday, which made me excited and a little sad. But what keeps me up, is that I know God has already written my story, and that He never promised it to be a happy go lucky story all the time. When I committed my life to Christ, I committed to a life of following Him, not this easy going lifestyle.

I am so much to be grateful for. Jesus has been so good to me. And I know without one shadow of a doubt that my life is better with Him in control versus me in control. That is what I am focusing on these days.

Again, we feel your prayers. Thank you so much. I love you....but Jesus loves you more!

quick quick quick...

...not my running anytime soon! I just wanted to get on here real quick to tell you all that I love you and have been feeling your prayers. I will explain more what the doctor said yesterday, probably tomorrow, but over all, I am doing good and am healing up.

Running update: I ran a SLOW 5 miles today. Aaron has planned our 9 miler and I will pray I get to run it. If not, God is in control, something I am learning more then ever these days.

I read something today, about thanking God for lessons you haven't/didn't know you were learning. I love that!! I did a lot of thanking today!

And now....for a little humor, please enjoy.....

*this would be me picking a wedgie...yes I have no pride at all.

I just kind of like this picture!

New Winner and an Update

SOOOOO, I've got some 'splainin' to do! I picked a winner, the winner contacted and said, "hey silly you picked the wrong winner!" She then informed me on how real blog giveaways go! Actually....Jill was sooo nice and just wanted a fair winner! I love her for that!

SOOOOOO we have a new winner....the right winner....drum rooooolllllll please....

SARA LEHMANN! Sara has won a pack of my fav. things! Look for a package in the mail! :)

Okay I have some updates for you:

Health: I had been feeling great the last couple weeks and have gotten in some great runs. Well, AA and I left for Ptown this last Friday and was feeling great! We were going to have a fun weekend and then leave early on Sunday so we could get back on Sunday to run eight miles. Well, God had other plans. On Saturday, right before the game, I was having some pretty bad chest pain on my left side when I laughed (I DO A LOT OF THAT IN PULLMAN!), took a deep breath, yelled for a certain team (ALSO DO A LOT OF THAT IN PULLMAN), ect. I thought it would be fine in the morning. Well it wasn't. It was worse. We said goodbye to Oli, Meg and Steve and headed home. AA and I both decided he would do his run solo, because I couldn't even walk without it hurting.

So with tears in my eyes I dropped him off and planned to pick him up in 1.5 hours. He was so sweet telling me I would be running with him again soon and that to focus on helping him get through this run. He always knows what to say when I am scared and sad. 1.5 hours later I met at our pick up spot. When I saw him rounding the corner I started to cry again, but this time because I was soooo proud of my man!

So today, I went to have chest xrays, EKG, oxygen test, blood work, CT scan and leg/tummy ultra sound. WOW! It was a full morning. Here is the good news...no new PE and no new blood clots! WAHOO! Also good news, the lung specialist said it is probably just my lungs trying to heal. But I am going to go and see him tomorrow just in case.

Please pray for me that God heals my lungs FAST! I am an active person, not just running but overall active lifestyle. So with this derailing me, it makes me feel not so good! Please pray that my attitude is good and that I can trust God through this.

Running Update: My longest run so far has been 7 miles, but I felt great afterward. That was two weeks ago. I had a great week of tempo and speed work runs last week. I am not going to even try to run until I feel better. It hurts too bad. I am praying that I can run this next weekend. If you could pray for me too, that would be great!

God has a plan, He has a path for me. So I am on that path and trusting Him. Period.

WINNER!!

Thank goodness it's FRIDAY! And we are PULLMAN BOUND this afternoon! Today is FAB!

I had a great 3.5 mile run this morning and will get in a 8 miler on Sunday after we get back. We are getting closer and closer to Dallas and I am getting EXCITED!

Okay on to the winner of the 100th post giveaway! With the help of random.org the winner of the giveaway is......drum roll please.....

JILL with Running to Sanity !!!! Jill and I met while running the Seattle Rock n Roll Marathon. It was our first FULL marathon for the both of us. We have stayed in touch and see each other at other races. She is an amazing momma and sister in Christ!

Congrats Jill! Email your address and I will get you some of my fav things! Think Oprah's FAV things...but cheaper! :) shelbgb04@yahoo.com

WOW! I got some catchin' up to do!

Okay so I could sit here and tell you all the excuses of why I haven't blogged in a couple days, but the truth is...I AM LAZY! We have chatted about this before, but there are times when I get straight out lazy. Some days, I am running around like my head is cutoff, because I choose to be busy. The last two days...negative! LAZY BUM!

And although I am super lazy, I still got in two quality runs. The treadmill has truly become my friend this training cycle. It is so cold out and I think (more like praying) that Dallas is warm on race day, so I have been doing my midweek runs inside. I have noticed that I always pick a treadmill next to a woman who is already running, so we can "run together." There are several problems with this. First, it's creepy. Yes I know, I am a creepster, but it does kind of help. I have convos in my head with this girl, "keep going, your doing great." Second, I have gone crazy, but you already figured that out. Third, when that girl gets done running I am all by my lonesome. Hmmm...yup, I have lost my mind. With that let's move onto the questions...

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Day 28. Write about your insecurities as a woman.

The one big insecurity I have is that no one likes me. I have great friends and family but a certain, satan, likes to put it in my head that they all hate me and that I am not doing enough. Some days I never think about this, and then there are other days when this is all I can think about. I am glad I have Jesus on my side to help me out on this one.

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Day 29. Write about "a day in the life of me."

Hahaha! This one is funny. I didn't take any pictures, but here you go, this was my Tuesday:

7:30am: Wake up and realize I should have been up earlier to run.
7:45am: Out of the shower, breakfast time...oatmeal...yum yum
7:50am: Rock out to Lady Gaga as I eat, put makeup on and check email....I really am a multi tasker
7:52am: Thank Jesus for mascara
8:30am: Out the door
8:40am: Visit my fav Starbs girl, Sam, so I can be alive for the rest of the day
8:50am: At work.
10:30am: Eat some almonds.
12:30pm: Lunch time. Run to get lunch, nice to have a break.
3:55pm: Change into running gear
4:00pm: Leave work in a hurry so I can get a fast run in.
4:15pm: Arrive at gym, hop on the treadmill, no time to even weigh myself.
4:50pm: Done with run. Speed home
5:00pm: FAST SHOWER! Reapply bronzer and mascara, again thank Jesus for mascara.
5:20pm: Shovel food in my mouth. It was sight.
5:35pm: Out the door for small group leader training at church
6:00pm: Arrive at church
7:40pm: Leave church
8:05pm: Arrive home, greet AA, thank Jesus for him, change into PJs, wash my face.
8:15pm: Reach into freezer for some ICE CREAM, thank Jesus for Ben and Jerry.
8:16pm: Sit down and watch Biggest Loser....yes while eating B&J. Stop judgin'.
10:00pm: Time to hit the hay....I AM EXHAUSTED!

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Day 30. Who is your role model as a woman?

I have talked about this woman before, but the Yenster is my role model. She balances life, kids, a husband and work better then I have seen anyone else. She loves Jesus and it is so apparent anytime I am with her. I am so blessed that she is my friend. She has taught me more about life, running and God then I can comprehend. She has believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. When I "grow up" I want to be her.

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Don't forget to enter to win my giveaway here!