13.1

I FINISHED!!!! WOW!!! What a wonderful journey. What a beautiful day. Thank you all for praying for me yesterday.

Here's the play by play:

Woke up at 12:30, 3ish, and 4 something...finally getting up about 5:10. I set 3 alarms the night before just to make sure I was awake in time. My coaches and mentors all told me that I wouldn't need them because sleep the night before is quite elusive. They were right. It didn't help that the night before that I slept on the cusp of waking all night. You know that place where your eyes are closed, but your brain never stops processing long enough to let you drift into deep sleep. I was happy to get some sleep though. It's hard to run when you are already tired.
Our coaches told us to be at the starting line TNT tent at 6:30am for a pre-race team meeting, so Tammie and Gloria and I were all there bright and early, and my other running buddy mentor Anna and her husband Jason. A few of the teammates from Bellingham were there mingling about as well, but no coaches....hmm....It's awfully cold out here...I wonder where Coach Kathy and Eileen are...and Karlie....Then Anna's phone rang...Coach Eileen..."where is the starting line?" Oh boy. Apparently she went the wrong way up Holly Street. Not long after that Coach Kathy and Karlie showed up as well. Woohoo. The gangs all here. Now we can have our meeting...umm....The meeting never really happened until all the TNTers were there. So we had a fun time trying to stay warm in the 41 degree morning bustle. Group pictures helped pass the time, and the port-a-pottie repeats! There weren't any lines at the potties, until about 7 am and then all of a sudden EVERYONE had to use them. WOW. It's quite a sight. After our a few words from our coaches to inspire us to run well, we all got over to the starting line with a few minutes to spare. And off we go.


As we were running through the starting shoot, my Mom and my Grandma didn't see us run by and my voice doesn't carry very far amidst the noise, so Gloria ran back and got their attention. My cousin Echo got this great shot at that moment as I was looking back to wave at them. What a beautiful course. The jacket I'm wearing I intended to throw off to the side of the road for collection for the homeless, but it was a bit nippy most of the morning, so I didn't discard it until mile 4 when I handed it off to my cousin (well, actually Gloria did) at the water stop. Then after we got going again I was wishing I had it, 'cause we spent enough time at the water stop that I cooled down, and the shade was still cool. My beautiful friend Gloria offered to run back and get it from my cousin, but I knew I would warm up in a few seconds, so no need for that. She's so sweet to me.
The time just flew by and the course was so pretty. We ran along the waterfront for a while. Twice actually. On the way out (mile 2 or 3 through the neighborhoods) we saw glimpses of it. And then on the way back around mile 7.5 to about mile 9 we ran by the marina. Gorgeous! I even stopped to take a picture of the boats. I would put it in here, but it's on Gloria's camera, so.... My coach Eileen was waiting for us around mile 8. She was a welcome sight, with some good words of advice for me. At that point, I felt like I could have run the whole 26.2. I was feeling pretty good. We ran through the park by the bay and across the board walk (which turns to concrete later on). GORGEOUS!!! I think that was around mile 11. In fact, I know it was 'because that's where the marathoners broke off to go further toward the mountain, and we got to turn for the home stretch. My right hip flexor started talking to me about then because it was not used to going further than 10 miles; but my mind knew I could do it, so thus began the mental game. Anna and Gloria and I practiced our Victory pose for the photographer when crossing the finish line about mile 11.5, so that we would be prepared. My coach picked us up around mile 12.4 and she ran with me instilling inspiration and focus until just before the finish line where she had to leave us to go back to her post. I am so glad Gloria saw the photographer and raised up our linked hands, cause I totally missed him, until we were almost upon him and then it's too late. It is an amazing thing, but right before the end I had NOOOO energy to run anymore, but then we crossed the road to the finishing shoot and viola! ENERGY. I do not know where it came from, but I felt no tiredness or pain or anything. Just the freedom of sprinting with my angels beside me and the crowd cheering us on. It was amazing. Then we crossed the finish line, got our medals and hugs and that's when the legs started burning up the back from my ankles to my hamstrings. Never felt that before. Another first. I had to just keep walking. Then I noticed there was PIZZA ~ Yum E!...and oranges...and licorice...and peanut butter sandwiches...and oh yeah ~ check in at the Purple TNT tent so the coaches know you are not on the course anymore...and where's the massage table...more hugs...oh, some of the photos from the race are already posted...cool, where's Coach Kathy's picture...etc. There is lots of hustle and bustle after you're finished. Then I wanted to know where Tammie was on the course. She was walking the whole thing, which is quite an amazing thing for her. She has a bone spur in her foot and plantar faciatis, so to walk to far is quite painful after a while. I ran back down the finishing shoot to find her family and see if they knew how far out she was, and if I had enough time to go back to the hotel and get everything ready to go while Gloria got her coveted shower =0) or not. They said she was about 15 minutes out ~ and I thought WOW! she is really booking it, but then I found my teammate Amy (who's running Portland next Sunday) and my Coach Eileen who said she was about an hour away, so we zipped to the room wrapped everything up and got back in plenty of time to run in with Tammie. That is another whole journal entry of it's own.
Out of 1700 people who signed up to run this race, about 1300 people crossed the finish line! One of them was an 82 year old woman from California!!! It took her about 8 hours, but she did the whole 26.2 miles. Amazing.
My official time was 3 hours 9 minutes and some change. It was a little slower than I wanted it to be, but I enjoyed the journey every step of the way. Even the aches and pains. Thank you Lord for a wonderful experience and the lessons learned along the way (another journal entry).
Okay, my Mom has been waiting patiently for this computer for a while now, and I have cookies to make so...more later.
Thank you for praying me through. I love you all.
Eryn

3 days and counting...

Sunday is approaching quickly. I can't wait. So many little things to do before then. Last night was my teams send-off party at Farrelli's in Tacoma. Yummy pizza and great words of wisdom from all the coaches and mentors who have traveled this road before (many times). Words like "wear your running shoes when you leave your house so that you KNOW you have them with you."
"Put on your outfit exactly as you would wear it for race morning the night before so that you know where everything is, and then take it off and lay it out exactly the same. That way you KNOW you have everything you need."(the no stress method of dressing)
"Bring your breakfast with you since most places are not open as early as you will be up." "BODYGLIDE ~ USE IT!" (even though I haven't need it or used it all season ~ I hear and obey. =0P).
"Enjoy the journey, don't worry about finishing at a certain time."
"You only experience your first race ONCE."
"Don't try to figure out how they know your name (cause you will forget that it's on your jersey), just be thankful for the encouragement and keep going."

I should stop here and mention that it took Tammie and I a while to figure out that we were supposed to be at the restaurant not at the track like the email said. After several phone calls that ALL went to voicemail our coach finally called us back and said they were all at the restaurant, so come on down that way. I had an inkling that we should have just gone there, but I try to follow the instructions I'm given, so.... Anyway, we made it and eventually Karlie made it too. A wonderful time was had by all.

Oh look at the time! Yikes! I need to get in half an hour of practice before work to remind my body that it is still in training, so I better hop to it. Besides, my dog looks a bit forlorn because we haven't gone out yet. Poor thing. =0]
later.

Running Journal

ONE WEEK LEFT TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'll tell you how excited I am a bit later. I have to get ready for work now. I can't believe it....one week. Wow!

Photo of the Day

I took this yesterday on my sunset walk with the dog.

Musings on Daniel...

So I am puzzling over the end of Daniel. I LOVE chapter 11:32b-35!! "but the people who know their God will be strong and take action" I love the promise that all things will come at their appointed times, nothing surprises God ~ "because what has been decreed will be accomplished" (v. 36), and the little glimpse of the future He gives us so that we will not be overwhelmed when the trouble comes.

I LOVE that God calls Daniel treasured; especially after listening to a teaching cd about being a slave of God. For your master to call you treasured ~ that's pretty amazing. Kind of like Mary being called blessed and highly favored.
And what a prayer he prays in chapter 9! WOW!!!!!! I actually wrote that at the end of the prayer because that's all I could think of at the time. WOW!!! =0)

So I have been pondering the abomination of desolation and the end of daily sacrifices, and thinking that those have already ended and the dome of the rock is set up on the most holy site in Israel so maybe that's the abomination; because chpt. 12:11 says, "From the time the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination of desolation is set up, there will be 1290 days." which would be the year 1981 (if they are years like the 69 weeks are supposed to be). But then, I was reviewing what God says in chp. 9:26-27, especially 27 that says "he will make a firm covenant with many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to sacrifice and offering. And the abomination of desolation will be on a wing of the temple (also translated ~and the desolator will be on the wing of abominations, or ~and the desolator will come on the wings of monsters[or of horrors])..." so I think then my inkling is wrong. Hmm...prophesy..."it is a puzzlement." =0)

I was also curious about 12:12 ~ "Blessed is the one who waits for and reaches 1335 days." What does that mean???? I have never heard that before, even when I was a kid and my parents were going to a study on Revelation and Daniel (i think that's when I became fasinated with prophecy), I don't think that was ever mentioned. If you add it to 1981 you get 2026. Just around the corner, if it goes from the date of the completion of the Dome of the Rock, which I don't think it is anymore, but could be. What a comfort to know that through all of this "many will be purified, cleansed, and refined...but the wise will understand." LORD, I WANT TO BE WISE!!!! i WANT TO UNDERSTAND. Just had to get that out.

Oh, another curiosity...chp 10:13 and 20. It sounds like this is Jesus speaking (from the description a few verses up), and he leaves his battle against the king of Persia to come tell Daniel the truth of his visions, and then he has to get back to the fight as soon as possible, but that doesn't make sense to me. Why would God feel such an urgency? And what does it mean "then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me after I had been left there with the king of Persia"? IF that's Jesus speaking...i don't get it. Perhaps, after Daniel falls asleep becasue of the vision, the one who wakes him is not Jesus, but an angel? Vat do u tink?

I think it is interesting in chp. 7 that evil will be prevailing against "the holy ones" until...duh dah dah daah...the ANCIENT OF DAYS arrives and pronounces judgment in favor of the holy ones, and they trounce evil and take the kingdom. WOOHOO!!! Always root for the underdog ~ especially when their team captain is the Ancient of Days! Hoorah. =0)

Still wondering what kind of impact Nebuchadnezzer's letter had on the world at that time, especially since God calls him the king of kings. What kind of influence must he have had??? Hmm... And the 21 days Cyrus opposed God, did they correspond to the 21 days Daniel was fasting???

So many questions, so little time...

Ruby Beach

So Monday I was not able to climb Mount St. Helen's due to weather conditions, but I went to Ruby Beach with Gloria and we had BE-A-Utiful weather (once we got through the torrential down pour in the rain forest ~ go figure). Here are a few pictures to whet your appetite to visit for yourself. Enjoy

Running Journal ~ 18 days to go!

Did you know I can run an 8.5 minute mile!!! Neither did I!!!!
Okay, so it's only for a minute or so, and then after that my asthma kicks up and tries to shut off my airway, but hey...I can. =0) My coach paced me today. When she caught me she said I was doing an 8.5 minute mile and to "SLOW DOWN"!!!!!! =0) My body wants to run about a 10.5 minute mile naturally, but I can't sustain that for the whole race. My coach left me for about a quarter of a mile to get her watch that tells what pace you're running, and so that she could figure out what "warmup" pace I can sustain for half the race, before I am allowed to kick it up to the 10.5 (if I still have the umph by then). We determined that I could sing (sort of) "Shout to the Lord" at an 11 to 11.5 minute pace. It has the same tempo. So my prayer request for race day is "DON"T LET ME START TOO FAST!!!!", then I think I will walk less (because I'll be able to breathe throughout the run), and finish in the estimated 2 1/2 hours (that's what my coach said tonight!). My other coach (Kathi) is running the full marathon to better her qualifying time for Boston, and Coach Eileen thinks I will beat her to the finish line! I don't know about that, but I think even if I run the whole thing at an 11 minute pace, I will definitely beat my goal of 3 hours. I was doubting that this week because it took me the whole 3 hours to do the 10 mile course last Saturday, but I was running too fast (trying to keep up with Amy who runs like a gazelle ~ fast with long strides). Now I have hope! =0) Hope floats you know. =0) (oh boy, I must be getting tired...)
My other prayer request is that my legs will recover quickly during this recovery and tapering period so that on race day I can give everything I have and not worry about tired or tight muscles, and the occassional odd pains that shoot through my knees and legs. I think my recovery process will be slower since I work on my feet for 8 hours 5 days a week. Not really worried though. God is gracious and will sustain me so I can ENJOY the run and the view along the way. Praise to HIM for bringing me this far.
Night Y'all.

Random thought for the day.

Flow like a river,
Like a tree in the wind.
Learn when to change direction,
and when to just bend.

Nisqually Hill ~ Mountain or Mole Hill?

I tackled the mountain again today. Just once. But this time it was much easier. I ran down 5 minutes, walking the last minute to my resting place. I had to walk because my dog was about to mutiny! He kept getting slower and slower, so I decided to be nice and not kill him with the last minute of the hill. Aren't I sweet! =0) After a brief Gu break (chocolate gu is pretty good) and a resistance to the pleading eyes crying for permission to please go explore the smell down the gravel road, we started up. Walking the first two minutes wasn't bad. Running the next 3 (followed by 2 min. walk) not so bad either; but when you try to run up hill with a 30 pound weight dragging along behind you because he doesn't want to run anymore and there are too many good smells, missed on the way down, to sniff; it's a bit more difficult. I won't blame it all on Jazz. My calves were screaming for lack of oxygen too, but I could have pressed on a bit further I think, without my "anchor" dragging along behind me. =0) Anyway, we made it to the top a bit slower than last time; but we made it. So is Nisqually hill a mountain or a mole hill? Today, I say it was a mole hill...a very long, very tall mole hill...but a mole hill nonetheless. =0)

As for the trouble I was having last week with my left leg...GOD IS GOOD!!! It seems to have worked itself out. During our hour and a half run on Saturday, it troubled me a bit at first, and the cramping came back IN MY NEW SHOES!!! I thought to myself, "oh no, if the new shoes aren't helping I'm in big trouble!" But Thanks be to God, who knows I hate to quit when I'm so close to the finish line, once my legs got warmed up, He just worked that knot right out. I still feel where the muscles were "ripping" and can tell that they are healing, but I have not had any trouble with it yesterday or today. Thanks Father.

Half the battle of running, or any physical challenge, is psychological. Probably more like 90%. What we say to ourselves in side our heads as we face a challenge determines if we will conquer it or be defeated. Since i know this, and since I am prone to listen to the nagging voice in my head that says "Stop, it's too difficult," "Turn back now, you don't have to do the full workout today," or "Do you really want to run in the rain????" I bought myself an MP3 player and filled it with encouraging songs that remind me "IT'S NOT ABOUT MEEEEEE!!!!!" It never has been about me, and it never will be about me! (that should all be in caps, but I didn't want you to think I was yelling a you) =0). I took it with me to Cannon Beach, but never used it since I had a partner to run with. So yesterday I tried it out for the first time and you know, it really helped a lot. Music (Christian music) has a way of changing your focus from MEEEEEEEEEEEEE to HIM. I like that. My prayer, I think since Cannon Beach, has been "Lord, empty me of me, and fill me with YOU." That's really the only way to live. As Ezekiel describes in chapter one, the four living creatures that surround the Spirit move in the direction the Spirit moves! That is truly a lesson for life to dwell on constantly. Father,move me in the direction you are going, and keep reminding me ~ it's for your Glory, not mine, that I journey on.

Well, I guess that is my pep talk for today.
Thank you Father for a good run today with no complaints.
May tomorrow be the same.
26 days to go!
eryn