Race Day~Slacker Half Marathon

The day finally came!  I've ran several other races before, but nothing compared to how I felt this morning. I was so excited to get to run in the mountains and of course a little nervous. I kept checking the weather to decide what to wear (which turned out to be my biggest struggle of the day) and trying to decide if I was going to carry my own water or if I was going to stop at the water stations. 

I also spent a lot of time in prayer for strength and endurance and for God's grace to fully enjoy the experience and His creation!  The texts and messages of encouragement were also a tremendous blessing. One dear friend (who doesn't really enjoy running) went for a run earlier this morning out of support and spent the time in prayer. Nothing touches this runner (wow I just called myself a runner) more than a run and prayer. This very kind and encouraging moment brought me to tears! A true example of a divine friendship that I will always cherish!  Throughout this journey I've been reminded to look for opportunities to be that same encouragement to others. I definitely became emotional as I prepared to run 13.1 miles! 

It was then time to head to the starting line at the Loveland ski area. Josh was going to drop me off and then head to a spot with the kiddos to cheer me on.  We got there and it was still pretty chilly!

My little dude helped me warm up!

A few more pictures and then it was time for them to head to their next destination!

The view as we waited to start was breathtaking!  The beautiful mountains, a gorgeous sunrise and almost 2,000 individuals getting ready to run. 

I (as well as a lot of other runners) were a little frustrated about the race starting about 15 minutes late, but it was a pretty minor issue in the grand scheme of things. The first 1/4 of a mile was really rough. It was on gravel (causing a lot of dust), had a steep downhill portion, and a few small creeks to jump over.  Definitely not something you can train for in Northeast Colorado. Once we got through that, it was an absolutely gorgeous path.  I always hate the first mile of ANY run. It usually takes my body that long to get into a rhythm and get my breathing under control. This run was definitely not an exception. 

After about 4.5 miles we started to run out of shade and the temperature began to climb and I began to get hot and started to regret not wearing my tank as planned. It was so cold at the beginning and I had no idea the temperature would increase 30 degrees from the beginning to the ending of the race!  It was a hard lesson to learn!  Follow your instinct and original plan for gear and DO NOT change your plan on race day!  I can't tell you how many times I read that on fellow running bogs and yet, I still did it!

I was so glad to see Josh and the kids at mile 6. It was perfect timing for some familiar faces and some encouragement. 

It was then time to keep pushing forward and finish this run despite the issue of overheating. My original plan was to stop at every other water stop, but due to the heat, I ended up having to stop at every one of them, which was every two miles. This was frustrating me a little bit, but I had to remind myself that I suffered a migraine a few days prior, had to run in elevation, as well as, struggle through the heat.  I then finally hit my sweet spot of every run, the last two miles. For some reason that's when I quit struggling mentally and just enjoy the finish. 

We were able to see the Georgetown Loop as we approached the later part of the half marathon. It was just beautiful!

And finally I hit the 13 mile mark and had the .1 to finish. It was then when I saw my very precious family. I was so excited to see them. And beside them I recognized a very special family. A dear friend and her family surprised me and were there to support while I finished. I then started to cry and had a hard time finishing. I was physically spent, excited to cross the finish line and so incredibly touched by ALL the support and encouragement I had received from friends and family up to this point. 

And here I am crossing the finish line. I can't even put into words the realm of emotions I experienced at this time!  I finished in 2:27:19, which was 6 minutes faster than I had run it on my training run.  It wasn't quite as fast as I had hoped, but the ultimate goal was to finish!  Running a half marathon is a big deal, but let me tell you, if I can do it anyone can!

It was then time to celebrate and love on my precious family!  They have loved and supported me from the very beginning!  I love these two so very much and hope I encourage them as much as they have encouraged me. It's amazing what our kids can teach us!

And then it was time to enjoy lunch with a special family!  These are the best cheerleaders a person could ask for (my poor little girl wasn't feeling well)!

I was so incredibly touched by the support, love and prayers from this family. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!  It was definitely a surprise I will never forget!

This was such an incredible experience and I can't wait to register for another race, as well as, support others who are also on this incredible journey!  

This year long journey has taught me to seek God first, set goals, develop a plan and enjoy every step (and stumble) of the journey!

Blessings,

Krystal

God's Perfect Timing!

Earlier this year I made the decision to pick and enter a half marathon race.  At the time the farthest I had run was nine miles.  I was certainly nervous about setting such a large goal but was excited too as I had never set a goal that would require such discipline and commitment.  I entered to run the Slacker Half Marathon!  The race started at the Loveland Ski Area (10,630 feet elevation) and finish in Georgetown (8,400 feet elevation).  We decided we would leave around noon on Friday and head up to Dillon so that we could enjoy the evening as a family, have a nice meal and just enjoy the mountain view.  Two days prior to leaving for the race I ended up with a stress induced migraine.  As we were headed up to the mountains I still wasn't feeling great.  I was really worried about my body being fully recovered from the migraine and just simply getting anxious about my first half marathon race.

I was reminded during this experience to immediately seek prayer from a few dear friends.  Through several texts with these special ladies, I was reminded that God would give me peace, healing and endurance to get through this challenge.  They also reminded me that I have trained and prepared for this and to relax and give Him the glory!  I was FINALLY able to calm down and just enjoy the experience.  

We made it to Georgetown so that I could pick up my bib and have that ready for the big day. After we got back into the vehicle, I took a picture of my bib to begin sharing the journey of my first half marathon race.

It wasn't until I went to post the picture to my page that it finally hit me!  116, that number sounded familiar.  It finally hit me, Dunamis 116 is the team name of our original running team inspired by the verse Romans 1:16. "I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile."  This was clearly not just a coincidence but a part of God's perfect timing and plan to work out every detail!  I was so excited to share this on my page and with the girls who were with me on this journey from the very beginning!  This gave me encouragement and immediately reduced my anxiety. I praise God for this special moment and it's definitely one I will never forget. 

We then headed to Dillon so that we could check into our hotel room and then have a nice meal. We found a wonderful pub to eat at. Look at these sweet faces!

Jayce definitely takes after his daddy, always goofy for a picture!

We then headed to the Dillon lake to let the kids play at the playground by the lake and enjoy the gorgeous view. God's creation is absolutely amazing!!!

The kids had so much fun!

It was then time to call it an evening, get the kiddos ready for bed and hopefully get a good nights rest!  It was so fun making this a special little mini family vacation!  These three have supported and encouraged me so much over this last year. They've even been there through the tears, sweat and pain along the way too. I love them each so very much!  

Stay tuned for how the big day went!  God continues to use this journey to teach me and draw me closer to Him, and for that I am incredibly grateful!

Blessings,

Krystal

Fitness became my idol!

If you've been following my blog, you probably already know that I used to suffer a lot from migraines.    My mother has suffered from them for quite some time as well, so I'm sure it's partially hereditary.  Most of my migraines would come right after a stressful period.  I remember back when we went on our first flight with both of the kids a few years ago.  I was so stressed about getting everything caught up and ready at work, getting the packing done, anticipating what the kids would need on the trip, and the list goes on and on.  We finally got everything packed and arrived at the hotel close to the airport and I was FINALLY able to relax and then the dreaded happened, I got a migraine.  It was horrible as I wasn't at home, didn't have any medication with me, started to panic over the worries of recovering before our flight the next morning, it was just awful.  I did recover and we were able to continue our trip, but it was definitely a rough start.

I was so excited when after running for several months, I realized I was no longer getting migraines.  The balance between improving my health and a way to manage the stress of life, was eliminating them completely.  Over the course of this last year God has taught me a lot about priorities, making rest and sleep a priority, improving my eating habits (and that of my families), scheduling my workouts and not skipping them, and most importantly to seek Him during the difficult times.

Running has definitely become a huge part of managing my stress.  It's an incredible way for me to clear my head, stay fit, spend time in prayer and challenge myself.  Some of you may remember me posting about having a really bad run a few weeks ago.  I had given blood the day before and my body had not recovered before trying to run eight miles.  I was so discouraged and began panicking about running my first half marathon race.  After a good friend saw my post she wanted to do something to encourage and support me on this journey.  There's nothing that supports a runner more than prayer and a run!  It was so kind and encouraging and was just what I needed.  We invited other running/walking pals and got together early Wednesday morning before my big race.  I also asked my husband if it would be okay to invite my little girl to join us and let me just say this little girl was SO excited!!!

I can't thank all of these ladies enough for running with me!  It was a beautiful morning and I was so touched by how God was using each and every one of these ladies to touch my heart!  A great support system is so incredibly valuable for any goal we set in life!  Thank you Lori for putting this together and thank you ladies for inspiring and encouraging me!  I pray that I can be the same encouragement to someone else!

I experienced a great amount of encouragement and peace immediately after this run.  I was FINALLY to the point of not feeling nervous or stressed about the half marathon.  I had been over thinking and stressing about this big day for weeks.  I was ready to just relax and enjoy the experience.  Kylee and I then headed home so that I could shower and get ready for work.  Right after I got out of the shower the dreaded happened... I started seeing spots.  I couldn't believe it, I was getting a migraine.  I had been so excited to be done with migraines and couldn't believe I was getting one.  I immediately took the medication I have to decrease the symptoms, laid down for about 15 minutes and then tried to go to work.  I quickly realized that it wasn't a good idea to try and work and the symptoms were getting much worse.  I headed home and went through the painful motions of getting through a migraine.  That evening I finally felt better.  After eating with my family, my dear husband wanted to talk about my stressed induced migraine.  He reminded me that running had been a way for me to deal with stress and as the race began approaching it BECAME my stress.  Clearly this was a dangerous combination and one I have to learn how to manage or I won't be able to continue racing.

Just a few weeks ago I was chatting with a dear friend about how working out, fitness, losing weight, etc. can become our idol.  I praise God for that precious conversation as it helped put things in perspective for me.  God definitely used this migraine to convict me of this very issue.  I don't regret signing up for the half marathon, or improving my health and fitness, but I do know that I need to be more aware of the necessity for balance and not to let it become an idol as it did in these last couple weeks.  I found myself focusing much more on this big day than other important areas in my life, including time in God's word, valuable time with my husband and kids, and just not taking the time to praise God for what He's done in my life.  As you all know the first two big goals I set for myself on this journey was to run my first half marathon and to lose 25 pounds... my next goal, for the next 6 months I will spend as much time in prayer and in God's word as I do working out.  That's actually a pretty big order as I'm hoping to run another half marathon in the fall and you all know some of my long runs take a good amount of time.  My prayer is that it will help me keep my priorities in order, manage my stress level, develop a new perspective for my journey and simply draw me closer to God!  God has been so incredibly faithful through this journey and I'm excited to see what He has in store for this next year!

Stay tuned for my race recap from the big day!!!

Blessings,

Krystal

Happy Father's Day

Father's Day is one of my favorite days.  I enjoy getting to show my appreciation and love to the special men in my life.  First and foremost, I'm grateful for my heavenly father.
What an incredible blessing it is to be a child of God.

I'm so grateful for my Dad.  He's an incredible man of integrity and dignity and has taught me so much.  The best part of my Dad at this stage in my life is watching him be an amazing Pappy to my kids.  Over  the winter my Dad mentioned to my Mom that they should keep our kids for a week.  So, my dad is taking a week vacation in a couple weeks and my kids will be spending a week with their Nana and Pappy.  They have been so excited for months.  They'll get to go to the lake, go swimming, go to the zoo and just enjoy lots of one on one time.  Josh and I are so very grateful as we'll get the opportunity to go on a vacation together as a couple and enjoy celebrating our 12th anniversary!

Joshua, you truly are an amazing husband and Daddy.  I absolutely love watching you interact with our precious kids.  You're patient, strong and so incredibly loving. We love you so very much.  

One day of gratitude for Dad's just doesn't seem like enough!

We enjoyed a very special and relaxing day together.  It was wonderful going to church together, came home and enjoyed some wonderful prime rib off the smoker, homemade bread, homemade brownies and a great nap!  

Yes, there were extra calories ingested today, but one day to celebrate this special man is worth it!

Happy Father's Day to all the wonderful Dads!  And a special prayer to those who have lost their dads, those who do not have a great relationship with their dads and to those moms who are on double duty as single parents.  You are loved by your heavenly father!

Blessings,

Krystal

Watch the 'Spirit of the Marathon'

Several years ago my husband and I turned off our satellite and rarely watch television.  On occasion we'll watch a movie together as a family or I'll simply watch hulu.com while I'm scrapbooking, blogging or just catching up on some computer work.  At first I thought this change for our family would be difficult but it's actually quite wonderful.  We enjoy more frequent quality time together and when we do watch television it's very deliberate.  We also don't have to worry about what shows our kids are watching (or commercials).  I'm so grateful we had already made this change before Kylee started school and before I started training for my half marathon as it has made an incredible impact on our daily routine.

Last weekend while blogging and scrapbooking (in between some baking), I decided to watch the "Spirit of the Marathon" after seeing all of the excitement of 'Spirit of the Marathon II' that has just come out.  I highly recommend this movie.  It's an incredible documentary of several people training for the Chicago marathon.  An elite female runner, an elite male runner from Kenya, a single mom, a father/daughter training and running together, and others. It was actually really emotional for me to watch just days before my first half marathon as I reflect on the training, every drop of sweat and tears. The struggles they endured during training and during the race and the rush of emotions as they cross the finish line!  I'm so excited to experience this for myself next weekend!

If you need some inspiration or encouragement as you prepare for a race or are even thinking about running, take some time to watch this movie.  I guarantee you'l be encouraged and inspired regardless of the distance you're currently running!  I certainly was!  I'm looking forward to watching Spirit of the Marathon II!


Blessings,

Krystal

It's JUST 2 Words!

A little conviction today!  I've come to realize that there are two words that should be eliminated from EVERY runner's vocabulary!

The first word that should be eliminated is the word 'just'!

I have found that this simple word can be so discouraging to not just myself but those around me.  I began to realize the danger of this word when friends would ask me about our family run and I would say 'We "just" ran the 1 mile.'  God began teaching me a lesson regarding choosing my words and encouraging others around me.  What was 'just' a mile for me after training for a year was a REALLY big deal for my precious little girl who ran in her very first race.  I don't ever want to risk discouraging her (or anyone else) from wanting to run again by her feeling her distance was in any way inadequate.

The other dangerous word for a runner is the word 'only'!

Just recently I was talking about my training with a friend and caught myself saying 'I "only" ran 6 miles today.'  As I reflect on my journey over the last year, I was reminded when 6 miles or 3 miles was a really big deal for me (and on some days they still are a big deal).  Running is such a mental challenge and using these words can cause myself unnecessary struggles during a run.  I've since realized that when I'm sharing about my training, there may be someone who is just thinking about running and me using the words 'just' and 'only' could really discourage them from starting.  Or someone may be struggling with reaching their 5k goal and I risk discouraging them too.  Earlier this week a good friend came to me and said she wanted to get some friends/running pals together to run one of my final training runs with me before my first half marathon next weekend to simply show their love and support as I had a really bad run last weekend.  I was so incredibly touched and blessed by this and realized that just as I need encouragement once in a while, so do others around me.  I'm so excited to meet up with these ladies this week and am also so excited that my little girl is also going to get up and come run and support her mommy.  I have come to love this sport and lifestyle, and want to encourage others who are considering giving it a try or have been doing it for a long time and just need an encouraging word to keep persevering through each and every step!  

I know that I've been guilty of using these words when I shouldn't have and if I've discouraged any of you through my blog or through just chatting about running with these two words, I sincerely apologize and pray that you can forgive me.  I praise God for His mercy and grace every morning! 

Every single mile is an accomplishment and a part of your journey!  

Get out there and run a mile, a 5k, 10k, a half marathon or a full marathon... just run :)

Blessings,

Krystal

A Menu Planner that FINALLY works for my family!

I have tried many different styles of menu planners including magnets on the fridge to write on, printed menu planners, one's that are emailed to me.  And for various reasons they just didn't work well for me or my family.  After a lot of discouragement from prior attempts, I decided to look for some other ideas.

When researching menu planners on pinterest I came across this menu planner from 'Life {Sweet} Life'

I just loved the concept of this style of menu planner.  It's adorable and extremely practical to have the cards printed and ready to choose when planning for the week.  I contacted my dear sister in law with 'Dippity Dot Creations' to see if she could create a custom menu planner for me.  I wanted one that was a little bigger so that it could include all 7 days of the week.  I couldn't be more thrilled with what she came up with!!!  She made it so that the pins are magnet as well as the little drawer on the bottom to hold the cards.  This makes it so easy to take them off and plan for the next week without having to take the menu planner off the wall!    

To make the cards, I just typed up various meal ideas (including leftovers, eat out, etc.) and printed them on some heavy cardstock.  Then I used the punch below to cut them out.  Plus it will be easy to add meals in the future!

Now once a week I have my daughter go through the cards and pick out what we're having for which day.  This makes it so easy to plan for groceries, eliminate the questions from everyone as to what's for dinner and my little girl just loves being a part of the meal planning process.  One lesson I learned through this simple task of trial and error with menu planning is, it's okay to try a process and fail at it or discover it doesn't work for you or your family.  What works for one family, may not work for another.  Please don't get discouraged or frustrated when it doesn't work.  I made that mistake and was way too hard on myself too many times over something so simple as menu planning!  Grant yourself some grace just as God does!

Blessings,

Krystal