Week 20

Day 136

Another 4.5 star book by Colleen Hoover. If you haven't read any of her books, what are you waiting for. I love them! They are easy and fast reads - the next on my list from her is "Reminders of Him."

Day 137

I know I have touched on this so many times before but I think it is such an important message. Unfortunately, we cannot control the people that cross our paths or are in our path but what we can control is our response. Females, more often than males, want to respond emotionally when someone is interrupting our peace. It is critical that we remain steadfast in our own beliefs and moral compass to withstand those peace-stealers. 

~Whatever you have learned or received or heard or seen in me - put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

~Philippians 4:9

Day 138

Well, here we are celebrating my 49th birthday and Greg's 55th birthday. I see birthdays as just a number and nothing more. I don't dread birthdays nor do I look forward to them. They are just another day in our lives and do not define what we can or cannot do. I do understand that as we age our bodies change and surprise us in good ways and some not-so-good ways. 

The best way to become old is to stop moving and stop believing you can move. One of the many things I have learned in my 40s is that age does not dictate what you are capable of accomplishing. 

-If you tell yourself you can't, you won't-

Day 139

I was given this lovely mug by one of the sweetest staff members. She wrote me a note to go along with it and I will tell you what...... it made my day. Her kind words of encouragement and inspiration will go so much further than she knows. I sure work with some amazing individuals!

Day 140

I l love this so much. How many times do we wait for a special occasion to use our special dishes or wear our special dress. We could lose our ability to participate in that event that we were waiting for....do special things now before it is too late.

Day 141

Look what came in the mail. I am soooooo excited to hopefully fill this up in the next decade or two. As Aiden and Macy are in South America right now - I am wanting to go someplace exotic or interesting. Macy's sister and dad are along and Shawn Leiss has added some great photos with lots of captions. They are having a very authentic experience in the Amazon. I added the link to their phase 3 adventures - I hope it works!

Link to the South American Adventure

Day 142

Well, I woke up at 5:18, which was a sign that running the Fargo Marathon was where I was meant to be. If you haven't heard my 5:18 story, the numbers 5 and 18 are significant for so many reasons but specifically stated in Thessalonians 5:18.

"Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus"

I first would like to preface that running a marathon after having back surgery 12 years ago was my brilliant idea because I wanted to say that I did one last long race post-surgery (not sure waiting 12 years was a good idea). But hey.... let's give it a go, so Greg jumped on my bus as well and we began training.

Ireland and I ready to race! She is completing her first half-marthon today along with Greg's brother, Jason (who has completed many).

As you will read from Greg's post on Facebook, the race was a bit of a struggle for both of us. 

Here is the link to Greg's post if you feel you need a good chuckle.

Link to Greg's Post

Here is my rendition of how my race went.

I, unlike Greg, did not start with the elite runners - I knew my place. I jumped in with the 4:20 pacer group thinking it would be a miracle if I could stay with that group and you can see by my time on the photo below, I clearly didn't stay with that group.

I will acknowledge the first 7 miles were pretty solid and I was feeling really good. I even finished the first half in 2:06 which is actually better than the first half marathon I ran over fifteen years ago. So, my delusional brain was telling me I might beat my first marathon time with the way I was feeling (hahahahahahahhahahah - wishful thinking).

HOWEVER, that is when the wheels started falling off my struggle bus. Thank goodness a bus comes with many wheels because I lost several.

Wheel #1: I took a gel chew at mile 14 without water and nearly choked to death because I couldn't swallow it (dumb mistake). Taking that said chew without water gave me an upset stomach and there was no porta-potty in sight. Will have to hold until the next one pops up (which is always at least a good two or more miles). Good thing I will have something to obsess over for the next two miles rather than think about how many more miles I have to run.

Wheel #2: I crossed paths with Greg at exactly mile 16 and literally the minute I saw him I felt a stabbing pain in my toe area. I ran to the curb and told him that I am pretty sure my toenail just lifted off. He was super sweet and asked if he could help. I told him to keep running and not mess up his pace for me. Greg continued on. 

I proceeded to take my sock off and push my toenail back down where it belonged in place (it was hanging on by the cuticle only at this point) and quickly put my sock and shoe back on. A sweet lady outside her home asked if I needed medical or a band-aid which I refused both (in hindsight, a band-aid would have been a great choice - another dumb mistake). I then began to run with a slight limp because I was trying to run so my toenail didn't hit the top or front of my shoe with each foot strike (not sure why it mattered because everything hurts at mile 16).

Wheel #3: I encountered a hill (Fargo doesn't have hills, but somehow they managed to sneak a small hill in there just to mess with Jennifer Jung's mind and create a roadblock).

Wheel #4: At mile 19, I became so dizzy and almost incoherent. I almost don't remember from mile 19-26.2, which is clearly why my pace suffered greatly because I just remember some strong self-talk of ...

"Jenny Bags (inside joke with the kids) you are not stopping"

"Lord have mercy help me"

"Jenny Craig (another name my kids call me) you will keep going"

"You only have to run one more hour...... or....... more at this slow pace"

"You are not stopping now"

"You just turned 49 and there are ladies 20 years older than you passing you"

"Turn on your music - some Journey's 'Don't Stop Believin' will surely help" (guess what - it didn't)

"Turn on some Christian music because Jesus is the only thing that will get you to the finish line"

No amount of distraction can relieve the pain and discomfort from miles 20-26. Some 'Grant' fellow had quite the following and cheer club along the way, so I just pretended I was 'Grant' and all of his signs were just for me.

Wheels #5 & #6 and the front axle: I crossed the finished line with my entire body leaning toward the left. Ireland, who was watching for me, was feeling really bad for the poor soul that was running with her body at an angle and then realized it was her mother. Greg shared later that I was running that way when he saw me at mile 16.

I still can't explain why or how I was running that way because I did not feel it at all. Maybe overcompensation for the toenail fiasco or maybe the large blood blister on my other foot or maybe the dizziness but either way, I crossed the finish line. In case the picture directly below (which clearly shows the slant) gives you a false reality of how I really looked and felt, I included a photo of me crossing the finish line.

JUST BECAUSE I LIKE TO KEEP THINGS REAL ----------THIS IS WHAT IT REALLY LOOKED LIKE FOR ME!

It was not pretty or without pain, but it reminded me that I can do hard things and I will not quit.

Ireland said this picture is by far the worst she has ever seen of me and Greg's mom, Toni, called me Quasimodo but such is life. No shade toward either of those ladies either because they were spot on!

THIS IS ME!

I would like to include some of the great signs I read along the way!

....................................................................

It is OK if you pee your pants because Amber Heard 💩 the bed.

This is a lot of work for a free banana.

Remember, you paid to do this.

You can never trust a fart at mile 20.

I'm drinking mimosas for you.

Running marathon today, Netflix marathon tomorrow.

I'm sure this seemed like a great idea 4 months ago.

"Go Grant Go" "Grant you got this" "You are awesome Grant" "We 💓you Grant" (remember I pretended to be Grant)

Although we cannot walk today and our bodies are surely showing our age, we are so grateful we could actually complete a marathon. So many individuals with disabilities would only dream of such an opportunity. So despite the hurdles, struggles, pain, and lost toenails, I am so thankful that God has blessed me with a body that still moves and can accomplish so much.

------------------------------------------

Have a great week family and friends!