Women Food and God (and Friends)

I received this wonderful little book in the mail on Saturday afternoon. I am borrowing it from Becky over at The Fab Miss B. She recently re-read the book before sending it to me all the way from Hawaii. Please go to her blog to read about her experience with the book. I will be reading this book in the coming weeks. I am looking forward to what it has to tell me. I'll write a review and my thoughts on the book when I complete it.

A little bit about Becky. We went to high school together. I knew who she was but in a graduating class of over 600, we did not have the same group of friends and it was easy not to have a single similar class.  My first memory of her is in 8th grade when we were put in the library for some standardized testing. I remember thinking she was super nice, in 8th grader talk. She is definitely one of those people that I wish I would have been friends with when we lived in the same state. Maybe I will just have to make an excuse to go visit Hawaii.

Becky is genuine, caring, supportive, and extremely down to earth. I can relate to so many of her blog entries. Her entries often make me feel like I'm wrapped in a warm fuzzy blanket on a cold day. They are comforting. Please read her blog and check out her Etsy shop. I wish I was nearly as creative as she is.

Do you have friends you've made recently that you wished you'd been close to your whole life? 

Safe Harbor Labor Day 5k

Yesterday I ran the Safe Harbor Labor Day 5k in Madison. The money went to benefit Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center. It's an organization that I had heard little about. Really I was just looking for a Labor Day 5k to compare to my Memorial Day Challenge Hearts and Minds 5k. That race I finished right at 40 minutes. My goal for this race was to finish faster than that. I finished at 38:36! It wasn't as fast as I had hoped but it was still reaching my goal AND I ran most of it. I would say I didn't walk anymore than 5 minutes during the whole race.

My husband joined me on this race as well as my good friend Kinsey and her husband Keith, he did the 10k race. They have all been a great support and Kinsey crossed the finish line by my side. I definitely ran faster than her but she would keep running when I would stop to walk. Each time she caught up to me, I would make sure to get up and run again so I could mostly stay ahead of her. I had never run further than 2 miles without stopping. I was unable to go that far without stopping yesterday. The course was hilly and I wasn't prepared for that. Overall I felt pretty good. I really wish I would have been able to run the whole thing! Looking back on it, I could have worked through those moments when my shin splints hurt or the side ache under my ribs. I should have been able to work through those! I just kept telling myself it was mental and I could get through this.

There was a father/daughter duo in front of me, well they passed me at one point where I was walking. I kept up with them for a while and could hear bits and pieces of their conversation. Dad was definitely a better runner than the daughter but it was so beautiful to hear him encouraging her to keep working through the urge to stop to walk. She was talking to him about things that were unrelated to that moment and he told her that it wasn't important to worry about, that she should just concentrate on what she was doing, to keep the pace, and just keep moving. I wondered what my dad would say to me in that same situation?

The last mile of the run was hellish long! But atleast it was flat, unlike most of the route. Kinsey and I finished it out together, for the most part. This was when the mental fatigue was kicking in. I knew I was pretty good up to the two mile mark because I had done that before. I was unsure about that last mile. I found myself telling my self that I had gotten through the first two miles and that I could do that one last mile! I couldn't feel my left food and my shins hurt...a lot! But I just kept putting one foot infront of the other foot, over and over and over again. That was all I had to do to get to the end. Once I saw the finish line, I did put a little bit more effort into it, just to shave off a second or two from my time. I'm proud of my 38:36 as I should be! 

This coming weekend I get to cheer my little sister on while she competes in her second Ironman Wisconsin! I'm extremely excited and nervous for her. I'm excited about watching her come out of the lake water and getting on her bike, I'm excited about her insanely fast biking through Verona... Twice! I get to ring my cow bell through the streets of downtown Madison while she runs a full marathon. I am nervous about the weather! The last time she did this race in 2006, it was cold and it rained all....day....long! It did not make for great racing and it definitely did not make for great race watching. I've been watching the weather since September 11th first started showing up on the 10 day forecast. As of right now, the low is 54 and the high is 77 and the sky is supposed to be sunny! Please pray that she has some great weather for her second Ironman!

Women Empowering Eachother

I've been at a standstill as far as entries lately. Maybe it is pure laziness to take the time out of my evenings to sit down and write. But I think it is more a lack of motivation to find something to write about. I have to blog ideas in my head, tomorrow night I will write about how much stronger I feel since I have started working out.

Tonight, I will write off a comment made my Becky at The Fab Miss B. She commented on my last entry about everybody loving my Prior Fat Girl shirt. She said "I love to hear stories about women cheering each other on and being inspired by one another's successes. Way to go Amy!" I wanted to expand on that comment.

This is really quite a bit more thinking than I usually put into my posts. I think it is really important that women support one another! When I first started trying to run, over a couple of years ago, I was worried that I wouldn't be any good at it. I was worried that there were expectations and standards that I would never meet. After a while, I figured out those standards were in my head.  I figured out that everyone starts someplace and that is something that I have to keep in my head every time I want to just stop running. I have found support from other women! Some from my friends, some from the Prior Fat Pack, some from even my family.

My mom and my sister have always been a great support system for me. Even though my sister is an accomplished triathlete, she still pushes me and cheers me on every time I reach a personal milestone, even if it is just running a 5k. My family keeps pushing me and supporting me towards my goals. I thank them for that. I don't know what I would do with out them. I really wish I lived closer to them!

I attended college 2.5 hours from where I grew up. After breaking up with my high school boyfriend, I was at a complete loss at what to do with my time outside of school. I found support from wonderful women after joining my sorority, Sigma Sigma Sigma. There sure was a lot of drama but it lead to meeting some of my closest friends to this day. I get their support, even after college. This also includes the women that weren't in my organization but in other Greek organizations.

My friends, old and new. Even just a passing, "hey how's it going" means a lot to me. My PFP friends and join me in 5k races around the nation. My friends in Madison, that volunteer to drag me out for a workout. It really means so much to me.

Women should support each other. It maybe be something so small as an unexpected card (this is some thing I really enjoy doing, it often makes someone's day). It may come from a great friend or a complete stranger.

Eleanor Roosevelt, activist You Learn by Living
You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, "I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along." You must do the thing you think you cannot do.