Fit, Fabulous, 40's, Friday

IT'S FRIDAY!!!!!

Hope you are having a 

FABULOUS week!

I'm feeling so blessed this morning!

I wanted to share what I did this last Sunday!

I ran my 3rd -1/2 Marathon 

to earn the 

Beach Cities Medal!!!

I received the medal on the left for running the OC 1/2, 

then received the medal on the right after completing the 

three Beach Cities 1/2 Marathons in consecutive order, 

the Long Beach,

Huntington Beach

and finally 

the Newport Beach 1/2.

It was beyond great and I'm all about getting a deal!

3 runs and 4 medals,

extra BLING!

My friend Lisa has run with me in all three 1/2 Marathons

and it has been special since neither one of us had ever run a 1/2 Marathon before.

Saturday I went to the Costa Mesa Fair grounds to pick up my bib and t-shirt.

My daughter Kiana has come with me the other two times to pick up my 

bib and it has been tradition.

It was really windy when we got there-

and I ran into my friend Anna, a man who I met years ago at the gym,

got cancer but actually put the very first seed in my mind to run

and that I could possibly do it,

and also ran into a gal that I went to High School with that runs the

full marathons for fun.

Here is a picture of my bib #..

I have to tell you that I was a little unsure of how I would do this time.

I hadn't trained very much and wasn't mentally prepared or focused on it as I had been with the other two, but I did decrease my time in the Surf City (Huntington Beach)

by 10 minutes!

But, I had a goal to do ALL 3 1/2 Marathons and no matter what,

I was going to at least finish!

Lisa drove over on Saturday night and slept over.

We got up around 4:30 so we could leave by 5 to get to the Fair Grounds by 5:30.

We ran a little late, but weren't worried.

Here is a pic of us when we got there.

 There was a long line to the buses that were shuttling everyone down to the starting line 
which was right by Fashion Island.

 As we waited, we walked by the finish line- 

I thought it was great to see people remembering those who ran the Boston Marathon- 

see the thin orange line at the bottom of the banner?

It says, "Run for Boston", and there were many people showing their support through t-shirts, etc.

When we finally got on  then off the bus,

we all walked to the start line.

I must say it was somewhat anti-climactic.

For the first two 1/2 marathons we ran, we were at the starting gate with ALL of the runners,

and they put you in "gates" depending on your finish time.

It's pretty exciting to be with all the runners.

Well, we were so behind everyone else, that when we got there, it was pretty empty.

No announcer,

no crowds, 

no runners waiting.

In fact, it looked like they all had a party and stripped and we got there after everyone had disappeared!

There was trash all over the streets and it was hilarious to see all the sweatshirts, sweaters and shirts that were thrown off and left on the sidewalks!!!

Someone was collecting them in a trash bag- 

I hope they wash them and donate them to the homeless.

So, we got there and saw the start line, looked at each other, smiled and just started jogging.

There were probably about 4 or 5 other buses loaded with runners behind us, so we weren't completely alone, but it was just weird.

As we got into our groove, we began passing more and more runners.

One thing I love is the sheer number of people you are running with, the energy that comes with that, and also a sharing of this special experience.

The run was fabulous.

We ran through streets with beautiful homes,

by the water,

a trail

and finished at the Fair Grounds.

One of the really amazing things about participating in something with so many people involved is you get perspective,

I am a part of something bigger.

You also get inspired!

There are people older, younger, heavier, lighter, more fit, less fit,

faster, slower, walkers, runners.

ANYONE can do this!

I must admit, in my head, I believed anyone who ran 1/2 marathons+ had to look like the runners I've seen in the Olympics.

I don't look like them so I never really saw myself as a runner.

I know this is really an immature and superficial way of thinking, but I'm being honest.

I never SAW myself THAT way-

I still don't but I won't let that stop me!

I'm inspired!

So Lisa and I ran, and ran and ran.

We had a potty break, actually 2 and slowed down at almost every water stop, and I was praying all the way!

And we finished!!

Here we are with my friend Sophia.

She ran it under 2 hours! What a Rock Star!

All said and done, 

Bib: 6088 Name: Janet Hertogh Gender: F Age: 48 Hometown: Mission Viejo, CA	Overall: 4656 out of 10050 Women: 2232 out of 6034 F 45-49: 218 out of 645 Age/Grade: 53.44% Place: 2830 Finish: 2:16:16 Pace: 10:24 Tag Time: 2:16:16 Gun Time: 2:48:42

So I had a 10.2 minute mile and was just a tiny bit over my first 1/2.

Seriously,

I'm just happy I finished it!

Thank you, God, for my Mizunos!

I can't tell you what an amazing feeling of accomplishment I have!

I want to challenge you to step out of your comfort zone TODAY!

Make a decision to do something new.

Yesterday after my bible study, a woman came over to me to me and had some questions about starting a weight training plan.

I wanted to know what HER goals were, what SHE WANTED to do.

She said that she wanted to strengthen her muscles and get into the gym.

After talking a bit,

she confessed that she kind of knew what to do once she was there and then asked,

"how do you get there?"

THIS IS THE BIG QUESTION,

because let's face it, most people KNOW what to do, or at least that they should be exercising- 

the difficult part is the DOing.

I told her that I go for two reasons:

1) because I AM VAIN and I like to see definition on my body,

I like the way my body looks when I'm fit.

(that's just ME)

and

2) I'm over 40 and I want to live a healthy, strong, life and be able to keep up with my children.

I love when one of my sons grabs my hand and tries to take me down and he can't.....yet.

I know that day will arrive soon enough, but right now, I love grabbing them and being strong enough to give them a little challenge!

(again, just ME being honest)

YOU have to find your "WHY".

It will be the reason for almost EVERYTHING you do, 

if you think about it.

The things we DO are a result of our "WHY"s.

I am cooking cleaner- why? So my family will be healthier.

My children are in sports- why? So they can learn discipline, sportsmanship, being part of a team.

We go to church- why? So we can have a strong faith and spiritual connection to GOD.

Yes, it would be easier to not get involved in sports, church and give a hoot about what I cook- 

EVERY single thing I am doing takes some effort,

but each one is worth the effort -

in fact the results are multiplied.

MOVE -forward!

Do something new,

read this and give up something so you can have and do that something new.

Maybe for YOU it isn't something physical,

it could be relational

or spiritual.

I'll admit, I struggle with #3 and #5.

What do you struggle with?

Deciding, Doing, Denial?

Fear?

What would you do if you knew you couldn't fail?

I would love to hear from you!!

Have a stupendous weekend!