A year of hard training

I enjoyed running in college, and even managed to run a little when my children were young, but later, I thought my running days were over. Since we moved back to Hawaii, I discovered my supplements were helping me so that I could run again. Wow, I like the feeling of freedom and accomplishment that running has added to my life. I spent a year trying to become a faster runner with the goal of running an 8-mile race at a 10-minute mile pace. My progress seemed very gradual. I would better my speed by only a few seconds every week. I didn't know I needed to stretch my muscles, and I got tighter and tighter. To add to that, I had a serious illness, viral meningitis, 2 weeks before the race. The Lord was gracious to me, and allowed me to heal and regain my strength in time to run the race, but I only cut off a few seconds from my time from last year.

Then my daughter came to visit (she is a physical trainer). I started to prepare for her visit about a month before she arrived. I would do interval training, weights, and stretching from fitness shows before getting ready for work. Once she arrived, she was able to help me with good stretching and weight training. Wow, what a difference. The first time I ran an hour, I cut 1 minute and 34 seconds off my time. Today, I cut off another minute and 30 seconds.

Having a good trainer really pays off. My spiritual trainer is Pastor Joe Griffin in St.Louis, MO. My husband and I attended the same church he pastors when we were stationed in Ft. Leonard Wood, MO., before Joe became the pastor. It has been a tremendous blessing to get back on track with excellent Bible teaching. We can easily access the Bible classes by downloading the lessons as MP3 from their internet connection www.gdcmedia.org I am following his current lessons under "Special Studies". Sometimes I have to listen 2 or 3 times to get it all. Oh yes, the notes help, which he graciously supplies at REF or PDF. I Timothy 4:8 , 2 Thessalonians 3:3