The Heart of the Half

Thanks for all the kind comments yesterday after the 5K recap! :) We appreciate the love.

And to address Christina's comment about how we looked after the race, allow me to fully assure you we looked so much better than we smelled. I was vile. Couldn't wait to get home and shower! But the only thing that saved us for decent pictures post-race was the cool morning. Trust me. If it had been the same as some of our training days this summer, we would have been soaked and bedraggled looking. Thankfully the blog doesn't translate smell, so you escaped the worst of it!

In the early weeks of training for this race...back when we thought it was going to be a half marathon, rather than a 5K, I focused so hard on praying my way through each run. Not just praying to survive it, although that too...but praying for the people in Haiti who were the focus of the race.

{If you're late to the race story party, the entry fees for this particular race went to support medical costs in Haiti. That was the main reason I wanted to run this race at all: after my surgery earlier this year, I was convicted at how "easy" it had been for me to receive the care I needed, from emergency rooms to doctors to the hospital for surgery itself. Granted...there were many headaches and blog-worthy stories along the way, but I still didn't have to fight receiving the care...just the details of the process. I wanted to offer something that would allow others to have a chance like I had a chance.}

So on those early training runs...as I went along, I prayed for those people. I prayed for the ones who were sick and hurting like I had hurt back in January. I prayed for those who had to walk 3, 6, 9, 13...even longer...stretches of miles while in pain, just to receive care.

I prayed for those who were planning for babies and in need of care for themselves and their little ones. I prayed verses over these people I don't know. I prayed as my knees ached and I knew they faced aches much more serious.

And I thought when it came time to run the race, the race itself would be labored with prayer in much the same way. I thought I would plod along the path and burden myself with the stories I imagined they lived, and I would spend that race crying out in prayer for them.

I did not. It was the thing that surprised me most about the race.


When I got there that morning, the day felt like celebration. It was, as you saw yesterday, a beautiful day. The sun shone, the air was crisp,  and the sky was clear and blue. Other than being 100% decaffeinated, there was nothing to cast a shadow over that morning. I lined up with the other participants, who were all there for various reasons and chasing various goals...and I had none.

When they yelled start!! I dashed across the line and just ran. I didn't check my phone one single time to see how fast or slow I was going. I didn't think about the path in front of me. I just relied on the volunteers with their arrows to point me in the right direction. I prayed some for the people of Haiti, but for the most part, I didn't really pray at all. I just ran.

I was on my own for the bulk of the race...sometimes passing and sometimes catching up to the same woman who ran about my pace. I thanked her in the last mile for being my inspiration...we panted out introductions while we plodded over asphalt. But other than that woman, I was on my own. On my own enjoying the straight, empty roads, the perfection of the weather, and the promise of a snack at the end of the line. That was it.

The race was a culmination for me. A celebration. I'd put in all the training runs. All the evenings after work when we sweat in the descending sun and ignored our growling tummies. I still bore the scar on my knee from one of the first runs, when I crashed into a set of metal bleachers. I still remembered the few times I pushed the training too hard and came home lightheaded and sick to my stomach. Those were the hard days, when I labored in running as deeply as I labored in prayer.

But on race day, I celebrated. I celebrated one of the best times I had the entire training season. Maybe THE best. I celebrated perfect weather after days of suffocating heat. I celebrated a straight, flat road, after weeks of hills and running down dead end roads and alleys, jumping when the dogs started barking.

I celebrated knowing that somewhere in Haiti, a handful {a BIG handful} of people could celebrate the chance to receive medical attention because somewhere in Indiana, a group of people ran on a Saturday morning.

Sure, I was panting and tired when I reached the finish line. But it was the best run of the whole 16 weeks. It was lovely. It was a celebration. And I am so grateful I chose to do this. I'm grateful for what it taught me, and I'm grateful for what it offered the people of Haiti.

And they've said it will be back next year. The race, I mean.  I hope so. I have more to learn.

The Haiti Half

I've been telling you about it for weeks...and now it's finally in the books! {Or on the blog. However you want to interpret that.}

We first learned about the Haiti Half back around the time of the fair {July} and committed to run it even though Ryan doesn't like that much distance and I wasn't sure I could survive that much distance. We were about halfway through our training when we learned that they had to postpone the actual half marathon race, due to low registrations. But they carried on with the 5K, which was already scheduled to take place on the same day at the same time, so we decided we would run that instead.

We are so glad we did. I am pretty sure neither of our bodies were made for a half and there is not an ounce of shame in that.

We had a stunning day on Saturday to run the race, and I hoped you might allow me to share some pictures???

Some pre-race fun:

{Yeah that's the elementary school principal - also my parents' neighbor. This is what happens when you turn your back on your phone for a second. Randy leaves selfies.}

 This is my friend Amber {my friend since story hour, even before kindergarten!}. She designed the t-shirts for the race and also stood at one of the turns to direct traffic. She cheered me on along the way!! :)

Ryan's friend Randy...I believe they call this a rose between two thorns. :)

Our dear friend Paula. Her husband is our fabulous eye doctor. {You remember the eye doctor saga from earlier this summer.} Love her!

The race started about 9 a.m., so they took us to the starting line, and that was the last I saw of Ryan for the rest of the race. When we ran the 10K before we got engaged, he ran WITH me because I was too chicken to run alone. But this day was his race, and I wanted him to get the good time he could get without me holding him back!

Took these next few from the Haiti Half Facebook page, so photo credit goes to them. And we're off!!

 See Ryan??? Blue shirt on the left.

 See Bekah? She's the one on her phone. LOL!!!!! {I was NOT texting. I was starting my app to time myself.}

The route, you guys, was stunning. Through town, down a highway, through some back roads of fields and beauty,  back into town, and back to the school. After about the first mile, I ran mostly on my own and just so enjoyed the scenery. And by enjoyed, I mean I took pictures. So here you go!

Ryan KILLED IT and finished in twenty-one minutes!!! I still had about a mile to go then!! {Photo credit goes to my mom for coming to catch our memories for us!}

I am so stinking proud of him!! This is AMAZING!!!!!

And then, you know, ten minutes later, I showed up. I was so focused on getting done, I couldn't hear specifics, but I hear my mother was quite the darling cheerleader!!

 You guys, I was so proud of my time. I know those of you who are real runners could do it in the time Ryan did, but for ME, this is a really good time, and I was so pleased. And even more - I had fun running! I really did have fun!

Our cheerleader and photographer:

And we stayed around for the awards, because SOMEONE won for his age category!!

And then we drank our chocolate milk and went home. Despite all the training runs that taxed me and those that I thought might flat out kill me, I am so glad we did this. This was a good thing for us, and I'm glad we had the chance to do it together. And I am proud, proud, proud of Ryan for his amazing time and winning for our NOT OLD age bracket.

Learning in Training #5

We are just about six weeks away from the Haiti Half {which is now a Haiti 5K}. If you missed that news last week, the update is that they had to drop the actual half marathon for this year, because they didn't have enough registrations, but they're going forward with the 5K walk/run, so if you've always wanted to try a 5K, it's not too late!! We'd love to have you come hang out with us and be part of the race!

For now, despite the change in race distance, we are still training for the half. I am not sure if we will continue that clear to the end or if we'll decide our bodies are better served to train for the race we'll actually run. But for now we're running as if the half really is in our future. And last week was our fifth week of training.

For the first time in our training, we had to adjust the schedule because of a night of fierce rain. So grateful the training has fallen in the {relatively} dry half of the summer.

It was a more pleasing weather week, which made for "easier" running...though this is still far from easy for me. And on the very last day, with the longest run, I struggled with acid reflux, which something I never have, but it is not fun on the run, let me tell you!

As I ran, I focused on this verse:

On hearing this, Jesus said,

"It is not the healthy who need a doctor,

but the sick."
Matthew 9:12

Kind of a random verse, but it kept coming to mind as I ran that week...that the point of this race is to raise money for the sick. And I tried to envision them as I ran. In fact, as I ran the longest, hardest run on Saturday, I got a text from one of my friends...her brother-in-law had been taken to the hospital. They discovered a brain tumor, and as I ran, I prayed for this friend here, stateside, and knew he represented so many more seeking treatment in Haiti.

I wondered what it would have looked like if he would have had to walk to the hospital, his side numb from the tumor pressing in, his eyes squinting from the brightness of the sun. I wondered what would have happened if he made it there, finally, and they told him he needed a bigger, better hospital {like they told him at the hospital here}. Is there even a bigger, better hospital there? Is there a way to get there? 

I ran with his face in my mind, that last run, knowing he represented a nation of people I've never met. People who deserve the same chance he received. 

The sick need a doctor, yes. And their sick need them as much as our sick. So I pushed through my run, even as my throat burned and my legs screamed. I ran thankful to have a chance to run for this group that reaches out to the sick to help them find doctors. 

Other posts on this subject:

The Haiti Half

Learning in Training #1

Learning in Training #2

Learning in Training #3

Learning in Training #4

Learning in Training #4

Four weeks of training for the Haiti Half are now under my belt. {So to speak. Please rest assured I do not actually WEAR a belt while training - or at any other time in life.}

It was during this fourth week of training that I learned the news that the half marathon won't actually happen this year. The event organizers said the registrations were too low to make the half happen. There will still be a 5K race on the appointed day, and Ryan and I are still going to run - and we'll be done SO much sooner than we would have been! {And my body will be so grateful.}

I was sad when I first read the news, because I had been so committed to pushing toward this goal. But even in the sadness, I turned to Ryan and said, "I'm still going to train for the half."

He raised an eyebrow and said "Even on the day you have to run ten miles to train?"

I hesitated and said, "I think so." {Keepin' it real.}

The week was a strange one for me in the land of training. The first day was crazy sticky humid, and I struggled to keep my mind in the game. I was exhausted, mentally speaking, and the run seemed to stretch longer than the appointed mileage. The second day, I had run into a situation that left me so angry, I couldn't even eat all day. Running angry and running on empty {literally} seemed to work against me while working in my favor. The third day was the day I actually learned about the cancellation of the the half, and I wondered if knowing I didn't have to improve would affect me negatively. And when that fourth day rolled around, the sun blazed so hot during our run that we both felt physically ill from the second mile forward. My knee hurt, my stomach rolled, and my head was everywhere by in the game.

So in all of that, it wasn't a training week to be proud of. My moments weren't textbook and my mind didn't stay focused on prayer nearly like it should have. {Other than the prayers of Jesus, please don't let me die out here.} But even in that, one set of verses came back to me over and over:

He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

Isaiah 40:29-31a 

In the moments when I did rally the strength to pray for the people of Haiti, I prayed for their strength. I prayed for the moments in which they tried to find the medical help they needed, tried to physically make their way toward it, and got tired. The moments when they were weak, stumbling, and falling. The moments the sun sapped their strength and they poured sweat and had no idea how they would make it the rest of the way.

I know God sees them in those moments and offers them strength as He offered it to me in a week of weariness.

Pressing forward with the training and looking forward to a lighter run on race day!

{Previous Posts on this Topic}

The Haiti Half

Learning in Training #1

Learning in Training #2

Learning in Training #3

My First 5K

Am I the only person who runs a 10K before running a 5K? Just curious.

So a few weeks ago, my friend Julie told me about a 5K happening up at the corn maze I've gone to the last couple of years. She thought Ryan and I might want to run it. And we would have...except he had to work on Saturday. So....I said, Hey Julie!! Why don't WE do the 5K?

And so it was that Saturday morning, I got up way before dawn {with Ryan}...kissed him goodbye and sent him off to work, and drove toward this beautiful sunrise for a lovely fall 5K.

Or at least that was the intent. By the time I actually arrived, this gorgeous sunrise had disappeared into an overcast, cloudy Saturday, with temps in the THIRTIES....and wind like you've never seen.

I knew I'd probably get warm from running, so there was the great debate of how to dress so as not to freeze before and after...yet not overheat during. Oh the running problems.

Julie arrived in her cute little running shirt, running pants, and darling cutesy little running coat. I arrived in running pants {over running capris}, a long sleeved t-shirt {over a regular t-shirt} and my husband's hoodie. I looked like a puffalump!

Julie:

Me:

For me...earmuffs AND a hat. :)

Ready to roll on this race!

Please note that all the pictures you're about to see were taken on my phone...and I did not edit them in any way so you could see the running/photography multitasking madness.

The race took place on a farm/corn maze/pumpkin patch, and every inch of the race was run on terrain. No roads.

Our starting line:

It wasn't a huge race in terms of the amount of people running {first year for it} - so here is the group at the starting line. {There were more behind us. These are the hard core runners.}

 Julie and I were not there to run for time. We were there to run for fun. Neither of us had trained for this one little iota. In fact, I haven't run more than 2 miles in months - and I've only run that a small handful of times this month. We wanted to just enjoy the day. So with the sound of the air horn - we were off!!!

{That's not us. That's the people in front of us.}

We ran across the yard in front of the barn and then down a grassy path beside the corn maze. This picture is super fuzzy because...um...I was RUNNING.

We were headed for that woods way in the back.

A clearer shot, as we got closer:

We ran into the woods, and though the trails were cleared {it's the trail for the hayride, I'm told} - there were still a lot of tree roots around. In fact, I almost fell over the one in the bottom of this picture:

We were thankful for the woods because they provided shelter from that WIND!

We did a couple laps in the woods and then exited back into the wind, which Julie has so kindly demonstrated here:

 We ran all the way down another side of the corn field and then across the main part of the farm/business property.

And then...into the corn maze!

 We were both a bit scared to just surrender to the maze, but they had it well marked and we lapped around a couple of times.

My backside is not my best side, but I wanted to prove I ran in the corn. :)

 And here's the lovely Julie:

And once we were out of the maze...it was back to the start line to be the finish!

 Took this as I was running in:

 My official finishing time was 36:22, which I was THRILLED with...because like I said...I hadn't trained at all, it was freezing cold, it was so windy, and I was running all over uneven ground. I didn't think I'd do nearly that well!

{I finally figured out that my finishing time was earlier than the clock time at the moment of my picture because I started later than the clock did. Sometimes my own brilliance overwhelms me. HA!}

DONE!!!!

After the race, we huddled around a heater in the barn, watched the awards {TOTALLY would have won if there had been an award for most photos taken by a runner during the race} and then headed into town for our brunch reward!

Julie, thanks for doing this with me - fun to have this memory with you!! Ryan, next time you're running with us!! {Or driving an ATV behind us to take funny video.}

The Shafferland Shuffle

* We've been going to Sunday School at our new church since Labor Day weekend and have really enjoyed making new friends. In a church that size, it's hard to find that sort of connection, so we enjoyed another week of learning with our friends. Then, of course, when we came home, it was time for the War of 1812...Luck vs. Manning! Ryan watched diligently and I worked on our Christmas letter. {Yes. It's true.}

* Monday evening we went BACK to the gym for our first weigh-in and another shot at that core workout. In our first weigh-in, Ryan lost .5 pounds and I gained .4.  Isn't that swell?? After we came home, we worked on the bathroom again - this time chipping away all the adhesive that previously held the nasty shower doors in place.

* Tuesday evening, Ryan and I had dinner with my parents...to celebrate my Dad's 81st birthday. We ate at a little local burger place {where none of us had a burger...go figure} and had a TON of laughs sitting around the table together. Ryan and my parents together provide HOURS of entertainment. HOURS. And this is about how it rolls when I say to the parentals, "Hey I'm gonna take your picture."

* Wednesday night when I got home from work, I found a gift waiting for me on my porch! My friend Marie heard me say I did not own black nail polish and really wanted some, so she surprised me with a bottle of my very own. What a great treat! So after we got all done with our workout {I BENCH PRESSED THE WEIGHTLESS BAR ALL BY MYSELF!!!!!!!!} I sat down and treated myself to a little mani.

* Thursday. Oh Thursday. Do I even have to relive this day? I had a world-peace-level meltdown for ONE SOLID HOUR at work. It was just one of those days. In the afternoon, I worked on consoling myself with writing interview questions. Creative process, right? Good for the soul! Well it's good for the soul until you crack open a cookbook at 4 p.m. on a gym night! THIS is just torture:

* Friday night, Ryan and I PLANNED to finish the bathroom {a.k.a. put up the surround in the tub}, so we had our traditional weekly date to the Lowe's for supplies.  We had to drive home with the back hatch to his car open because the 2x4's we bought were longer than our vehicle. We didn't get as much work done as we hoped because in the end, he needed the Asphyxiator to go back to Lowe's for plywood, but alas, the alternator is out and therefore its lights don't work. BOOOOOOO.

* Saturday, I ran my first ever 5K. That probably caught you by surprise, right? It was one of those not-really-trained-for events that I just DID - and I will have more for you on that tomorrow. Meanwhile, a photo of me with my running partner, Julie. I'll also mention that this race was run in the FREEZING cold, ridiculous wind...and over terrain, not on a road. I was pretty stinkin' proud of myself.