It's Our Job

LISA: 

When Niki and I marathon train we call it  “our job”.  We approach it that way.  We “work/train” five days a week just like a regular job.  Besides church activities, everything else pretty much comes second to our training.  Of course we have to balance family and all their activities too.  We both have two kids.  Niki has Chalon (10) and Rosalyn (11).  I have Abigayle (10) and Olivia (10).   Our families totally support our training and do plenty of sacrificing and pitching in.  We couldn’t make this happen without their encouragement and help.   But because we are both stay-at-home Moms we can fit most of our training in during the day when the kids are at school….  what Niki’s husband, Taylor, called the SWEET NECTAR!   So here’s a glimpse of our weekly “work” schedule:

Sundays – Early morning tempo run

We’re running 5 milers right now.  I looked up the definition of a tempo run and it is described as a  “comfortably hard” run.  Hmmmm.  I’m not sure how something can be comfortably hard.    I guess it’s just not as hard as the “UNcomfortably hard” speedwork we do on Tuesdays.  So, on a tempo run we run faster than normal but not as fast as a full-out sprint.  It’s that in-between speed.  Make sense?  Tempo runs train our bodies to sustain speed over distance.  More importantly, tempo runs train our MINDS to know that we can push harder for a longer period of time than we think we can.  Running is physical but it’s a HUGE mental game. Right now because our mileage is pretty short we can fit these runs in before church. But I can see that as our mileage increases, I’m going to have to show up at church in my running clothes.  Oh well, Jesus doesn’t care what I wear.  J  

Mondays – Weight workouts at B/CS Fitness

This is an hour long, small group session.  Have you ever watched the TV show The Biggest Loser?   These workouts are like the “Last Chance Workouts” they do.  It’s a mix of weight work and cardio.

Tuesdays – Speedwork with Trainer John

I wrote about speedwork last week.  You’ve heard that expression “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.  Well, I thought on Tuesday I might die during our speed workout.  And you know, I was completely OK with that.  In fact, I was sort of hoping for it so I could be done with the workout.  John assured me I was going to be OK.  DARN!  We worked on sprinting up long hills.  It didn’t help that the temps were in the 70s and the humidity was off the charts.   Close to the end of the workout – when I was really physically and mentally hurting - the song “Jesus Loves Me” popped into my head.  I don’t know why.  It’s a children’s song and one I haven’t sung since my kids were babies.  But I figured Jesus wanted me to focus on it, so I sang it – in my head – all the way up the last, LONG hill.   One part of the song goes “they are weak but he is strong.”  I was weak and He was strong for me… getting me up that last hill!  Thank You Jesus! 

Wednesdays – Another weight workout at B/CS Fitness

Thursdays – Rest Day

YEAH!!!!  Recoup for the long run. 

Fridays – Long Run

These runs can take us a good half day.  Remember Niki’s blog about tan lines?  Last Friday the temps were in the 30s when we started.  Niki had her cold weather gear on (see photo).   We ran from my house in Pebble Creek to TAMU (about 10 miles) then ran around campus and out to Research Park until we hit 15 miles.  My husband, Les, works on campus so we finished at his office (photo below) and he drove us back home.   Thanks honey! 

Saturdays - Recovery Day

No workout! 

There you go, a glance at our weekly work schedule.  So, the next time you see Niki or me out and about (or at church) in our running clothes, know that we just got off of work.  J  

Why I Run

NIKI:

Last week marked the beginning of losses I experienced in 2011.  My mom's mom passed away quite suddenly, followed by my dad's dad in March, next was my beloved husband, Taylor, in October, then my mom's dad just weeks following, and last my dad's mom in December.  It was a sad year (and a hard last week) for me and my family.  Something that helped me so much, something that remained constant through all the tragedy was my running.  I've been asked many times and in many ways, why do you run, do you like to run, how do you run that far, etc...my answer is always, "Because I have running partners!"  Let me explain.

I lost one of my running partners last year.  Taylor and I ran together weekly before he was diagnosed with (non-smokers) lung cancer.  We ran 5k's, 10k's, triathlons, 1/2 marathons, and marathons together...well, maybe not "together" he was always ahead of me!  T was always up for whatever race Lisa, Janet and I were signed up for.  And I always thought it was a blessing that Taylor liked running as much as I did...it's not always the case that a husband and wife share the same hobby!  Taylor's last marathon was White Rock in December of 2010, I qualified for Boston and T ran it with lung cancer...not knowing he had it.  He was so proud of me and was planning on watching me run in Boston...I know he will be watching me and L!!!

Another running partner moved out of town...I miss you, Janet!  J always brought great perspective to our runs.  Lisa and I have children between 10-11 years old but J has 1 in college, 1 that just finished college, and 1 that has been out of college for a few years that lives out of state.  She would laugh when L and I would start in on our typical adolescent stories/worries...reminding us not to sweat the small stuff.  Her wise advice was priceless.  She is also planning on coming to Boston to watch us run.

And that left me with Lisa :) And so we run, and talk, and run out of breath so we put on ipods on and run some more.  Our time running together has provided us with many sweet conversations.  I have grown in my walk with the Lord as Lisa has challenged me, encouraged me, cried and laughed with me.  Lisa is the planner...she tells me what races we should run and maps out our long runs...I couldn't do this without her.   

So that's why I run.  God has given me able legs and amazing running partners!

(picture of James, Taylor, me, Janet, Katy and Lisa at 2010 TriWaco)