Running Advice

My latest Runner's World magazine had an interesting article: "Run and Retweet - Memorable Advice in 140 Characters (or Less)."  As a runner, these all made great sense.  As a participant in a race that will end only when my life is over, I thought many of these also applied and wanted to share them.

Never make decisions while going up a hill.
Don't decide anything when you're trudging uphill, feeling the weight of the world.  The best thing you can do when running up a hill is to keep looking up.  You will reach the top if you keep going.

Never, ever, ever judge a run by the first mile.
Some people start off too fast, then blow up midway through the race.  Others start slow and pick up steam.

Just when you are ready to give up is when a breakthrough is about to happen.
I don't need to add anything here!

Don't chase the guy who passes you.  You don't know if he's having the best day of his running life, or whether he's about to fall to pieces.
"Comparison is the thief of joy."  Don't worry about how fast or slow anyone else is going.

Run the mile you are in.
Don't let regrets from the past or worries of the future distract you from the work and joy of today.

It doesn't matter what happens between the starting line and the finish line; all that matters is that you cross both.
I love this!  You will have some tough days, weeks, months, but once you start out keep pressing on to the finish.

Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to a friend.
How many times do we hurt ourselves with negative self talk?

Sometimes being still is more work than moving.
Not sure which direction to go?  It might be time to be still.

Many people can run without water or fuel, but you will run better with them.
We really can't run without prayer, Bible reading, fasting and consistent church attendance.  You might make it for a week or two, but you will run better with them.

Don't just focus on the race; enjoy the journey.
In John 10:10, Jesus said, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."  Enjoy the journey of abundant life!.

Every run is a gift.
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God" Ephesiains 2:8  Never forget the beautiful gift of grace that makes the race worthwhile.

And finally, this thought came from Runner's World via email this week:

The magic of a marathon isn't in the 26.2 miles on race day; it's in the nearly 500 miles of training that happens in the months before. It's in the countless feelings, frustrations, and fears I have worked through while running down those desolate, tree-lined roads. You see, I wasn't supposed to be a runner. But I am. And my life is better because I chose to be one. 
~Stacy Lucier, I Never Thought I'd be a Runner, Other Voices blog at RunnersWorld.com 

 

Feelings, frustrations and fears, desolate roads.  We've all been there.  But the finish line is waiting.  Run on!

{Nearly} Wordless Wednesday

It was a two-part activity day. 6 mile run, followed by a 10 mile ride. Now I need breakfast!

A Modest Definition

Pastor White preached an awesome message last night entitled "The Regret of Samson's Parents."  Samson was to be a Nazarite from his mother's womb.  This was a vow that normally was not taken until adulthood, but God had a great plan for Samson's life and he needed to be consecrated from an early age.

Pastor White had one of our young ladies come up front.  Destiny and her siblings started coming to church on our Sunday school van.  This summer her parents started coming and it is wonderful to see them all in church together.  Destiny is in 8th grade.  She wrote a letter to her school principal explaining her beliefs about modesty so she could dress accordingly during her P.E. class.  Destiny didn't say "my pastor" or "my church" said, she told her principal that is how she believes.  She is learning to stand for God at a young age.

Pastor White then demonstrated from an iPhone the definition of modest.  I didn't know you could do this, but go to the Notes app and type in the word Modest:

Select the word and choose Define:

 

Here is the iPhone definition of Modest:

 Point #3

 

Just in case you can't read it:

3 (of a woman) dressing or behaving so as to avoid impropriety or indecency, esp. to avoid attracting sexual attention.
(of clothing) not revealing or emphasizing the figure: modest dress means the hemlines must be below the knee.

This didn't come from a Bible dictionary or a Pentecostal handbook.  This came from the iPhone!  The next time someone asks why your skirt is so long, take them to your iPhone!

To Ladies With Love

I was digging around in my nightstand the other night and stumbled upon an old friend...

"To Ladies With Love" was written by Sis. Pamela Kern in 1982.  Her husband founded the church in Bellevue, Washington.  I was saddened when I went to the church website to learn that Sis. Kern passed away from cancer in 2011.

Elder Morton gave me this book in 1983, more than 30 year ago.  I was almost 19.  I flipped through the pages.  The book is literally falling apart!  There are notes and many things underlined.  Some of it is very dated, such as clothing and hairstyles, but the Biblical principles remain.

"Read it and do it"  Every note from Elder Morton during the 10+ years that I worked for him always said "To KF" (Kathy Fultz, my maiden name.)

Chapter 1 - Ladies in Waiting
Chapter 2 - Peaches and Cream, Ringlets and Pompadours
Chapter 3 - Your Wardrobe
Chapter 4 - Especially Frilly
Chapter 5 - Ladies, Friends and Beaus
Chapter 6 - God's Old Fashioned Plan

Here are just a few of the things I underlined:

Are your crumpled up on the inside with unhappiness and fear, or are you on the right track, standing tall with Jesus?  When we get everything right on the inside, then it will be easier to be outwardly confident.

God has a plan for each of our lives, a basic training.  We get impatient, wishing to do away with the long hours, the lonely times without friends, and the hard study.  God does not reveal His whole plan for our lives at one time. When we are faithful in the small things, He advances us to the next step in His plan.

Physical appearance is much enhanced by our inward attitudes and outward expressions.  We can make outward expressions that blemish our character in the eyes of others, even to the unsaved who do not understand many relationships of the body of Christ. The fruit of the spirit should affect our expressions and attitudes toward others.

Part of maturity is to realize that if today is not everything you expected it to be, that tomorrow is another day and it will be brighter.  If your exciting plans just fell through, God perhaps has something better around the corner for you or maybe He saved you from harm.

You are special.  God can use your life to be a testimony to those around you; you have something to give that no one else can give but you.

We must keep certain guidelines of friendship to maintain trust, but we cannot pledge all our friendship to one person.  If you want friends you must be warm and friendly to others. 

He makes everything beautiful in His own time.  Be careful to seek the will of God in your dating!  Take time to observe the character of those you date before getting into an emotionally involved situation.  Listen to your parents and friends, ask counsel of your pastor.  These guidelines can help you find the will of God.  Last but not least, be willing to accept God's will even if it is not your own.

Do not feel if you are not dating that it is a reflection on you.

It is a wonderful time when you have married in the will of God.  Many happy times will follow.  Waiting on God's time is worth waiting for.

What a blessing your life can be to the one that He has chosen for you to share your life with, and the two of you can be a blessing over and over to others.

Somehow, with the help of God I did as Elder Morton said.  I read it and did it!  I had doubts along the way, but I kept waiting for God's plan, God's best.   Waiting on God's time was definitely worth the wait!

Have you read any helpful books lately?

Wordless Wednesday

Loving this!

Happy Birthday, Les!

Today is a special day.  My sweetheart, my one and only, is celebrating a special birthday!

Happy 50th Birthday, 

Leslie Bryce McElhaney!!

I don't have the words to tell you how great this guy is.  I hope if you're a regular reader (or family member) you already know that.  He's my best friend.  He's funny and smart and affectionate and ...  well, he's number one in my book!

As I started gathering pictures for this post, I had SO many and could not narrow them down.  Collages to the rescue!  You can click on them to get a larger view.

We met the day before his 26th birthday.  Almost half his life!

We have had so many amazing adventures!

Blessed with incredible family and friends!

Here's to 50 more!!

Les, I love you more today than yesterday, but not as much as tomorrow!  Happy, happy birthday, sweetheart!

Really?!?

Our phone rang a little while ago.  I said hello.  Pause.  Click.  "Hello?"  Pause.  "Oh, hello..."  Typical telemarketer, I could hear others in the background.  But today was a new one, after saying hello several times, the woman on the other end said:

"Sorry, I didn't hear you.  I'm hard of hearing."

Hahaha!  I think she's definitely in need of a career change!

Mixing Our Days and Nights

Les had a meeting with a company in New York this morning.  9:30 a.m. New York time = 3:30 a.m. Hawaii time.  His alarm went off at 2:15 so he could get ready and get into the office.  My alarm went off at 4:45 and I got up and ran 8.6 miles.

Tonight we will board a flight from Honolulu at 10:10 p.m.  We will arrive in Los Angeles at 6:25 a.m. (3:25 a.m. Hawaii time.)

So if my next few posts don't make any sense, you will understand why.
 

Did I make you yawn??

Olomana Road Race

Rae, Les & Chuck

On Sunday Les participated in his first ever cycling road race.  Most of you know that Les has been a cyclist for years.  He has participated in many organized events - century and double metric century rides - but he has never raced before.  His Hawaiian cycling friends encouraged him to join the fun on Sunday, so he did!

 

We were up bright and early Sunday morning (4:30ish) and headed towards Kailua.  Roads were wet due to Tropical Storm Henriette, but it wasn't raining when we got there.  About 50 riders were ready to hit the circuit.  The race was a 3.1 mile circuit.  The women and juniors rode eight laps, the men rode 12 laps, and the elite riders rode 15 laps.  I met Jennifer, whose husband Bernard was also racing.  We found a spot to sit and watch the action. The groups went out in waves with the Elites taking off first.

After all the riders were on the road, Jennifer and I realized our spot wasn't going to work - we were getting rained on!  So we joined the volunteers under the tents.  We had a great time hanging out with other cycling enthusiasts.  Before long the first group was passing by in a blur....

The questions from the some of the racers were really funny!  One guy wanted to know the gap (the difference between him and whoever was ahead of him) - we had no idea!  With so many different groups on the road it would have been impossible to know.  Another guy wanted to know how many laps were left - I think he had done about 5 at that time.  We all figured it was gonna be a long day for him.  My favorite was the older fella who made different animal sounds as he rolled through!

Joseph and his three children were there to cheer on wife/mommy, Chiyo.  She took first place of the women, beating Erica by 4 seconds!  They rode hard and fast!

Erica & Chiyo

One guy had two flats!  Poor guy.  He replaced his wheel after the first one, but was out of luck when he flatted a second time.  He came pushing his bike up the road and headed for the nearest trash can!

And Les kept right on riding!  I think it was during his fourth or fifth lap when it started pouring for a while.  But the rain didn't last long.  It was so cool to see him pass by time after time.  He and two other riders (Chuck and Rae) rode together almost the entire race.  135, 136, and 140 would ride past in a blur!

And then it was over!  Les crossed the mat a final time with a finishing time of 1:58:25, average speed 18.5 mph and a max of 34.7!  He placed 5th overall in his age group (men 35-49)

 

This was Les' first race, but I have a feeling it won't be his last!

Friday Foodie

Did you know this was Philly Cheese Steak Week?  Me either, but it showed up in a couple of places so I thought it might be!  First Pioneer Woman posted a recipe, then I got an email from Hungry Girl with another recipe.  It was Hungry Girl's recipe that really caught my attention, instead of sandwiches it was Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers.  I am a huge fan of stuffed peppers and had to give this a try!

The original recipe called for ground beef, but I had to change that to roast beef.  Philly Cheese Steak cannot be made out of ground beef!  I just used packaged sandwich meat, but leftover roast would be great this way, too, or a whole roast if you have a lot of folks to feed.  I reduced the peppers from four to two.  One half a stuffed pepper is always enough for us when garnished with side dishes.  I also carmelized the onions and added the beef broth.  So Hungry Girl's recipe was really just a starter for my own!

Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Peppers 

Ingredients:
2 large red bell peppers (any color will do, we just prefer red!)
7 oz. Oscar Mayer Carving Board roast beef, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
2 Tbsp. canola oil
5-6 mushrooms, chopped
1 cup beef broth
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Slice off and discard about half an inch from the top (stem end) of each bell pepper. Remove and discard seeds.  Cut in half, then place peppers in an 8" X 8" baking pan.  

Chop meat, onions and mushrooms approximately the same size.

Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add onions, season with salt and pepper, cook slowly until golden brown and carmelized, approximately 15 minutes.  Drain excess grease.

Add mushrooms and 1/2 cup beef broth, cook another 5 minutes.  Add beef, cook an additional 3-5 minutes.  Most of the broth will have cooked away.  Add 1/2 cup cheese, stir until melted.  (At this point I knew I had a winner!  The filling looked and smelled amazing.)

Evenly distribute beef mixture among the peppers.  Pour remaining broth over peppers. Bake uncovered, 20 minutes, until bubbly.  Top with remaining cheese, return to oven for another 3-5 minutes until cheese is melted.

This was SO good!  It turned out better than I expected.  I had never made carmelized onions before, but they were really easy and added great flavor.  We are looking forward to the leftovers already!

I picked up this as our side dish:

It wasn't until I started cooking it that I noticed a recipe on the back...

Told you it was Philly Cheese Steak Week!

Diamond Head

One of the most recognizable landmarks on the island of Oahu is Diamond Head.  This is a volcanic cone known to Hawaiians as Lēʻahi.  Its English name was given by British sailors in the 19th century, who mistook calcite crystals embedded in the rock for diamonds.  Wishful thinking on their part!

Since we landed here in January, I have run around the crater dozens of times.  I've also run part way into the crater.  The views are spectacular!

Sunrise over Koko Head Crater as seen from Diamond Head

I've also run at Ala Moana Park many, many times.  You can see Diamond Head from there as well.

Recently I started a new running route - up Round Top road.  Once again, Diamond Head is in plain view.

I'm sure there are many who only think of beaches when they think of Hawaii, but there is so much more to discover!  Diamond Head is one of those gems.