Review: Nathan’s Trailmix Plus Insulated Hydration Belt
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All posts by OneChristianMan
Midwest and South Tornado Response
Today I’m donating to Send Relief as they are on the ground responding to the needs of those devastated as tornadoes ripped through parts of the Midwest and South, causing major damage and tragic loss of life in Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Illinois, Mississippi, and Missouri.
Send Relief is working in coordination with Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) teams, who were among the first on the ground to begin assessing damage and meeting critical needs. I trust this organization because members of my local church are part of these trained response teams.
Pray for the people impacted by this deadly storm. Along with the loss of life, the tornado damaged homes, businesses, and churches, and caused power outages in some of the hardest hit areas.
Send Relief is supporting SBDR volunteers as they begin to provide temporary roofing, clean up debris and serve food and water to people in need.
Our gifts to the North America Crisis Response Fund are vital to these relief efforts.
Use this link to the Send Relied website to learn more and donate.
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Giving Tuesday
On Giving Tuesday let me encourage you to be generous.
I once heard a quote that said: “if God can get it through you, He’ll give it to you.” Basically it means if you are generous then God will give you more to give.
Now, I’m not sure how theologically accurate the saying is, but I live by it. Generosity is love, and we are commanded to love one another. And that doesn’t mean buying big expensive Christmas gifts for entitled family. It means care and concern for the needs of your neighbors.
If you need a good researched organization to give to today, please consider Send Relief on Giving Tuesday.
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Personal Training Spots Available for January
LIMITED PERSONAL TRAINING SPOTS AVAILABLE FOR JANUARY
Sign up now for our 6-Week Personal Training Package and save money on Personal Training services starting in January. Jamie and I are only taking about 5 clients for this session, and we only have 4 spots open starting on January 10th. This is open to men and women.
This package is not only virtual training. We will be with you as your personal support system as you work on creating a habit of fitness, health, and self-confidence. We want to help you overcome your excuses and reach your goals with love and professionalism.
Having a personal trainer helps you reach your goals by making sure you have specifically planned programs to keep you moving toward your goal while also making sure you don’t get injured or lose motivation.
We support you in planning out your fitness program and creating a daily step-by-step exercise package. We will also be giving you the tools you need for nutrition planning and motivate you with weekly video virtual personal check-ins to answer questions and motivate you in reaching your goals.
We will also be available to you via messenger or text and in our Flesh Tamers Fitness app.
Sign up soon using this link and to see more details: https://onechristianman.com/cartflows_step/landing-page/
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My First Marathon – Tulsa Route 66
I’m not fully certain where I want to start this post. I’m not sure if I’m ready to explain where my thoughts are after running my first marathon.
I am thrilled with finishing and doing something that most people will never do. However, I would rather say I finished with the time and pace I had trained to accomplish. More on that later.
The Tulsa Route 66 Marathon was a magnificent event. The crowd support along the route was great. Aid stations where well stocked and restrooms abundant on the route.
The only thing I might change is I would not have paid for the Mother Road and VIP package. That was not necessary if your hotel is between the start and finish line like mine was. The start line food didn’t make it in time to the VIP tent and I only had time to grab one mini-muffin before having to run to corral C. Otherwise, it was a wonderful experience.
Garmin has the route at about 960 feet of elevation gain, and the wind was whipping between 10-15 MPH from the north.
Yet, I had hoped for a much better finish time and that’s why I have mixed emotions. 232 out of over 953 runners should feel good for a first timer, and it does on many levels.
The training was difficult. Certainly, I needed help pushing myself to do the training and the Lord helped push me. The Holy Spirit urging me to press on when my flesh didn’t want to on occasion.
Since my first half-marathon training started almost four years ago, I do runs three days per week, with a long run on the weekend of between six and ten miles.
However, my marathon training started about thirteen weeks ago. I started a premium Strava training plan created by McMillan running at the beginner level (Link here). It gave me a full twelve weeks of training planned (and more if needed) and would also send me an email each day of what I need to do in my training the next few days. It also included a write up of why and motivational quotes.
In the summer, I had to wake up early on Sunday mornings before church to do my long runs. I don’t really like early morning wake ups, but it was too hot training in the afternoons and evenings in the summer and early fall. It also meant that I had to put in many more miles during the weekdays. This meant less time for weight training, which I really enjoy.
Yet I did the training as directed, and going into the race weekend, I felt ready. And my body was ready. I completed the marathon with a great finish time for a first-time marathon runner. (4’09”) I finished in the top third of all runners. That’s awesome, right?
The problem is, I wanted it in under four hours and closer to 3’45”. And in my twenty-mile training run, I was well on target to reach that goal on fresh legs.
The first twenty miles went great and on a good pace for the elevation gain and 15mph head winds. Yet the last six miles is where my inexperience became evident. I went from an 8:30/m pace to 14/m pace for the last six miles due to cramping. I knew those last six would be slower, I had planned for a 9:05/m pace for that last six miles in my pace strategy. But these cramps were the dreaded “wall” I guess. I hit the “wall”.
I reached mile 20 in 2:52:28, and I had kept my pace goal so that I would not overrun my training in the first part of the race. Just like I trained. The last six miles were mostly downhill as compared to the first twenty miles. I should have easily reached my goal. But it didn’t happen.
So, I’ve learned valuable lessons on my first marathon. Race day hydration and calorie intake strategies need to be tuned. With the Lord’s help, until I reach my finish time goal, I’m going to keep trying to hit my pace goal. Next time, I’ll have a foundation and a little more knowledge to bring with me on the road.
