Yesterday I did a 5k walking race for “Pace Kids” at South Glenmore Park in Calgary. The day was perfect – we’d had a couple of good storms the day before, and so it was cool, fresh, and a little damp, but sunny. The course itself was through the woods so it was absolutely lovely.

Now I can do a 5k without breaking a sweat, any time of the week. However, I took this race quite seriously and worked to set a personal best goal for speed. I’ve been working hard on my form and wanted to see if it paid off.

The first thing that happened is that my iPod fritzed and so it took almost a kilometer for it to start working properly (I ended up laying hands on it and telling it to work in Jesus’ name, and it hopped right to it! LOL! Gotta love the power of God in desperate situations!) I had set up a trio of tracks at different speeds – 167 beats per minute, 171 bpm, and 173 bpm (the actual track starts about 3 min. into that recording, if you want to see how fast I walk). I’ve NEVER consistently walked that fast before. I managed to complete most of the race at the 173 level. Pretty proud of myself.

I also very quickly passed all the walkers and a large part of the joggers. That was pretty encouraging!

Tom and Tina, who were faithfully waiting for me at the finish line, said I was the first walker through, which was pretty cool. Unfortunately, this particular race doesn’t track walkers and runner separately, so that wasn’t noted anywhere. I had fun though, and felt great that I could keep up that pace for almost 45 minutes.

My goal was to beat my personal best, which, according to my Nike+ iPod system is 35’11″, but I quickly found out that my iPod is almost 20% inaccurate when it comes to logging my pace. Sigh. What my iPod tracked as a 7’03″ minute kilometer, the race tracked as more like 8’30″ or something (still waiting to get the final results). That was disheartening, as I know I walked this 5k faster than I’ve ever walked one before. The 35’11″ pace obviously isn’t even close to being accurate. However, I am pleased with my efforts and now have a clearer idea of where to head in my future training (10Km training starts tomorrow for a race in October). And at the end Lance Armstrong announced (though the Nike program on my iPod) that I’d set a new personal best for the mile. That was encouraging.

The most amazing event was the family 1km which I walked with Tina afterward. We were in a crowd of kids that were pretty challenged as far as being able to do something as “simple” as walking. They were amazing. Sporting prostheses, braces, using walkers, crutches, and some just limping along, we all crossed the finish line together, and I was moved to thank God that not only did I have two strong, undamaged legs, but so did my kids and my husband. The kids and their parents in that race all deserved a medal, that’s for sure! Very impressive!

There’s still time to send in a donation if you like. These are worthy kids, struggling pretty hard to do stuff that we take for granted each and every day. Pretty cool watching them tackle that race with all the focus and energy it took me to walk the 5k. Click the button below to send a donation:

So, onward and upward, taking my iPod results with a HUGE grain of salt! LOL!

Darlene

I’m still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June – can you help? Just click the badge and you’ll go right to my page.

Countdown To Race Day (5 km)

Thanks so much!  Both I and the kids benefitting from your donations greatly appreciate your generosity!

So I’ve completed my first week of “The Lord’s Table” and here are my results (note, I didn’t lose 7.5 pounds in a week. I didn’t weigh myself before I started, so I simply picked up where I left off in the last round of weight loss. I would guess I’ve lost about 3 lbs. in total this past week):

This is an amazing course for any of you who are struggling with the weight loss yo-yo and with getting rid of those stubborn pounds that wont’ budge. Not only does it deal with food, but it also deals with your mentality, your heart, your focus, and your sin (yeah, sorry, overeating needs to be called what it is: the sin of gluttony. Doesn’t sound so nice when it’s put like that, does it?)

The course encourages “feasting”, but the feasting it encourages is feasting on the word of God. Here’s an excerpt from the course materials last week:

Crave the sweet food of the Word of God. That is the beginning of holiness–to crave God’s Word. Is it worth craving? I shout an emphatic, “Yes!” Crave it, for it will satisfy. Food hasn’t satisfied you for but a nanosecond; God’s Word will satisfy you from this moment on, even throughout eternity.

Read the Word, until you long for it. Read the Word until missing your time in it in the morning is unthinkable. Read the Word until you pant for it. Read the Word, after you have tasted that it is good.

Read the Word, until you have read every book of the Bible and have favorites. Read the Word, and cling to the promises of sanctification. Read the Word that you may grow up in your salvation.

The Word is the key to holiness, to growing up in your faith. If you love the Word and God’s commands, you will become more and more like Jesus Christ. Read the Word that you may become holy.

Teen Talk, by Sarah Visser from “The Lord’s Table“

I would encourage any of you who are frustrated with your weight to take the course. It’s free, and is just so incredibly encouraging.

Darlene

I’ve been overweight the whole of my adult life. Never hugely obese, but always struggling with that extra 30-40 pounds that need to come off! Even at the height of marathon training, walking 70+ kilometers a week didn’t change that fact.

I’ve done the yo-yo thing, the “change your lifestyle” thing, and even created something that worked quite well for the PraiseWalker system, but each time, I fall off the bandwagon and gain all the weight back.

I was chatting with a friend this week, and she told me about a program that we are now trying together. It seems pretty cool as it uses weight-loss as a form of meditation – kinda like the “PraiseWalker” idea for dieting. Cooool.

Here’s the amazing part: It’s free. It’s online. You don’t change WHAT you eat at first, just how, when, and why, so no complicated food things to start with. You understand what it is that makes you overeat, or where your weight problems come from, AND God plays the biggest role in the whole thing.

In addition to that, you get a personal mentor (still for free) to walk you through, and this is someone who has successfully gone through the program and is volunteering their time to help you see the same success.

I mean, HOW COOL IS THAT?!!

So, if you want to join me, go to: “The Lord’s Table“, a free membership, print out the eating plan (use #1 for best results) and put my e-mail in to be one of your accountability partners, and let’s get this area dealt with once and for all!

Darlene

PS – still looking for sponsors for my walk on the 5th of June – can you help? Just click the badge below and you’ll go right to my page

Hello all!

As some of you may – or may not know – I walked my first marathon last October. I took a ridiculously short amount of time to train, and while I succeeded, it nearly did me in!

I want to do another marathon, but take loooooots of time this time to do it well. I decided to start right back at the beginning.

For the past two months I’ve been training properly for a 5k event (yeah, I know – I can walk it without even breaking a sweat, but I want to go slowly, remember?). This July 5th I’m entered in the “Race for Pace” event to raise money for Pace Kids

This isn’t a huge challenge for me, but it’s a huge challenge for these kids, and I’d love to have your financial support to give these kids every opportunity to succeed in their lives.

You can send a tax deductible donation to the cause through my page here: PaceKids Donor Page

I just started the fundraising for this, so if you hurry, you can be the very first sponsor! Woohoo!

Thanks so much, on behalf of these kids.

Darlene