2016 Running Overview

In 2016 I completed 1 full, 4 half marathons, 1 virtual half marathon, 1 10k,  1  5k and a virtual 5k.

I also ran 830 miles for the year, and completed the "Run the Year" challenge to complete 2016 miles in 2016 with a couple gals from my Meg's Miles group. We called ourselves "Team ShellBowGizer." A mash up of all our names, Lashell Head from SC, Julie Bowman from VA, and my running nickname "Annagizer." I called them "Lashizzle-Shell" and "Run-bow." We covered many miles and covered each other in LOTS of prayer over the past year. The bond that was created by this challenge was a blessing and a half! It went beyond the miles, and permeated our lives spiritually. A bond, not only as sole-sisters, but as soul-sisters in Christ.

This is the break down of my accomplishments:
LA Marathon Feb 2016 finished in 5:25:45 

I wrote about this in my previous blog post Last Minute Marathoner. This photo below is now proudly displayed above my medal rack. My Meg's Miles buddy, Doris, and I conquered the LA marathon beast and crossed that finish line together, hand in hand! We both had previously taken almost 6 hours to complete the marathon. Together we beat our previous times and crossed at 5 hours and 25 minutes and some change! It was a beautiful journey alongside an amazing and kind hearted woman. She is a dear friend, and we met through Facebook! (See, Facebook isn't all bad!) And I dedicated my miles as a LIFE Runner, to support pregnancy crisis centers and support Pro-Life and honor the life of all women, even those women struggling with an unexpected pregnancy. We need to be there for these women, and be the voice and advocate for the unborn!

Living Well 10k April 2016 finish time 1:15:42. 

I helped the race director put on this inaugural event. I felt personally responsible for its success or failure. There were only about 6 or 7 people that ran the 10k. Many more chose to do the shorter 5k distance. I led the group through the trails to complete their 10k without having to do the 5k route twice (something runners would prefer not to do). I ran ahead and stopped to make sure each runner made the final turn and then found the turn around point successfully. I was the 2nd to last in. I ran as a "LIFE Runner" and did this as a way to support Living Well, my local pregnancy crisis center. Once we gathered for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place medal ceremony they called the names of the people that had won the race and so on. Afterwards the gentleman who won found me and gave me his first place medal! He said if it wasn't for me no one would have been able to figure out the route and I was in front most of the time, until the end. (Because I hung back to make sure every runner had made it in.) I was floored, and very moved. I felt that God had chosen to reward me for the help I offered the race director and the support I showed Living Well. 

So Cal "Ragnar 4 Rett" Virtual 5k April 2016

I ran a virtual 5k for #TeamSparkle2016, to help raise money and awareness for Rett Syndrome. The Team Sparkle Ragnar team put on this virtual event to support their fundraiser while they ran Ragnar. And what can I say, I am a sucker for a good cause. I had run So Cal Ragnar the previous year, but didn't have it in me to do that challenge again. (Plus it costs a bit of money). But I was happy to support a good cause during the event, and live a little bit vicariously through them.

iCure Melanoma 5k May 2016 finish time 30:51 For "Team Paul and Ruth"

I put together a team in memory of my brother Paul and his wife Ruth (they both passed away from Melanoma only 17 months apart), for the 10th Anniversary of this local 5k for Melanoma! Friends showed up to support me from my Run for God group, my Meg's Miles group, and MRTT. It meant so much to me for them to be there, I don't think they even realize how special that was to me. My kids even came and saw a dove release in honor of those who had passed from Melanoma. It brought tears to my eyes and a lump in my throat as they flew over us. I know Paul and Ruth are looking down from Heaven, proud of me and my running accomplishments and all I have done in their memory to raise awareness of Melanoma and to help find a cure. 

OC 1/2 May 2016 finish time 2:14:20

I was trying to beat a previous half PR,  "Personal Record," of 2:11:23. I ran almost the whole race with a gal from Meg's Miles, Juie Bravo. We tend to be at a similar pace for races. And we have run a few together last year.  She was going at a strong and steady pace and I kept up with her until mile 9. I knew I couldn't keep up that pace for the entire 13.1 miles, so I let her continue without me. At mile 10 there is a ruthless incline, and then the last 3 miles you feel completely spent. All things considered, the finish time was great. And I am proud of my accomplishment that day. It was my best for that day, and my best time on that course. Not too shabby. This race I ran for "Girls on the Run" a charity group that inspires young girls "to be joyful, healthy and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running." Something that I would love my own daughter to become involved in one day!

Rock n Roll San Diego June 2016 finish time 2:31:35. 

This race I ran with my MRTT buddies (Mom's Run This Town) just for the sheer fun of it! One gal I ran with, Miranda,  has a lot of nerve pain issues and is just plain INSPIRING! She released me at mile 12 to run ahead, but in the end we were only separated by about a minute. I should have just stayed with her. Despite all the pain in her body she chooses to keep running fulls and halves. I don't know how she does it. She makes me think of my brother Paul, because he dealt with a lot of chronic pain from a broken back. How anyone with chronic pain can keep a smile on their face and stay positive day to day is amazing to me. But Miranda seems to be able to accomplish this! God bless her. 

The Annual Annagizer Half and Virtual half marathon July 2016

The finish time for this race is not important.  This was my virtual 13.1 race I put on for my birthday in July every year, called the "Virtual Birthday Run." I run 13.1 miles on my birthday for melanoma research and donate funds, from sales of virtual medals, to the Melanoma Research Foundation. It's something I have been doing for the past 3 years. And it's always a very special event for me. This year many of my online buddies ran virtually for me and posted their dedicated miles to melanoma research, in memory of my brother Paul and his wife Ruth. It was very moving. Such a blessing to have so many running friends all over the USA and beyond. 

Long Beach 1/2 October 2016 finish time 2:25:35

I ran this race in my LIFE Runner jersey as well. To honor the life of the unborn and support/ bring awareness to pregnancy crisis centers. This is the race where I got my PR of 2:11:23 in 2013,  I was training for my first full that year. So perhaps its unfair to expect myself to beat that time while just training for the half marathon distance. But I wanted to beat my time at this race really bad! I started this race with my buddy Julie Bravo again. This time she kept with me until mile 6. She said to go ahead as she made a quick stop. I was thinking she would catch up eventually, but she never did. The first 7 miles I was tracking for a PR. But this year the heat reared it's ugly head, and at mile 8 I was faced with a long stretch of beach where felt like I was running in the desert! No shade and no relief in site! By the time I came to the turn to the finish line , at mile 10, all the gas was out of the tank and I struggled to complete the last 3 miles without walking the whole way. I forced myself to keep picking up my feet and shuffling. The PR was gone. But the time of 2:25:35 was actually quite decent, considering my averages for the past few years have been around 2:28. So I accepted it for what it was. A great time, in light of the circumstances. Julie wasn't too far behind me and did a great job in that heat! 

Richmond VA 1/2 November 2016 finish time 2:13:20

During this race I got the closest to beating my previous PR. And it was my fastest half marathon time of 2016. My running buddy for this race was Kimberly Erin. She is from the Meg's Miles group I am in. And she was upset with me for not letting her know my PR goal, she said she would have helped me reach it. No doubt that was true. But honestly, I was feeling the pace as it was and didn't think I was going to be able to run the last few miles. Seemed that lately those final 3 miles were my nemesis. However, running with Kim I was able to push through and keep running. In fact, mile 12 was my fastest mile! 

Kim and I are as OPPOSITE in our view points, including our political views, as two people can get. Yet, we are joined by our mutual love of running and our compassion for Meg's grieving family. In the photo below, the frame on the left is of Kimberly and I crossing the finish line hand in hand. 

If two people as different as we are can cross a finish line hand in hand, there is HOPE for this country! We can all live in harmony and respect for one another. It is possible! We ran together that day for Meg's Miles, and for peace! She is my sole-sister for life! 

I decided to run the half this year. Last year I went to this race in VA and ran the full. The reason I really wanted to run the half this time was to be there to cheer in all the first time full marathoners. After I finished my half I ran back and hugged and high fived many of the Meg's Milers. One was my roommate, Gloria Sisneros, from NM. She and I ran the full last year. Then I ran further back and found our other roommate Nancy Cornect from Canada, she also ran the full the previous year with us. (This year she woke up sick and STILL finished the full!! Amazing!) I ran back just a little bit to find our 4th roomie and my dear friend Kimberly Kidd, who lives in VA. This was her FIRST full! I let her go before the final bit of the route to claim her glory at the finish line! She did an amazing job! Such an inspiration! 

I was headed back into the marathon route once again when I saw Dee, the gal in the center of the photo on the right above, running with Missy (the gal to the right). I had just met Dee in person two days before. We met online on the Meg's Miles Supporters page on Facebook. This day she was running the full. Missy had also run the half and was going back into the route to help other Meg's Milers run into the finish. I ran over to them and hugged Dee. She grabbed my hand and was very emotional. It was just too awesome to be a part of that moment. I can't even describe it! We ran into the finish stretch together, and then she and Missy took off and sprinted the last 100 feet while I raised my cowbell in hand, and whooped and hollered after them, "Go Dee!! Whooooo!! Go, Dee go!!" All the while a HUGE group of Meg's Milers hollered and cheered for her from the sidelines. Once we crossed the finish she was obviously moved that we had done that with her. She said, "I thought no one would come back for me!" Well, Dee. Welcome to Meg's Miles! That is what we do! We run as one! And no man or woman gets left behind! 

In fact, the majority of us stayed until the very end to watch every single member of our group cross that finish line. Including our "reluctant marathoner," Keith Cartwright. He never thought he would run a full. And he did that day! We basically had a party at the end of the race, dancing and cheering the rest of the marathoners in. Even complete strangers were greeted by a mass of Meggers high fiving them! It. Was. Awesome.  

And not to be forgotten, even Meg Cross Menzies' own mother, Pam Cross, finished her first full marathon that day! Talk about a special day.

And that concludes my 2016 running career. 

So, as we say goodbye to 2016, I want to say "Thank you" to all who have supported me along my running journey this past year. Thank you for all the donations. Thank you for the help with all the training miles run, most of which I ran with my MRTT ladies. And thank you for the online support and daily inspiration that has come from my Meg's Miler virtual friends! Especially Team Cross Connections #TCC4ever and #TeamShellBowGizer and my So-Cal Meg's Mile race buddy Julie Bravo who came from that amazing group! Thank you to my LIFE Runner teammates! Particularly my SBFF (Spiritual Best Friend Forever), and LR teammate Karen Patnaude! She is an ambassador for LIFE and for Jesus, and I love her so dearly! #AllinChristforProLife! And thank you to my Run for God group/ Walk and Witness group! Your walks and talks and spiritual support through this year has been invaluable! I love my "Run.Walk.Witness" group!

May God bless you and yours in 2017!

"The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace." 

Numbers 6:24-26 

Last Minute Marathoner

I got a "double medal" for running SoCal Ragnar and LA! 

Well folks, I may have just gone from "half crazy and fully determined" to just full on crazy! I decided to run the L.A. marathon on the Thursday before the race!

When I signed up to run the Richmond VA marathon with my Meg's Miles group in November 2015, and to raise money for the family that lost Meg due to the actions of a drunk driver, I also had been considering doing the L.A. marathon in February 2016. But then I found out I had a Severe A-typical mole on my thigh that had to be removed, and I would have to take time off from running while the spot healed. And at that time I thought I wouldn't be able to ramp my training back up to be able to run L.A.


As the L.A. race day approached I saw all my Mom's Run This Town ladies getting excited about running L.A. as their first race. L.A. was my first full as well, and I was excited for them: Click here for my 1st Full story  Then there were my Meg's Miles friends that were planning on running it again, I had cheered them on last year, along with the MRTT ladies who ran it last year. I was going to try and be there to cheer them on this year too, and was in the midst of making plans to do so when I started to wish I had signed up to run it.

I received an email from the L.A. marathon that said "Last chance to register before midnight tonight!" And then I REALLY started wishing I had the money to join in!! I posted on my FB page that I wanted to join my friends and run L.A. again, but didn't have the $200 plus dollars to do so, so I would just have to accept that I would be the cheerleader for them again. Well... a short while later one of my friends tagged me on a post in Facebook that said her charity she was running for was selling their left over/ un-taken bibs for a much lower price than the $200 last minute registration!! Lower than even the price I would have paid if I had signed up when registration first opened! I was stoked! I texted my husband, and after a little bit of back and forth and "sighs" from him LOL... he said I could take her offer.

Well, the story gets even BETTER! After I registered and posted on my Facebook page that I was now running L.A., one of my friends asked if I needed a sponsor. He was going to sponsor me when I initially thought about running L.A., and so he said he would love to help me out. I said, "Sure!" And took him up on his offer. I then decided the charity I would run for would be the LIFE Runners organization that I lead a chapter for. Here's my chapter's FB page to check it out: Orange CA LIFE Runners LIFE Runners is currently doing an A-Cross America Relay for LIFE and I decided to take on all the legs they had left for the day I was running the marathon, which added up to 24 miles. It all clicked together.

And to top things off I found out that I qualified for a "double medal" for doing the SoCal Ragnar relay in 2015 and the LA full in 2016. (That explains the two medals in the photo above) I was like, "Thank you for the confirmation that I am a crazy person." I try to keep convincing myself I am only half crazy, and then that happens. LOL But what is cool about that is, I signed up to be a LIFE Runner the week before I ran SoCal Ragnar. I received my LIFE Runner shirt the day I got home, or I would have worn it during. But I like that this medal is a connection between my starting point as a LIFE Runner and the L.A. marathon, where I would run 26.2 miles in my LR shirt. A very cool symbol of my journey thus far.

Once I was signed up I told one of my fellow Meg's Miler buddies, Doris,  that I would run with her, and perhaps we could try to finish together! A lot of my friends were faster than I was, so I knew keeping up with them would be impossible. But she seemed to be at a similar pace to me, from what I saw of her running posts on Facebook. She was doubtful she could hang with me the whole way, but I had a feeling she could do it. Well, long story short... we ran the ENTIRE L.A. marathon, just about stride for stride, together!

Check out our tracker results!!

This race was a PR for Doris, and I crushed my previous LA finish time, of 5:59:45! I did run faster at my VA race in November, but comparing that race to L.A. is like comparing Apples to Oranges. Similar, but not exactly the same. Courses are different, weather is different... it's just different. Same distance, but not the same. So I am very proud of what I was able to do in L.A. this year. And I have to say, I feel like a bit of redemption happened. The first time around L.A. wasn't my favorite experience, but this time around it was pretty amazing. Last time they ran out of Gatorade, this year they had PLENTY. I brought my own electrolytes and water bottles this time, but I took a few cups of Gatorade along the course, and then looked at Doris and said, "Because they owe me." And gulped it down. LOL I also notice the side line support was better this time around. Even the cheerleaders in "Cheer Alley" stuck around, while last time they were walking home by the time I got to mile 18. It was too hot that year for them, I guess. All the things that had gone wrong the first time went perfectly this time. I felt God had given me a gift. Redemption!

Anna and Doris at the finish line.

I don't know why I thought I could run a full marathon last minute. Perhaps it was because my previous full was only a few months past, and I was still running and working out. But I wasn't doing the full training long runs. I had only done one long run of 11 miles about a month before. But for some reason God took my "crazy" desire (or maybe only half crazy desire) to run a full last minute and He decided to bless it. It cost me nothing, and I was able to run for my LIFE Runner's group. I did raise a little bit of money, although I could definitely use more donations: Click here to donate to Living Well - Pregnancy Crisis Center But even if I don't raise any more money, I wore a shirt that hopefully raised awareness of this group and was a voice for the unborn, and the pregnant women in crisis who need our help. I ran for LIFE, and I ran to support a friend. I ran for God. He gave me redemption, and I hope to spread His love and redemptive message to others!

Psalm 37:4 "Take delight in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." The Lord did this for me. He gave me a desire of my heart, and I think that is pretty cool. Thank you God! xoxo -Anna

LA Marathon finishers!!

Reality vs. Emotions

I would like to start off with a true story:

Recently I had a customer at work that disputed the balance due on one of her orders. She had two orders, one was for a slab, the other was for tile. Her contractor had picked it all up, but she had a balance due still. She didn't want to pay the balance due that the computer was showing. In fact she said we owed her! I said that wasn't true, and I would contact our accounting department and speak to my manager to get this figured out. Accounting did an audit on her account to show her payments, how they were applied, and how we got to the balance due showing on her order. Even after we submitted to her the facts and figures in black and white she STLL disputed the balance due! She wrote back with her own version of the order and the payments. As I looked over her version I saw she had changed the tax due on the slab order.

A little background, our slab driver was sick and her slab wasn't transferred down to Orange County from L.A. on the day it was supposed to. I tried calling the contractor (his voicemail was full and I couldn't leave a message) and I called her, as well as emailed when I couldn't reach her. I wasn't able to get a hold of them in time, and the contractor sent his driver over to pick up anyways. Then the driver told me he was going to L.A. to pick up the slab. I called her, letting her know there was a tax difference of about $15 and I needed her to pay that tax if he was picking up over there. She asked if I could remove the L.A. tax charge, because the slab should have been in the OC. I said I couldn't remove that tax, but I could reduce her tile order by $15. Basically giving her a percentage off her tile price to bring her total down by $15.

Well, when she sent "her version" of what was due she showed OC tax on the slab order. And then she showed the payment of $15 (charged to her credit card already) as a payment toward her tile order. And THEN she also entered another line as -$15, under the total amount on her tile order. I said I would adjust the amount off her order to offset that charge, and I had already! So, she in essence triple dipped! She lowered the tax due by $15 on the slab order, she applied the $15 charge to her tile order, and then she showed that we should be subtracting her tile order by another $15!  At least she showed that she owed us some money, instead of insisting we owed her, but I was showing she owed $117 and she was wanting another $30 on top of the $15 I gave her.

When I pointed these discrepancies out she wrote back with an argument that her driver had to go to L.A., when her slab should have been in OC, and that he had to wait 2 hours for our guys to come back from lunch, and then another 2 hours for his truck to be loaded, and then had to sit in traffic at 3pm returning from L.A. to the OC. Well, this is not a dispute about charges at this point, this is a "feeling" of her's that she "shouldn't have to" pay the L.A. tax. Basically saying that the time it took, and the gas money, was worth more than the original discount I offered of $15, and therefore was not good enough.

At this point I finally understood her argument against the charges and I went to my manager to get the approval to reduce her order once again, by another $30, to get this taken care of. Which he gladly did. I mean, come on, it's only $117 due... and she is going back and forth with me over a measly $30. It was not worth any more of my time or energy to argue with her. She wasn't right, she did owe us $117, but for customer service sake we reduced her charges to make her happy. Once I offered to do that reduction she paid the revised balance. (Phew! Finally, that was over with!)

Why did I share this story? Because it made me realize something about truth, or reality, verses our emotions and the emotional arguments made by pro-choice people.

I am part of a group called LIFE Runners. We support local pregnancy crisis centers all over the USA and in other countries. We wear shirts (as pictured above) when we run, walk, or go on errands around town, to raise awareness or spark up a conversation. We are pro-life. We help women in those tough moments, when they don't know what to do. Women caught in an unexpected pregnancy who need our help. And we support centers that offer counseling to post-abortive women who are dealing with feelings of remorse and regret. LIFE Runners offers a pro-life response that is compassionate. Yet when I post on Facebook about their or my pro-life activities, I often hear reasons why a person is pro-choice. Sometimes the reaction to my posts on FB are angry responses.

The responses and arguments made are like that woman's response to the facts I presented her about her order. Her argument was based on her emotions, not on fact. In the world of retail the "customer is always right." And businesses bend over backwards to smooth things over with upset clients. Even if they are wrong, it doesn't matter. We validate their feelings by giving them discounts, or freebies, or services they may not even truly deserve. But that is retail.

The issue here, regarding abortion, is that we aren't dealing with "a measly $30" or the authority of a manager in a store. We are dealing with the authority of God, and the life of a human being. And God doesn't not bend to our will and desires to make us feel better. He is our creator. He gives life, and He takes it away. That is His right, and His alone. Yes, sometimes abortion happens naturally. A miscarriage may happen, or a spontaneous abortion. Even still births, which are tragic and devastating, happen at times. Doctors may not even be able to tell the Mother why it happened! Women are left heart broken. Husband and wives weep and mourn. But God is ultimately in control, and we are left to decide if we are going to continue to trust Him, or be bitter about what He allowed to happen.

Why do I give God ultimate authority? See the verse below:

      For thus says the Lord,

Who created the heavens,

Who is God,

Who formed the earth and made it,

Who has established it,

Who did not create it in vain,

Who formed it to be inhabited:

“I am the Lord, and there is no other."

- Isaiah 45:18

I can give you my sympathy. I can love you. I can cry with you. I can hurt with you. I can agree that life is unfair. But I can never agree that giving a woman an abortion is okay. Because its not my right, or your right, to make that choice. To decide the value of that baby's future, or to put the value of your life ahead of theirs, is not okay. The ending of one life, to make the life of another easier or simpler is not okay. Saying its a woman's right to choose, because it's her body being affected, is not okay. Saying the child has a deformity or has Down Syndrome does not mean that we can see the future of their quality of life, or that the value of their life is less than a fully developed baby or a baby without a disability. Those are not reasons to end their life before it even started. That is not okay. The age of the mother, the way in which she became pregnant, the financial circumstances, the difficulties that the child may face in life, the emotional pleas that you present, are not reasons for abortion. They do not justify choosing abortion.  

Even the less emotional, narcissistic pro-choice/ feminist argument that this is HER body and HER choice whether or not to endure the "devastation to a woman's body" that happens due to pregnancy is not a justification. You don't want stretch marks? Use cocoa butter. Buy a cream after pregnancy that reduces the appearance of stretch marks. Get laser surgery. You don't want to feel the pains of labor? Get an epidural. You don't want your vagina to be "ruined" by a vaginal birth? Find a Doctor willing to perform a C-section. They exist. You will be able to find one. I have little compassion for this argument, if you can't tell. This is the ultimate selfish response to becoming pregnant. Why don't you stop having sex then until you are ready? How about that as a choice?

There are many more scenarios that are emotional pulling, and would break my heart to hear. I am sure of that. But no matter how emotional or how devastating one thinks a situation is, I know my God is bigger than all of that. I know He loves you, me, and any woman that is facing an unexpected pregnancy. I know that any child born into difficult circumstances or facing disabilities is loved by God. I know their life has as much value as mine, or as any other child. You could search the internet for stories all night long for testimonies that say as much, by adults that were supposed to be aborted. Stories of children with disabilities that overcame their challenges. 

If a woman decides that raising her child isn't for her, then she can choose adoption. And she can even select her baby's future parents! Abortion is not the answer. And I will never be able to agree, in any circumstance, that it is. My God is bigger than that. And He is the ultimate authority. 

#AllinChristforProLife #LIFErunners #ProLifeisProLove