21.

The miles I ran. My marathon is 6 weeks from today! - said with excitement AND fear. I started running in March and 5 miles was the first run that I didn't know if I could even do. I remember that Nick went with me and I actually survived! Since then, I've been pretty confident that I might be able to do this thing. Until yesterday... I started having doubts. 21 miles seems like such a long way. I didn't know if I could do it. And I couldn't. I can't. But God can. Only by the grace of God am I able to run that far. Who does that? I don't know. Sometimes I think I am crazy but I love to go out on the long runs with my ipod. It's my time to ponder God for more than a few moments. I download the latest sermons from Francis Chan and just take off running. It's great. Thank you, Lord.

The pounds I've lost. I originally wanted to do the marathon so that I could have some motivation to get off the Sam baby weight. It didn't work so well. Contrary to what I had believed, running does not take off the weight. You have to actually eat well too. Imagine that- diet AND exercise! So, six weeks ago, I cut out all refined flour and sugar from my diet. It's been great and I don't feel deprived. To quote my skinny cousins: "A moment on your lips, forever on your hips" and "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels." So there you have it. 21 is a great number for me this week.