I'm a runner.. sort-of. I'm working on accepting that statement. Once in awhile I check out the discussion boards on the website of Runner's World. They cover so many different topics in these boards, it's ridiculous. People ask questions and have discussions about things I would NEVER think about. Running is an interesting subculture, one that seems a little intimidating at first. Or continually, for us "sort-of" runners.
Tonight I found myself reading a discussion thread about knowing when you're no longer a beginning runner. There were a variety of answers, but one stood out to me. "It seems as though we can be forever beginners. Just when we think we have this running thing down, something happens and it's like we are starting all over again."
And so it is in the Christian life, wouldn't you agree? Just when we think we've overcome, or understood, or arrived at everything we needed to, we get knocked on our feet.
Hopefully we get knocked on our feet. After I ran my first 5k I got a terrible heel spur. After a few weeks of trying to suck it up and run through the pain, I finally went to the doctor. He noticed that I am a supinator. Which meant there was a problem with my running form.
The pain came from bad form that I needed to correct. By starting at the beginning again. (And just when I thought I had arrived, finishing my first 5k!)
When we get knocked down, perhaps it's because our form needs a bit of correction. And correcting it will hopefully result in less pain and more success. And success in the Christian life is being able to glorify God more and more with our lives. When the stakes are that high, a little bit of pain is worth it.
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Showing posts with label running. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 07, 2012
Sunday, June 05, 2011
Minneapolis Half-Marathon
This morning I finished my first half-marathon!! I include 'first' in that sentence because I will definitely be running more. My goals for the race were pretty simple: have fun, do my best and cross that finish line. My final time was 3:04:11...SO close to under 3 hours!)
Besides jogging across the finish line, my favorite moment came at mile 5. After crossing the stone arch bridge, I crested a small hill, and suddenly saw a TON of people, cheering loudly and waving and clapping for the runners ahead of me. The energy in the crowd was so electrifying...I felt like a celebrity! I hadn't stopped at all at that point, and was feeling great, so I blazed through that part of the course.
After the crowd thinned out, we climbed a big hill, and I realized at the top that I wasn't sure what mile we were on. I had been keeping track of my time in my head after hitting each mile mark, so it was pretty odd that I missed one. After climbing another hill, I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge blue mile marker up ahead - mile 7!
Amidst the craziness of the crows, I had totally missed mile marker 6. True confessions: I'd never ran more than 6 miles in my training, so I had unknowingly crossed into uncharted territory. I'm so glad I missed the mark for mile 6, because I probably would have psyched myself out and slowed down. It was a good lesson for me - sometimes you don't have to be so focused on the next milestone and what's up ahead...enjoy your journey!
Throughout the race there were people lounging on the sidelines, cheering on their friends- and strangers, too. I didn't have anyone coming to watch so I wasn't expecting many rousing cheers. But right after mile 8, while climbing another hill, I caught the eye of a middle-aged woman standing near a street light. She started clapping as I neared her, then pointed at me and shouted "YOU are an inspiration. KEEP GOING." After I passed her, I glanced around to see if she was really pointing at me, and there was no one around, so I took that as a random act of support. It was another of my favorite moments. Encouragement can come from the strangest places, where you least expect it.
Around mile 9, my right hip flexor started to hurt. I had been having a lot of problems with my right knee during the last two weeks, and it was also starting to get sore. At mile 10 we hit a turnaround, and I slowed considerably due to my hip. At mile 11 I got a packet of hammer gel, which I could barely get open with my teeth (PS - it was disgusting!). By that time my hip flexor was really starting to hurt, and I had slowed to a brisk walk.
In the first 5 miles of the race today I had several bad side aches, but I pushed through them and kept running. It's not a natural thing for me to enter into pain, but I'm glad I did. Another good life lesson. On the flip side, my hip hurt so much that I had to walk most of the final 2 miles. I'm really glad I didn't push myself to run them and risk a more severe injury. It's hard to know sometimes how far to push yourself.
I was more worried about the mental aspect of the race than the physical, especially because I knew I'm be running the race alone. My friend Kerry signed up with me, but she's a speed demon (finished in 2.25 hours!) so we split after the first half mile. I am surprised at how driven I was throughout the race, and how I didn't psych myself out. I love doing things with other people, but it was actually kind of fun to try this on my own. (Though I wasn't truly alone - I had a very random mix of music artists on iphone to keep me company: Zac Brown, TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, Jason Derulo, B.Dill, the Vespers band, Matt Wertz, Sara Bareilles, Linkin Park, Switchfoot, Josh Turner ... and many others!)
Crossing that finish line felt so, so good. Even amidst the sore muscles and tiredness, I felt so good at the end of the race. There's something about entering into something painful, when you usually shy away from it. You come out on the other side and realize you're ok. You might find out you're stronger than you thought, or you might realize you're weaker. But you make it through.
Besides jogging across the finish line, my favorite moment came at mile 5. After crossing the stone arch bridge, I crested a small hill, and suddenly saw a TON of people, cheering loudly and waving and clapping for the runners ahead of me. The energy in the crowd was so electrifying...I felt like a celebrity! I hadn't stopped at all at that point, and was feeling great, so I blazed through that part of the course.
After the crowd thinned out, we climbed a big hill, and I realized at the top that I wasn't sure what mile we were on. I had been keeping track of my time in my head after hitting each mile mark, so it was pretty odd that I missed one. After climbing another hill, I was pleasantly surprised to see a huge blue mile marker up ahead - mile 7!
Amidst the craziness of the crows, I had totally missed mile marker 6. True confessions: I'd never ran more than 6 miles in my training, so I had unknowingly crossed into uncharted territory. I'm so glad I missed the mark for mile 6, because I probably would have psyched myself out and slowed down. It was a good lesson for me - sometimes you don't have to be so focused on the next milestone and what's up ahead...enjoy your journey!
Throughout the race there were people lounging on the sidelines, cheering on their friends- and strangers, too. I didn't have anyone coming to watch so I wasn't expecting many rousing cheers. But right after mile 8, while climbing another hill, I caught the eye of a middle-aged woman standing near a street light. She started clapping as I neared her, then pointed at me and shouted "YOU are an inspiration. KEEP GOING." After I passed her, I glanced around to see if she was really pointing at me, and there was no one around, so I took that as a random act of support. It was another of my favorite moments. Encouragement can come from the strangest places, where you least expect it.
Around mile 9, my right hip flexor started to hurt. I had been having a lot of problems with my right knee during the last two weeks, and it was also starting to get sore. At mile 10 we hit a turnaround, and I slowed considerably due to my hip. At mile 11 I got a packet of hammer gel, which I could barely get open with my teeth (PS - it was disgusting!). By that time my hip flexor was really starting to hurt, and I had slowed to a brisk walk.
In the first 5 miles of the race today I had several bad side aches, but I pushed through them and kept running. It's not a natural thing for me to enter into pain, but I'm glad I did. Another good life lesson. On the flip side, my hip hurt so much that I had to walk most of the final 2 miles. I'm really glad I didn't push myself to run them and risk a more severe injury. It's hard to know sometimes how far to push yourself.
I was more worried about the mental aspect of the race than the physical, especially because I knew I'm be running the race alone. My friend Kerry signed up with me, but she's a speed demon (finished in 2.25 hours!) so we split after the first half mile. I am surprised at how driven I was throughout the race, and how I didn't psych myself out. I love doing things with other people, but it was actually kind of fun to try this on my own. (Though I wasn't truly alone - I had a very random mix of music artists on iphone to keep me company: Zac Brown, TobyMac, Chris Tomlin, Jason Derulo, B.Dill, the Vespers band, Matt Wertz, Sara Bareilles, Linkin Park, Switchfoot, Josh Turner ... and many others!)
Crossing that finish line felt so, so good. Even amidst the sore muscles and tiredness, I felt so good at the end of the race. There's something about entering into something painful, when you usually shy away from it. You come out on the other side and realize you're ok. You might find out you're stronger than you thought, or you might realize you're weaker. But you make it through.