Boulder Dash 5K

Awesome run this weekend!  Rebekah broke 30 minutes (29:14) in a 5k for the first time!  It was only her third organized race.  I was VERY proud of her.

Runner's Inspiration

"Bid me run, and I will strive with things impossible."

Shakespeare, Julius Caesar

Test the Limits

I'm still here!!

So, I've recently been intrigued by the story of Steve Prefontaine, arguably one of the most dynamic characters in American running ever. Interesting fellow. If he truly ran, and lived, as his coach Bill Bowerman described in his all to premature eulogy, then he is an inspiration.

Eulogy by Bill Bowerman following Steve Prefontaine's untimely death on May 30, 1975:

"All my life, man and boy, I've operated under the assumption that the main idea in running was to win the race. Naturally, when I became a coach I tried to teach people how to do that. Tried to teach Pre how to do that. Tried like hell to teach Pre to do that. And Pre taught me. Taught me I was wrong. Pre, you see, was troubled by knowing that a mediocre effort can win a race and a magnificent effort can lose one. Winning a race wouldn't necessarily demand that he give it everything he had from start to finish. He never ran any other way. I couldn't get him to, and God knows I tried . . . but . . . Pre was stubborn. He insisted on holding himself to a higher standard than victory. 'A race is a work of art' is what he said and what he believed and he was out to make it one every step of the way.

Of course he wanted to win. Those who saw Pre compete or who competed against him were never in doubt how much he wanted to win. But HOW he won mattered to him more. Pre thought I was a hard case. But he finally got it through my head that the real purpose of running isn't to win a race. It's to test to the limits of the human heart. That he did . . . No one did it more often. No one did it better."

Duh!

Why do I do these kind of things to myself?

I mentioned a few entries ago that I was going to do the "Run the Reagan" half-marathon. Well, I did and it was an awesome race again this year. Unfortunately there is more to the story.

My buddy David and I had just finished the porta potty drill, and were headed to the start line when we hear the announcer say “about 2 minutes left”. Then I heard him say something about race numbers. Have you ever had one of those moments? Realization hit me, and I looked down to see NO race number on my running jacket. I LEFT IT IN THE VAN a quarter mile away. I told David to go on without me and took off. I ran all the way back to the van, put on the number, ran back to the start. You know a real friend when you brain fart at a race and they stand and wait on you for 4 whole minutes so they can run with you. You're a good man Dave. We started 4 minutes late, but it was cool. Not just in a L.L. Cool J kind of way, if you know what I mean! Actually, the temp was quite nice after about a mile.

Stuff like that'll keep you humble.

Races

Signed up for the "Run the Reagan" half-marathon today. I'm very excited about that. Last year I ran it, and it was COLD, but I did get a personal record (2:07)! The temperature didn't matter; I enjoy running in the cold, that is after about a mile when I warm up. I'm going to use it as a training run for the ING Georgia Marathon in March. That should be interesting...

Come join me on one of these! I promise it'll be lots of fun.

Running Fool

Today was our church's yearly Sugarloaf 5k. The weather was GREAT! Last year, the temp and humidity were almost unbearable and my official time was 26:12. This year, I beat my time by a whopping 2 seconds: 26:10, not bad for a 37 year old.

The really cool thing is that Jamie (my wife) and I ran as a husband/wife team and placed 3rd with a combined time of 56:49. We didn't get at trophy, what's up with that!?

My next race is the Lightning 10k in Sandy Springs. Should be fun!

Not Too Smart

Here's a good lesson for you: Never run a 7 miler outside during a heatwave.

Somehow, I missed the fact that we have had temperatures in the mid 90's lately. I'm just so darn tired of running on the treadmill!

When I finished my 90+ degree 7 miler, my only thought was, "You idiot."

Miracles Still Happen

So, I took 2 weeks off from running due to my bum knee. I can tell you, that was tough! During the entire time, it seemed like a cloud was hanging over me. The uncertainty of when I would be able to get back on the road was, at times, almost unbearable. I just don't feel as good when I'm not running.

This week, I started again. Monday was not very encouraging. After getting used to runs of up to 20 miles at a time, 3 miles shouldn't be that big of a deal. You'd think. It was less than half a mile into my first run in many days that my knee started barking at me. Barking like a rabid rottweiler. Bummer, 2 weeks off didn't work. What a rotten way to get back into one of my favorite activities. In any case, I finished the 3 miler, somewhat dejected.

Wednesday morning rolls around, and I'm on my way to work. I was listening to one of my heroes, Mark Rutland, on tape. He was talking about how the Lord healed him of some debilitating back problems early in his ministry. Some old ladies found out about his struggle, and they prayed over him intensely. He was healed. The doctors tried to write it off as a mistake, but he was having none of that. It was an awesome sermon, and I didn't really think that much about it for the rest of the day.

That is, until I finally was able to work in my Wednesday run. Normally, I like to run in the morning, but as things worked out, I didn't get the chance until late evening. I figured, surely I can get in 4 miles. Don't want to overdo it.

I hopped on the treadmill, punched in a 10 minute/mile pace, and I was on my way. Amazingly, no pain after half a mile. No pain after 2 miles. Holy moly, no pain after 3 miles! Then it hit me; I think the Lord has healed my knee! Simultaneously, I recalled Dr. Rutland's sermon from earlier that day. Surely not. Surely it's just a fluke. Immediately, my faith was starting to waver. Could I believe, in faith, that the Lord had healed me, even though I was approaching the 4 mile mark with not so much as a twinge of pain? I have to admit, I still had my doubts once the run was complete. But, the Lord was still dealing with me.

I don't run on Thursday, but I noticed that the ever present dull ache in my left knee was no longer there. Weird. My faith was starting to grow.

Friday, my long run day. Still a bit hesitant, I went to the gym, as is my normal routine. Again, on the treadmill I passed 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 miles. No problem. You know what the coolest part of that run was? The Lord clearly said to me (not in an audible voice, but I knew it was from God) that I would have no more trouble with my knee. Incredible.

Another really cool thing that came of all this is that my faith has been grown and strengthened. Why in the world would God do that for me? It seems so small, and you may think I'm insane (wouldn't be far from the truth), but I know what the Lord did for me. If that doesn't help keep me humble, I don't know what would. Thank you Jesus.

I Can't Believe I Ran the Whole Thing

Last weekend, I ran my first marathon; the Country Music Marathon in Nashville. I wish I could explain the feeling of finally crossing the finish line after many months, and seemingly innumerable hours, of training. It didn't matter to me that my knee completely went out on me at the 11 mile mark. It didn't matter that I finished a whole hour longer than I had planned. At that point, it just mattered that I finished.

My knee trouble didn't appear before that day, so it was quite a mystery when it started tightening up on me around mile 6. By the split where the marathon runners went one way, and the half-marathoners went the other, I could hardly walk. The more I stretched, the worse it got. The conflict inside my mind and heart grew with every painful step. I finally told my buddy, David Hornsby, "You better go on, I don't know that I will be able to finish." Reluctantly, he finally went ahead with best wishes, after he generously spared a couple of his Advils.

Think about it. You plug away, working toward a seemingly unattainable goal. You build yourself up with expectation to the big day when your preparation will finally be tested, only to be sitting less than half way to the finish line deciding how you are going to explain your failure.

That's exactly where I sat. Right there at mile 11, watching the other runners happily jog by toward their long anticipated goal. I told the Lord, "If you have something to teach me in this, I will accept that, but I REALLY do want to finish this race."

Then something clicked. I got up and started hobbling forward, pain with every step, wondering how in the world I was going to make it another 15.2 miles. I sped up slowly. My knee loosened up. I told myself, "If you can make it to 18 miles, you've got this thing." I was flat determined to finish, no matter what it took. At that point, I would have crawled to the finish line if necessary.

Next thing I knew, I crossed the finish line. I hadn't reached it in the exact way I expected, nor in the time I had predicted. Nevertheless, I finished. A little sore, a little beaten, a lot hungry, even more thirsty, and absolutely ecstatic.

Funny thing is, the Lord did use this experience to teach me a lesson. Thankfully, it was a much different lesson than I thought I was going to learn.

There have been times in recent months that I have completely felt like giving up on some things. Just like mile 11, I have gotten precariously close to turning around, finding the medical tent, and hitching a ride off the course. So, who said life would be without pain, or stress, or life's unpredictable difficulties? Only those who live in some alternate reality. Sometimes you just have to push through. You don't know how long the pain is going to last. You have no clue what the journey will look like. You just know that you have to keep going, and trust that it is all for your best. You have to finish strong.

"Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." (1 Cor. 9:24, NKJV)

I, for one, want to win the prize. There's no way I'll win the prize for the marathon (bum knee and all), but there is an eternal prize to obtain. Should I put in any less training, or have any less determination in the spiritual realm than on the race course? The lesson I learned that day is that giving up is just not an option. I simply can't give up on the Man who has never given up on me.