Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Against The Wind

A little wind never hurt anybody.

It’s amazing how little time you’ll actually spend in the valley when you quit focusing on it.

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” - Matthew 11:28

And so the morning comes. I’m better, it’s better, things are looking up. Thanks to all of you for the nice comments, all your warm thoughts, and your prayers. Valleys are necessary sometimes to get where you’re going. The good part is that they force you to reevaluate your path and make changes that have to be made in order to go forward. The bad part is, of course, they are uncomfortable. Just like Mile 22.5 of the marathon, you have to take deep breaths and put one foot in front of the other. You don’t visualize the finish line; you only focus on getting to the next water stop. There, you can take in enough nourishment to get you to the next one. You don’t make rash decisions, and you don’t act upon your emotion. It will lie to you. Every. Time. Instead, you rely upon the truth that you followed your training program, you put in the miles, and although you may have made some mistakes along the way - you will make it to the end, regardless of what your finishing time might be.

Saturday I went to the rec center, hopped on the treadmill and ran. I set the speed on that comfy 6.0mph and just ran. There’s something heart-warming about 6 mph, or 10 minute miles, to me. Not so much when I’m training for something or when I’m concerned about my pace, but just running for the pure enjoyment of running without trying to prove anything to myself or anyone else, 6.0 just feels right. I can still remember the days when 6.0 was hard to maintain. So, when I found myself at 4 miles and yet to break a sweat, I bumped up the pace a bit, to 6.5 mph, I think, and finished out 6.21 miles in one hour. Those last 2.21 miles I sweated out the impurities that needed to be left behind in order make it out of the valley. Then I did incline abs, shoulder press, butterflies, rowing machine, quad lifts, lunges, and even attempted a couple of chin-ups for my ego. That may be my next goal, to do one of those babies correctly. Then two, perhaps.

So Monday brought warmer temps to Middle Tennessee – INSERT HALLELUJA CHORUS – and a chance to run outside and breathe fresh air without feeling like my fingertips and nose will fall off. I suited up in shorts – shorts, I tell ya – and a long sleeve tech shirt.

The minute I stepped outside, the wind about knocked me down. I took off down between the hangers at the airport. I ran the first 2 miles against the wind, at times not sure if I was actually moving forward or not. But it was nice. The first steps out of the valley aren’t always easy or swift, but they are steps in the right direction. I reached the 2 mile point, turned around to head back, and felt like I was running on air. I sailed on the wind all the way back, at times looking down at my Garmin to see that my current pace was 7:19. I finished the 4 miles in 35:34.

“But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” –Isaiah 40:31

4 comments:

Michele said...

Glad you are feeling better and coming out of the valley.

That wind yesterday was horrible, I could hear it blowing all day. Great job running in it.

The forecast is calling for warmer temps all week and boy am I ready. Maybe we can actually get our bikes out for a spin.

Cliff said...

Lovely post Lana.

Keep it up...

tri-mama said...

My goodness, it seems everyone is fighting the wind lately. How interesting that the course that brought you home had the wind at your back-just keep heading home and hoping in the Lord, it'll all be good. I enjoyed this post.

RunBubbaRun said...

Nice post. Sometimes we just have to get out there. Feel the wind on our face and realize why we do things. Not worrying about time and pace. Sometimes we need that.