Performance and Transformation

Did you have a good run? I get that question a lot, whether it is after a race or just a Sunday morning longrun.  I can tell what my answer will be before the run is even over based on how I did at the 2/3 mark. It doesn't matter how long the run is - doing a 5K race, how was I doing at mile 2?  A marathon, how was I doing at miles 18-20?  Those are points in any run where I am far enough from the beginning that the euphoria of a beautiful day and a great run have worn off and I'm essentially tired. Then it is also far enough from the finish that it's easy to mentally wander, get overwhelmed with how far I have to go, and just slip into a gentle effort.  Mentally, it's the muddy middle. A great run isn't made at the beginning, though at the start I can certainly make mistakes that hinder a good run from happening. Nor is a great run made at the finish.  Who blows off 2.75 miles and sprints the last 200 yards and somehow feels like a champ? A grea...

Breaks from running are great. While I've been using this break (January) to plan out my next season of training and a new marathon goal, I'm finding the same old temptations keep rearing up - to plan too many miles with too many of them being too fast. When I've tried doing more than I can handle, it's usually after reading an article on how some elite athlete, who works part-time, is half my age, and cranks out 100+ mile weeks. After reading said article, I try too amp up the miles in March and April, but by June I'm comparing myself too the other end of the spectrum, a novice friend who is just starting. Then I just fall into the routine of four 4-milers a week, until my next big race is a month away at which point I get it into gear again. Neither end is good. Consistency is needed. To develop consistency, for the last year or so, I've been kicking these four principles around in my head and am taking them out for a test drive as I build a Plan fo...

If running isn't holy, maybe I'm not doing it right. It's got to feel special or unique. By definition, holy is to be set apart . God used the word "holy" to describe the first day of rest, and then later His people. For my running to be holy means it is set apart....it becomes more and more void of false motives or angst. In the positive sense it means freedom, ease, and enjoyment. I do it for me, and because I'm created to do it. When running isn't set apart, there is an intrinsic danger in doing it for the wrong reasons. Studies show that people who start running just to lose weight are less likely to continue running than those who run for sheer joy. Why run then? Because we are human, and we have been created to run. If we weren't, then our great-great-great ancestors never would have been able to outrun their neighbor for dinner, or run and catch dinner. More than that, God made us as physical beings. Therefore, I would co...

At about this time of the year most of us are beginning to reflet on the goals we had for the past season of running. I had been excited to use a systematic plan for the first time this last year. It helped me run faster and more efficiently than ever, getting a best time in my marathon to boot (3:35)! Because I want to run about 20 minutes faster next year, I'm in the heat of evaluation. While checking for room to improve, and accessing how I did at implementing it I've noticed that the plan was great, but I didn't always do a good job of executing it. The 5-6 time a week runs were hard for my non-runner background to keep up with in a summer of travel and a newborn. Good plan, but probably not the best one for me. I need something that will kick me into gear, but have a certain amount of flexibility and non-running activities to stave off boredom. While coming down the finish line of my September marathon, I was also finishing up Bob Fryling's " ...

"Is Running too much cheating?" a friend asked. Interesting thought. She was referring to my recent post on running to little as cheating because that's how most of us think of cheating, running too little. My brain immediately went to the Ten Commandments, not a place of Scripture I usually contemplate on issues of running. However, it makes sense that God told us too rest once a week, and he might know we need the day off. My tendency is too overwork it and run life too hard all the time. I'm most tempted to run on a day off when I haven't done the required runs already that week or month. Then I'm forced into running on days that should have been rest. But I think my friend was asking about running evenmore when the required runs have already been done. To this, I responded that this is cheating. If I run more or less than the plan, I'm cheating. Rest days give me a mental and physical break. They remind me that I am more than my given...

What if humans are pack animals? It seems like everything I do with another person gets a bit easier. I’m normally one who loves running long-distances alone. Today it was very out of character when I decided to run with the pace team in my local marathon. I wasn’t so sure at first. The group seemed a little crowded, but there was a lot of energy as we all banged out miles together. I realized about 4 miles in why I had never joined a pace team. I’m a fairly prideful person, and if I followed a pace runner it meant I couldn’t do it on my own. Once I accepted I couldn’t do my goal on my own and that I needed the other runners at my pace, I was able to concentrate on just sticking with them. Somewhere around mile 6 I started thinking of the group as a platoon, of which I was a member. I have no idea why a Platoon came to mind, maybe it’s because I finished reading Joker One two weeks ago by Donovan Campbell. It’s a great book about a platoon and i...

Racing makes all the difference. Ask most mesh short wearing, Nike sporting, sweat soaked Joe or Jane chugging down the sidewalk, “Are you a runner?” and they likely respond, “No.” That’s because racing makes all the difference. More so, training for a race makes us feel like runners. It’s not that a race is a magical event, but it does give shape and purpose to what we are doing. In those moments of training and racing, running becomes more than just a means to control weight, or more than a new hobby. With focus towards the goal of finishing a challenging distance or with a certain time, we get the gift of self-motivation. In self-motivation, we become citizens of a running sub-culture marked with the habits of perseverance and self-control. This is the place and time when someone becomes a runner. As residents of this land, we are able to get out of bed in the morning for a run. When we come home after a day packed with meetings the most restful thing w...