God's Plan for Improvement: Running With Perspective

 

Anxious Training and Old Habits that Won't Die

It’s been a rough couple of weeks since I signed up for the marathon in Texas.

 I already mentioned that it didn’t go well. The last two weeks were an off week for me. Not because I didn’t want to run, but I came down with a nasty cold. It was enough to knock me out of even trying to run. I’ve been climbing back ever since. Last Saturday I toughed it out and put in 14 miles. The rest of my team put in 20. I knew I wasn’t going to make it that far, but after not doing any jogging for so long, I was content with the result. The rest of the week reflected a normal pattern of training, 3 days at the gym and 3 days running. Sunday is the Route 66 marathon. No, I’m not signed up. I had a chance to take someone’s bib and run for them. She injured herself a few months ago and is unable to do the race. I’m not ready either.

Thinking Versus Doing

I’ve figured out that I’m one of those runners that prefers to train than race. Because I’m a thinker I’ve thought about it. There is less pressure to train. At least internally, I can relax and enjoy the run without worrying about the pace. Why can’t I do this during a race? It’s not like this counts on some eternal chart. Like, if I don’t improve every time I have to reevaluate my life choice and do something else. But a race is a test. It’s the clearest example of how much you've improved in the time you had to practice. It’s like any other test. It’s designed to measure. I hate tests because of the probability of failure. It might not even be a high probability, but it’s always there or it isn’t a test. If you have a bad race, you fail.

That probably seems like strong language for a recreational sport, but it’s true.

Failing a race doesn’t make you a failure though. People fail tests for a variety of reasons having nothing to do with preparedness. Learning to run marathons efficiently must be a long-term goal. And you might not show improvement right away. A friend of mine made a transition in his training just recently. He’s always been fast. Even on some of our longer distance Saturdays, he slowed down a minute and a half below what he was used to. His endurance improved dramatically. The idea with slowing down is to get your heart rate into a lower setting. This isn’t the place to describe heart rate zones. But let’s say elevated, or exerting a little more energy than a quick walk.

 This is supposed to allow you to have more energy at distance and ultimately get faster.

New Ways Old Attitudes

Your body becomes fat dependent at low heart rates. This means it burns fat at a higher percentage than it burns carbs. Our bodies store fat more than carbs; fat is a better energy source for long distance running. I’ve known this. Fat adaption running constitutes a sort of, marathon training 101. But making yourself run slower is a more difficult than you might imagine. There is a comfort level that develops over the course of your training. It’s never exact, but stays within a certain pace window. My heart rate has been ticking up slowly over the years as well. That’s not good. The higher the rate the shorter the distance you’ll cover. It’s another concern to work out.

Some of the most efficient runners I know are over the age of 50. They’re eager to help with advice too. It’s as helpful a community as there is. But you have to stick with it, even when you feel like a failure.

There is a verse that keeps cycling through my head. It’s more about life in general, but comes up a lot with jogging. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made know to God; and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

The first part hits me straight on. Nothing should cause anxiousness in our lives. I think we have a tendency to label issues in life as either “important” or “not important”. We spend more time on the important stuff like family, career, charity and tend to worry more about them. But Paul is clear that nothing should cause us anxiety. By making our requests known we hand off the worrying parts to God and he returns peace instead.

Conclusion

Most people wouldn’t put recreational running into the “important” category. For long term health and fitness it’s certainly necessary, but doesn’t rise to the level of family or career. Whatever place it occupies in your life, it’s never something to be anxious over. It’s a soothing balm of a verse that helps me relax about the trajectory of my training, racing and testing. Perspective is a wonderful thing. It’s even enough to make me breathe a little easer and slow down a bit. I might be able to get my heart rate down a few points. No promises on that though.

In running and spiritual growth, we should put aside old ways of thinking and let God reveal new paths. His peace allows us run with perspective and develop into people that reflect His nature.