“Run when you can, Hike when you must, Move like you mean it”
We were roughly a half mile into our 13.1 mile half-marathon when our race buddy shared this.
It was her motto. She said it helped her keep going on the long races. Her husband was an ultra marathoner; she just did halves for fun.
Yep for fun.
Before you say “I could never do that,” she was 65. You totally could.
She chatted with us about past races, her experiences and race tips as we jogged down the neighborhood streets towards the trail part of the run. Turns out there is a person called a “sweep” that goes behind the last runners and picks up the trail-markers…or sweeps the runners who pass out off the trail.
We flew through the first mile and a brief downhill switchback through the woods. Nice and cool, beautiful scenery and a gentle breeze.
This was going to be amazing. We were doing this!
In the back of my mind I remembered that if we were going down, we would have to go up. I brushed the thought out of my mind and focused instead on the fun of the switchbacks and gentle downhill slope of the soft dirt trail.
As we reached the end of our second mile, our racer friend moved on passed us and reminded us of her motto as she went up the trail.
The “up” part of the trail was now a steep grade and I was wondering how I would finish the race. The run had become a hike. My training for a FLAT half-marathon was not doing me as much good as I had hoped. I tried to keep my mind on the scenery and not the amount of miles I had left (three 5k’s, 11 miles, 44 quarter miles, 22 half miles or 4 ½ miles to halfway.)
I was at the “must” part. It was fine. It would be fine. It was just fine. I just had to stay in the middle. Stay in the “must.” Why was mile two taking so long?
Running is a mental game. While we were training, Angela and I would play numbers games. We would switch from countdown to count up, counting halfway to counting quarters. We changed strategies to keep our focus on the goal and not how hard it was.
Whatever you think truly becomes the reality. If I think I can’t run that day—it’s a hard fight from start to finish. I usually walk more than normal and I quit before my goals.
Likewise, when I set out to finish strong— even if it is a struggle, I feel like I’ve conquered something and I’m able to jog further, or finish at a sprint.
Life is the same way—where we focus is where we go. What we believe becomes how we live. We decide what shape our day will take before we walk through it.
We need a focal point. We are running the race set before us, and people are watching. So run and don’t quit! We need to keep our eyes on Jesus and what he came to do and how he ran and finished his race well. He is our focus. We can see what he accomplished and his attitude of joy! If we keep our eyes on him we will not grow weary or lose heart. We will stay focused.
When I started this training, I needed to gain some awareness of what balance looked like in my life. I have always been a this or that kind of person, no middle. It is so easy for me to get stuck on the idea of one thing and exclude everything else. I will forget to eat, drink water or sleep so that I can finish a project. When you run, you can’t do that. You very quickly notice when you aren’t eating, hydrating or sleeping enough. Running feels like wading through mud when the body is run down.
Running meant learning to take care of my basic “houseplant” needs; water, nutrition, sunlight and oxygen. It meant training at the rate my body could handle, pushing myself mentally, learning to keep my attitude positive and joyful even while running in the heat, and telling myself the baby and the dog, “just a little longer, we are doing the thing!”
As Angela and I ran our race this June, I needed every one of those mental pep talks I had practiced. I needed the grace I learned to allow myself to “Hike” instead of jog, and do it without the shame. I needed Angela’s reminders to include a little more jogging and I needed the “Hey self… you ARE doing the thing!” talk. I needed the vision of the finish, and the comfort of the miles already run with the Lord.
Everything you are walking through will be used by the Lord. Both the hard days where you drag yourself through the mud and the great days where you take pictures of your perfect breakfast and your hair doesn’t need a hat. All of it. He doesn’t waste a thing! Some of it is training, some of it is obstacles and some of it is just us getting in our own way. All of it can yield character if we let God do the work in us.
We don’t have to have it figured out either. If we trust Him enough to take the first steps and keep our eyes on Him we will find ourselves moving forward. We can move like we mean it even if it’s slow. Even if your feet ache, your bones are tired and you don’t know how you’re still moving. You’ve got this–just take a minute and refocus.
Lord help us today as we are staring at the huge pile of overwhelming things to get done. Teach us to breathe and run at a pace that you set for us. Lift our eyes and embrace these weary friends as they struggle to put one foot in front of the other. Give us a glimpse of the view from the top and call us on. Help us to keep going and teach us Grace. The real and true grace that we are so desperately thirsty for. Amen.
Miss my last post? Check it out here.
Part 2 coming soon!