And Sometimes You Just Run

On Saturday, I ran a 5k -- my first race in about a year and a half, since my marathon in the continuous downpour.  I was amazed -- first, that I even signed up -- but then, in my performance.  I pushed myself to keep up an even pace and surprised myself by coming in third place in my age group. 

The next afternoon, feeling encouraged after the race, I went for my first long run of the season.  And I struggled the whole way.  It was a long slow sluggish run, if you could even call it that.  I am sure that it appeared  I was running in place.  But I ran.  I walked a bit on a shady part of the trail, and then again as I trudged up the last big hill.  And I finished.  Glad to have that one behind me.  What happened?

Sometimes you just run.  The reality is that there are rarely crowds to cheer me on,  no breezes blowing through my hair, and no inspirational Chariots of Fire music playing in the background.  Sometimes you just run.  I always thought running on a beach looked glamorous until I actually tried it.

I had a bad day.  That doesn't mean I will never run well again.  It is not the end.  It is just the view from the middle of something.  Perseverance is an honorable term, but it weighs more than it appears.  "Everyone has bad runs," a seasoned coach once told me. "Experienced runners just let them go and move on."

Victorious days of running fuel my spirit, and on those days, I feel like I could run forever.  But it is actually those hard tough runs that train me the most.  A good run gives me a glimmer of hope.  But those grueling days, well, they are what keep me going.  They are what make me stronger.

I can remember standing at the starting line with a friend who was running her first marathon.  We had trained for eighteen weeks, both separately and together, experiencing the loneliness of the long distance runner, slugging it out in hot humid weather, dragging ourselves out on rainy Saturday mornings, carrying our water with us, chased by irate Dobermans, and avoiding getting hit by crazy Memphis drivers. 

The actual marathon?  "This is the fun part,"  I said.

In life, well, we all have our hard days.

And sometimes you just run.

He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might
       He increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
  and young men shall fall exhausted,
but they who wait for the LORD
      shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.

                       Isaiah 40. 29-31