Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

running

Going the extra mile

Week 7, Day 2. Another 2.5 miles today. Different route. No stroller (grandparents, yay!). An unbelieveable, for us, time. 27:38 — 6 minutes faster than our first 2.5 miles and nearly the same time as our first 2 miles. No wonder I thought I was dying. OK, so maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it certainly didn’t come easy. As I was running, I thought about Jesus’ words about going the extra mile. A friend told me the first mile is the hardest, and I find that true sometimes, but these last couple of runs, I’ve found the second mile more difficult. Like, after the first mile, I feel like I’ve already accomplished enough but, wait, I still have another mile to go. Maybe that’s why Jesus said if someone wants you to go one mile, go another mile after that. I fairly often take the easy way when it comes to helping people or serving, so these 2.5 mile runs are challenging me in other areas of life to keep going until the work is finished, not just until I feel like I’ve done enough or until I get tired. I had to talk my feet into continuing to run today. Sometimes I have to talk my soul into caring or my hands into helping.

In other news, we’re officially signed up for the Annual Give Thanks for Lebanon 5K on Nov. 20. Eek! They have our money. No turning back now.

On Thursday we return to the route we ran a week earlier for 2.25 miles, so we’ll see if the time is accurate. Even though it’s not really about the time, it’s fun to see progression.

It’s just a number, right?

Week 7, Day 1. 2.5 miles on the docket today, but it’s also Saturday, which means weigh-in day. I was extremely hopeful because my jeans were fitting well this week and someone asked me if I’d been losing weight. Until this week, my husband was seeing the benefits, but I wasn’t.

So, I excitedly hopped on the scale before our run this morning and saw … I’d gained half a pound? After gaining the past two weeks also? I was so depressed I didn’t even want to run.

What’s the point? I thought. I’m running three times a week and gaining weight, so why bother.

I evaluated my eating habits from the week and acknowledged that maybe I hadn’t done great this week, but certainly it couldn’t have been bad enough to counteract three days of running, could it?

My husband, in an effort to make me feel better, put himself on the scale only to discover he’d lost more weight. Thanks, honey. I feel loads better.

My mood didn’t improve when I couldn’t find my ear gear and dropped a stroller on my toe while looking for it.

As with most of our running days, though, it didn’t take long to get over it. Phil picked a new route today, and it took us across a one-lane bridge and past a wooded area near what looked like an old mill. It was lovely.

Early in the run, I felt like I was on autopilot. Between mile 1 and 2, I felt like I was dragging a little. Around the 2 mile mark, I picked up the pace, convincing my feet that yes, we were still running and walking was not an option.

With a few blocks to go, I had to take over pushing the stroller for Phil because his calf tightened up. We actually shared the burden for the last few blocks, and when we hit our stopping point, I was sure I was going to throw up. Nevermind that I didn’t have anything in my stomach.

We normally high-five after a run, but both of us were recovering, so we forgot. Our time today was just a shade over 33 minutes.

Years ago, I used to help my mom at the end of the Reagan 5K run. We’d snip electronic tags off people or take their numbers or something. I’d see people gasping for breath, puking and dripping with sweat, and I’d wonder, why in the world do they do it? Why put yourself through it?

I felt like those people a little today. I’m not sure I have the answers, but I know that the yucky feelings pass quickly and eventually I feel really good about what we’ve done.

Weight loss or no weight loss, maybe that’s where I need to focus. We’re still doing a good thing, even if the scale wants to tell me a different story.