Running and Resting

You might say I didn't quite know what I was getting into. And that's probably true. Late one evening, when I was feeling adventurous and slightly spontaneous, I signed up for the Little Rock half marathon. Originally, I thought it would just be something to check off my bucket list. Little did I realize what a commitment and challenge it was going to be. 

I started the same way any rooky would. Naturally, I googled "how to train for a half marathon", and I quickly learned that you don't just wake up one day and run thirteen miles. Training programs begin two to four months in advance. At the beginning of December when I registered, that put me at beginning my training...um, that same week. So I got up and ran four miles, and thought I was going to die.

I guess you could say that I simply did not know what I was getting into.

In just a few short weeks after that initial run, I ran six miles, which was the furthest I have ever run in my entire life without stopping. And just when you think you can't go one mile further, you keep adding miles each week. Seven, eight, nine, ten...

This week I ran my longest run yet before the actual race day in less than four weeks. Two hours solid. Twelve miles. Two months of training - including runs in the rain and snow and 18 degree weather and 15 mile an hour headwinds. It all led up to this. I did what I never thought I would be able to do. And it felt great. 

Until I got up the next morning. As soon as my right foot hit the floor, I knew something was terribly wrong. A horrible pain shot up my leg from the back of my heel, and I could bear no weight on my foot. Using google once again, I learned that Achilles tendinitis occurs in runners who drastically increase their mileage. Well that makes sense, I thought. It is worse after long periods of rest and inactivity, which explains why it hurt only after getting out of bed. And if you don't quit running, you can rupture your Achilles' tendon. I only saw one orthopedic surgery as a nursing student, and it was an Achilles' tendon repair. That is not on my bucket list.

And so I am sitting here at work with my leg elevated on a bag of ice, taking ibuprofen in every large doses and praying that my Achilles will heal before race day in less than a month. I guess you could say I didn't know what I was getting into.

In all this, I am learning valuable lessons about training, running, resting, and healing. And how all that applies to life. Like how running with Jesus takes endurance and perseverance, and how he helps you go just one mile further when you think you've got nothing left. 

Like how in the moment all you feel is fatigue, but over time you see how far you've come and how strong you've become.

Like how much of a difference it makes to run with a friend when you are used to running by yourself. You can go a lot further when you have someone beside you. 

Like how injury happens along the way, but healing always comes, too. Sometimes you have to run through the pain and push through. Other times, you have to stop and allow time to heal. It takes wisdom to know the difference between the two.

And perhaps most importantly: how important it is to train, but also how important it is to rest. 

Sometimes we get too good at training and forget the importance of resting.

So sitting here, I don't know if I will even get to run the race on March 2, but I know that the race we run with Jesus doesn't have one specific date. It is just right now, and we've been invited to train, run, rest, and race as believers in the body of Christ with Jesus himself as our guide and running partner. "So let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." At the same time, let's not get so caught up in running that we forget the necessity of resting. "Be still and know that I am God." "Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest." "There remains a sabbath rest for the people of God. Let us make every effort to enter that rest." 

I may miss the half marathon on March 2, but I am not gonna miss this more important, this most important race. And we participate in it right now by both running and resting with Jesus. 

It will be a big bummer if I don't heal in time for the race in one month, but it will be worth it because the training has taught me something I need to be reminded of daily: the crucial importance of rest for restoration and healing. You simply can't run if you don't rest. And the same is true for our race-weary hearts. So prop up your feet and rest awhile in the loving arms of Jesus, for there your strength is restored and your aching heart healed, and once again you are empowered to run.