As I mentioned before, I'm reading this book "A Million Miles In 1000 Years". (HIGHLY RECOMMEND, btw.) Last night I read about how the Incan emperor had designed the Incan Trail that leads to Macchu Picchu to be the longest, toughest route possible. He did this because he believed that the more painful the journey up there, the more people would appreciate the beauty of it once they got there. He goes on to use this metaphor for many things, from something as deep as your spiritual walk with God to as simple as--in today's case--running.
I think part of why I've always loved running is because it tough. I think my friends think that running must be easier for me than most, which is why I do it. It is, in fact, quite the opposite. I do it because it's really hard...and it feels good to do something hard! In the past when I've tried aerobics classes or yoga, I've walked out feeling cheated because I hadn't cussed under my breath, sweated profusely and left with Jell-o legs. Nonetheless, those are good methods of exercise (please don't send me hate mail!), but I've been bull-headed about even considering other forms of exercise and I wasn't sure why. But last night when I read that bit about Machu Picchu, I felt somewhat vindicated in my obsession with running. And it couldn't have come at a more appropriate time, given that today was my first day of training for my 3rd Half Marathon. Anyone who's ever run a half or full-marathon will understand what it means push thru a wall of pain and chorus of voices in your heading telling you to quit before you've finished. But it's that other voice that keeps you going. It's the one that says:
"It hurts right now, but I'll love this memory."-(Don Miller)
And I plan to LOVE--no CHERISH--the memory of a personal best finish at my 3rd Music City Half Marathon April 24, 2010.
You heard it here first.
No backing out now.
Here goes nothin'....
I'll meet you at the finish line, sister. And yes, amazing book. I might be obsessed with Don Miller. Did you know that? :)
ReplyDeleteI played basketball for 7 straight years, and I was in good physical condition, until 4 1/2 years ago when I stopped playing basketball and attended college. Now, as you can imagine, walking at even a slow pace around Opry Mills one time pretty much makes me want to take a 3 hour nap. So, since I need to start running again for the sake of my health, I was wondering how much you run per day and/or week to get back into shape?! Because of my "lovely" middle and high school basketball programs, I never did have a solid program to follow...so I'm just trying to figure out a healthy way to get back into shape!! Anyway, good luck this year!! Btw, I'm enjoying your blogs...this one's definitely inspiring!
ReplyDeletei'm not very educated on a good running regimen.
ReplyDeletei just started running/walking 2 miles. then i ran 2 miles. then 3. then up to 5. i ran 5 miles a day about 4-5 days a week for years.
when i was training for the half marathon the first time i would run some configuration of 20 miles between m-f. and then on saturday i'd do a long run w/ a friend (started w/ 7 miles one week, 8 the next...) we never ran more than 10 and we were golden for the race.
Alright, thanks so much! The 20 mile avg. per week is what I was looking for..so that helps!!! I've never ran over 8 miles at one time, so I'll make it a goal to run next year's race!!
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