Running Woes

I am writing today to talk about something that has become a big part of our life in recent months. And by a big part, I mean big in the consumption of our time and energy. We have always liked to run. There have been different times in our marriage where running consistently wasn't an option, for whatever reason. But, back around the beginning of 2008 we decided that we were going to take our physical fitness more seriously. So we joined the gym, and made a work-out plan. We ran a 20K (12.4 miles) back in May, and really enjoyed it. We even walked away from it talking about how we could improve our running from that point. We were doing well, so we started a training program to run a marathon. The training was going well, so back in July, we registered to run a marathon (the earlier you decide and pay, the cheaper the race fee is). We continued to do well with our training until about a month or so ago.

At this point, we are supposed to be running almost 60 miles a week. We are not. Every week for about the last month, we have missed at least 1 run, and I can feel it taking its toll on our training. I know we're in shape - last night we ran 15 miles at a good pace, and by the end I was tired and sore, but far from dying.

I did not consider what we would have to give up to run so much. First, I didn't consider the time. If each mile on average takes 10 minutes (it doesn't - we run closer to 8:30 pace, or try to - but for the sake of the simplicity of math involved) then to run 60 miles a week would take roughly 10 hours. And, there is travel time to the place we run, and time to warm up and stretch and cool down, etc. Also, by the time you finish running 15-22 miles (our long runs) you are too tired and sore to do anything else. Not to mention, the days are getting shorter and shorter, so trying to get the run done by sunset is also a challenge (and if you are running in the dark, you get to hear the critters in the bushes beside you, and you get to step on like a million frogs on the trail - EWW!).

We are also both experiencing aches and pains that sometimes feel like more than just aches and pains. Narasimha's knee (his ilio-tibial band, or ITB, to be exact) has given him problems. I have terrible hips, and they hurt almost constantly and pop like crazy. My ankles also get very sore. I must say though - my issues seem to get better as I am running longer. Narasimha's knees are pretty ok right now, but are a little flakier than my joints. I think much of our pain could be alleviated with some good cross-training, but we don't have the time or calories at the end of the day to devote to that, at this point.

I am also disappointed with myself in the way that in the grand scheme of things, running isn't that important in my life. Yet somehow through all this training, it has taken a front row seat to almost everything that I do consider more important than running.

The positives of running: I am in good shape - my resting heart rate is probably low to mid-40's. When I get to bed, I sleep like a rock. Running is our "family time" together, and in my mind, it's better than watching TV all the time (which we no longer have time for). You can eat anything and everything you want, and you're still hungry! :) And, thinking toward the future: Even though we don't plan on running another marathon anytime soon, we do plan to keep running a not insane amount, and we feel we're getting ourselves in a good habit of exercise to be a good example to our kids when we have them.

So, there's my sob story. The marathon is 2 weeks from tomorrow (Oct 19). If I live through it, I'll post pics. If you wonder why I never post (or do anything else) anymore, here's 99% of the reason. Any words of wisdom out there?

I Timothy 4:8 For bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that is now and of that which is to come. NKJV