So it’s been a few weeks since I’ve been able to post. In that time, however, I did manage to move the blog from Blogger to WordPress, with my father’s help. The process was not as smooth as I’d hoped, and there was a moment of panic when my professional site was showing up as this blog! Not being incredibly tech savvy, I felt helpless to fix it, yet was initially inclined to sit with him as an act of solidarity. After all, he was fixing MY blog. But then it dawned on me that the best thing I could do was actually to take a nap! We played hard and talked 90 mph for almost every minute of his 5-day visit, and I was exhausted. I realized that if I’d just let him handle it–which he was perfectly capable of doing without any help from me–I could at least rest and recharge enough to spend some more quality time with him afterward. As my head hit the pillow, I recalled the words of Isaiah 40:31.
I’ve written before about how the word “wait” is also translated as “trust” and “hope.” That was exactly what I was doing: waiting on my father, trusting and hoping that he could fix the problem for me. By letting him take care of it for me, I was able to take a nap and renew my strength. What a beautiful picture of how my strength is renewed when I rest and turn things over to my Heavenly Father as well: waiting, trusting, and hoping He will fix my mess–which I wouldn’t know how to even if I tried!
This verse has continued to be a theme over the last few weeks, as He stirred a message on waiting on Him during a run a couple of weeks ago and reminded me on another that eagles SOAR, trusting the wind to carry them. There’s very little flapping!
Such reminders come at an important time, as I’ve been battling fatigue, affecting my last 2 long runs. I cut a 15-miler short after 10 miles due to dizziness and general yuckiness I chalked up to the dew point > 70. I had high hopes for a better outing with cooler temps on Saturday, only to find myself walking most of the last few miles of 16. I’ve talked to my doctor and think we’ve pinpointed the problem, as well as a solution to correct it. In the meantime, I’m counting on God to carry me through and be my strength when I am weak (2 Corinthians 12:10).
It hasn’t been all bad news. I did manage to knock 8 seconds off my mile time despite feeling subpar, and I’ve had to pull back rather than push myself on marathon pace runs. Then there was a moment when God sent a butterfly much like this one right over my head–a sort of fly by (for you Top Gun fans, think Penny Benjamin)–just to say I love you!
With all the good, the bad, and the ugly, here’s how the last few weeks of training have actually shaped up:
Week 5
Monday – 4 miles (2 @ marathon pace)
Tuesday – rest
Wednesday – 7 miles hills
Thursday – 4 miles easy with 4 strides (short bursts of acceleration)
Friday – rest
Saturday – 13.1 LSD (Plan called for 13, but what’s another .1 to make it a half marathon?)
Sunday – 4 miles easy
Total: 32 miles
Week 6
Monday – rest (Dad still in town)
Tuesday – 4 miles (2 @ marathon pace)
Wednesday – 5 miles easy with 5 strides (switched Wednesday and Thursday workouts to allow recovery from Tuesday pace run)
Thursday – 6 miles hills
Friday – rest
Saturday – 10 ugly miles LSD (instead of 15 – thanks to my friend Pam for running with me and driving me back when I needed to stop!)
Sunday – 6 miles easy (running 3 songs, walking 1 for extra recovery and to make it fun…until the last one when I felt good enough to run!)
Total: 31 miles
Week 7
Monday – 5 miles (3 @ marathon pace)
Tuesday – rest
Wednesday – rest (rain and not feeling like a champ)
Thursday – 7 miles hills (shifted from Wednesday)
Friday – 6 miles easy with 6 strides
Saturday – 16 miles LONG. S L O W. Distance.
Sunday – rest instead of 5 miles
Total: 34 miles
I think it’s progress to listen to my body instead of a training plan…though I hope to be back on target this week!