faithrunner

My new rock edging I have been nursing a stress fracture from running for a little over a month. I injured my right foot about a year ago, but I kept running on it and treating it like a bruise that would eventually go away. After a trail half-marathon , trail full marathon , and 5K on streets this spring, my foot finally said, " Not one more step until you take care of me ." So, I went to the doctor, got x-rays, and she put in a boot for three weeks. No running. No riding. I began to re-learn life without running and went reluctantly back to the pool to swim but excitedly got back on my back after the three-week required break . To add to this complete stoppage of activity , over a week ago a cable on my bike broke , and I have not ridden once during that time. More no running or riding. As you can imagine, the removal of running and riding from my life caused me to reshuffle my priorities and find different ways to stay active. I slowed way down, and gain...

Last Saturday, I ran the Grasslands Trail Marathon outside Decatur, TX. The trails are part of the Caddo-LBJ National Grasslands , which are mostly used for horse riding, but last Saturday, the runners took over the trails early. Thanks to the Race Director and all the volunteers (and cooks!) who made it a wonderful experience. The weather was ideal in the morning , but got up to 80F in the afternoon, which made for a warm finish. What added to the fun was it had rained hard the week before , and the trails were muddy and many places had standing water --memories of our trail half-marathon about a month ago . (Although, that was a much more rugged course.) Every run is a laboratory. You learn something every time you go out because every time is different. You are different. The course is different, and the conditions are never the same.  Grasslands Trail Run, NTTR.org So what did I learn this outing? Running in creation is still better than running on streets....

This weekend I will run my tenth marathon since 2000. The Grasslands Trail Run will be my first trail marathon but not my first trail run. Trail running is my preferred environment and community for running. Running on dirt in forests, fields, and mountains is how running has always been done . I have run as many 25M and 50K trail runs as I have marathons during this same time period, and I have finished a 50M run, DNF'd one other, and attempted one 100-miler, which ended me at mile 73. Why the partial running resume? I like to run . I haven't been to a psychologist yet to dig into why my obsession is so deep or why I started running ultras until I was 45. But, more important than why I like to run, running--distance running--has become a metaphor for life for me . I reminded my listeners this past Sunday as Legacy Church that long-distance running is a metaphor for life because somewhere in a long run  you come to the point you want to give up. It's usually ...