Sunday Runs

The Full Moon Trail Series that I signed up for in February was supposed to begin in June. But of course nothing about this year has really gone as planned so the series actually didn’t end up beginning until September 22nd. There were four races to the series with all but one being held on weekday evenings. The fourth and final race was held on a Sunday. 

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Usually Sunday morning races aren’t an option for me, but not this year. Following the announcement of the March shutdown, worship moved to Zoom and was held in the afternoon. This not only allowed me to run this particular Sunday morning race without taking a vacation day, but this change also allowed for many Sunday morning runs.

Sunday runs became one of my favorite things this year. In the year where so much was pivoted, so much was lost, so much was uncertain, these runs grounded me. I didn’t expect Sunday runs to feel so different than any other, but they did. I often ran in the late morning and would be thinking about worship, about my sermon, about the people I serve alongside. I would pray for the people, places and situations that were on my mind.

Worshiping on Zoom is a different experience and spending time running outside helped me to show up better. It pulled me away from the virtual space where so much of ministry is taking place and grounded me in God’s creation. The sunshine, heat, humidity, cold, wind and rain all reminded me of God’s presence in my life and in our pandemic moment. I was moved by the changing of the seasons and was reminded that this will change too. I will change, the church will change, and God will remain faithful.

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The fourth and final race of the Full Moon Trail Series was held on Sunday, November 1. I showed up on a cold and wet morning to run 5 miles with people who are used to running Sunday morning races. As we waited for the race to start, the rain stopped. We socially distanced at the start-line and when the time came, we were sent out in waves again reminding us to be safe and cautious. I ran excited to be racing on a Sunday. I ran knowing that I would lead worship later that day. I ran happy to be moving my body in this way, paying attention to the terrain, moving up and down steep hills, splashing through water, aware of it being a great way to start the day. 

I also ran thankful. I knew on November 1 that November 29 would bring a change to worship time and would put a stop to these Sunday morning runs. Knowing this got me out for a run every Sunday in between. Each time I went out on a Sunday morning, I was grateful for the gift these runs were to me. I knew they wouldn’t last. I knew it wasn’t meant to be a part of my new normal. But it was a gift of this time. It was a highlight of these past 8 months. It was a way in which I showed up for myself in a slightly different way. It was and is a reminder to live in the present and to make room for connection with myself, with God, and with creation. 

national dog day

There I was running down a street in my neighborhood. Our first cold, hard winter in Michigan was behind us. I was happy to be outdoors again, putting one foot in front of the other, breathing in the fresh spring air. Toby and I were making our way down a side road that connected our street to the main one we needed to cross to get to the trail. We were just getting started when we came across a man not even halfway into our first mile. 

“One day you’ll be pulling him,” he called out.

Toby and I were running on the blacktop as there was no sidewalk and Toby was in the lead. He was out front at the end of his regular blue leash. He was pulling, choking himself just a little. His energy was high and he was happy.

As we passed the man working on his lawn, I called out in response, “I can only hope.” 

We continued on our run and I kept chuckling at this exchange. It made me giggle at the time because I just didn’t see it happening. I guess I was naive, but it humored me.

Back then Toby and I were still learning how to run together. Toby was still new to us and I was still fairly new to running. Toby would have been delighted to sprint; I was content to go slow. Toby could have run for miles and miles; I was pleased with just a few. It seemed our runs didn’t even tire him out a little, while they left me exhausted for a couple of days.

We ran several times around that neighborhood and we ran even more once we moved into town. The mileage increased as did my pace. We graduated to a hands free, orange running leash. We ran more often. We trained for me to run more races. We even did a couple two-a-days. And for a while, Toby was almost always in the lead. But somewhere along the way, a shift happened. 

Toby and I went for a run again today. We took our normal morning route. 1.6 miles from the house, turn around at the park trashcan having deposited anything collected along the way, and then the 1.6 miles back. This is the shortest distance we go now, always being sure to hit the 5K distance on my running watch before arriving back home. After having an issue with him pulling a little too hard on our last run with the hands-free leash, I chose to use the familiar blue leash. 

We set out and the first quarter of mile was met with Toby pulling hard, choking himself just a little. But then we had to stop for the bathroom. And we had to stop several times along the way. Our final mile was the fastest, but it wasn’t our quickest to date. As we took off again from the final intersection we had to stop for, Toby was at my side. We kept running and there came a time when he fell back and I took the lead. That’s how we stayed until the run ended. 

As I turned off my watch and we walked to cool down, I smiled as I remembered. 

One day you’ll be pulling him,” he called out.

Today was one of those days!

Season Opener

In just twelve weeks I will attempt to run my fourth half marathon. It’s a race I have run before and am looking forward to running again. As I begin my training schedule to increase my mileage once again, I am reflecting back on the progress I have made. I continue to be surprised at how far I have come in just a few years.

As I kick-off this season, I am sharing a reflection on the final race I did last season. There was a lot of anticipation leading up to my first Ragnar Relay and it was one of the best events I’ve ever done. Looking back and looking ahead, I want to share my reflection on that event.

The potential was there all along.

After a good nine months of training and races, I was as ready as I could have been when I made my way from Ohio to Michigan. I was feeling as confident in my running as I ever had while still hearing those voices of nervousness and uncertainty. This was the first race I was running as part of a team effort. All of my other events had been solo competitions with no one to compete against but myself. This team dynamic was new to me and it added its own pressure even though I tried to fight it at every turn.

There was a lot of planning and preparation that went into this race. I had committed to this event back in December and so I knew it would take long-term planning and goals to make it happen. I started training in January for a half marathon in April. I continued training by adding more biking and swimming to complete a sprint triathlon in July. I threw in one more half marathon in August to keep myself accountable. As September rolled around, I was feeling good. I focused on my food intake and my exercise. I trained hard with hill sprints, multiple runs in a day and runs that helped me to recover.

Eventually it was time. The nine months before had prepared me for this. It was time to run my very first Ragnar Relay. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect honestly. I knew I would run three legs. I knew my mileage. I knew my projected time. But there was also much I didn’t know. I didn’t know how I would handle the hills. I didn’t know it was going to be so cold (but thankfully it didn’t rain.) I didn’t know how I was going to keep running after sitting around in a van and running on very little sleep.

But I showed up. The potential had been there, ready to bust open, because the minute I started my first leg, I was on fire. It was the shortest of my three legs, only 3.5 miles, but I ran as if it was the easiest run I had ever done. I didn’t feel like I was running as fast as I was. I just kept putting one foot in front of the other and ran and ran until I was finished. It was a new record for me. I ended up setting a new personal record for both my one mile and my 5K.

I went on to run two more legs, each being 6.4 miles. Both of those runs were also great. I finished both just under my projected pace and felt like I could even run some more.

Because I was the final runner, most of my anxiety leading up to this race, rested on the fact that I would fun the final leg and perhaps our final time would depend on me. Our projection had us pretty close to the 36-hour time limit and so I knew that it was possible that there would be a lot resting on me, but there wasn’t. We were ahead of our projection the whole race through. Each of our runners was putting it all out there, doing what we could, to stay the course, and stay ahead. I didn’t have to do anything extra for my final leg but run and that’s just what I did.

Because I was the final runner, I did get to be joined by the rest of my team as we ran into the chute to the finish line. As I ran, with the others behind me, I couldn’t stop smiling. I knew what we had accomplished over the last 34 hours, but I also knew what I had done.

I tapped into the potential that was there, within me, and it fueled my 16.5 miles.

And so did all the love and support I had leading up to and through the race. I knew this was a team effort, running with eleven others, but this team also includes all those who sent me notes, donated to Living Water Ministries on my behalf, and cheered me on each step of the way.

This potential that I was able to find, is not lost on me. I know there is more where it came from and I am already looking forward to what run, what race, what difference I will make through it.

One Year Closes and Another Begins

On the eve of the season of Advent beginning anew, I have had the perfect day.

Following a great clergy gathering last evening, I slept in this morning, but from just after I got up, to just before this day drew to a close, I spent the majority of the day participating in two of my favorite things...reading and writing.

I like to think of myself as a avid reader and for the last few years, I have set a goal to read 52 books,  Advent to Advent. Beginning in Advent 2015, the first year of my book challenge, I read 40 books and I was pleased to get to that number because I really had no idea what to expect having never had a system for keeping track before. During my second year, the number of books read grew to 47. This year, I was determined to make it to 52.

Beginning on December 3, 2017 through today, December 1, 2018, I am proud to say that I have successfully met my book reading challenge by completeing a total of 54 books. Of course, I do have two additional books I’m currently reading that I just couldn’t get finished before day’s end, but don’t think I didn’t try.

Over the course of this year, but also the two others before, I have read with a goal in mind, but I have primarily read because I love to read. I have read fiction, poetry, memoir. I have read some books electronically, listened to a few audiobooks, and of course read with the physical copy in my hands. I have read books recommended by friends and strangers alike and have stumbled across some of my favorites by complete accident. I admit I had to abandon a few along the way and I still have shelves of books waiting to be picked up to be read any day now, maybe this next year will be the one for them.

So as another year ends, I look back while also planning ahead. On social media yesterday, I shared how delightful I was to have received a message from my dear friend, Kim that said, “It’s the end our reading year just about! What’s your number? Favorite book? Hopes for the coming reading year?” I am grateful to have a friend who knows me this well and shares this passion. She and I bond over reading and writing and our friendship has deepened over the years because of these simple and yet meaningful things.

And so here are my answers to be shared with you and with her. Of my 54 books, I have a few favorites. I really enjoyed 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson. I highly recommend The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and When They Call You a Terrorist by Patrice Khan-Cullors. I also really liked A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L’Engle and am slightly embarrassed that I just got around to reading it now.

As for my goals for this next year, I have a few. Again, 52 will be the goal. I am not setting out to exceed this year’s number, but instead am content to continue to average a book a week. I have a never ending book list, but one reality for me is that I have many books that I own that I haven’t yet read. I am hoping to make a dent in those piles while balancing library books, new releases, and new purchases. I also want to reread Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider. I read it back in 2014 and it was a book that drew me in and caused me to pause and ponder. I want to return to it now to re-evaluate what I noticed then and to see how it speaks to me now. It will also accompany me through “Like Your Life,” an online video course that Oxenreider delivers that I have slowly been working through.

I’m sure this nex year will include some of my plans and the occasional interruption and even potential change of course, but I am eager to begin. I am feeling confident in where I am in my reading life, but also in many other areas as well. I am feeling more rooted while making progress. I am setting goals. I am stepping up to the challenges before me. And this time, I’m inviting you along.