March-ing on

I haven't written anything for several weeks (ok, almost a month!)...a couple of reasons for that.  First, our second son was born on February 26th, so we've been a bit busy taking care of him along with our 2 year old!  Overall it's been great and all the joy he brings us more than makes up for the lack of sleep and added stress.  The other reason is it's Lent and well, if you are or were a pastor, you know that's enough said about that...

BUT, in spite of all of these exciting yet time-consuming events in my life, I have been finding time to get out and run.  The weather has warmed up and the snow is gone off the streets, so it's been nice to run without all the cold weather gear or trying to make my way across snow and patchy ice.

A couple things on the running front, though.  Around the time Matthew was born, I started increasing my base distance for my daily runs up to 4 miles a day.  I was able to maintain that for 4 days.  Then I started running on asphalt instead of the gravel (the gravel had turned to mud and that was not fun).  Anyway, it only took one run at that distance in town and the tops of my feet started to get really sore.  The added impact of the harder surface was just too much for them to take at that distance.  My frustration level went up and I really started to have serious doubts about whether I could run this half marathon in these "shoes."  I knew there were several options.  I could completely stop running and let my feet recover before basically starting from scratch, or I could continue running through the pain and see what happened.

After taking two days off, I decided to keep running, but I scaled back the distance and speed, focusing again on getting the proper barefoot running form down.  I'm back to 2 miles, all on pavement, and I try to keep the pace to about 9 minute miles.  I know I haven't done any major damage to my feet because I haven't had any swelling or bruising, and the soreness goes away after a good night's rest.  Basically, it's just the muscles in my feet adjusting and getting stronger.  I still have no knee, hip, or back pain.  I know that this is just part of learning to run differently and using muscles that I've really never used this way.  After nearly a week of this, the pain is much less and I'm regaining my confidence that I can achieve my goal.

On a deeper level, it's reminded me that growing and getting stronger is almost always a painful process.  I think I had almost kidded myself into thinking that this was going to be easy if I took it slow.  Eventually, though, you have to push your mind and body to its limit and beyond what you think is possible.  In my faith, one of my favorite theologians is Dietrich Bonhoeffer and one of his most famous works is "The Cost of Discipleship."  Faith and a life of discipleship is not meant to be easy or comfortable.  The call to take up our crosses and follow Jesus is going to hurt and be inconvenient.  

We live in a paradoxical culture that on the one hand says it values hard work, but on the other seems all too eager to take the easy way out whenever possible.  It's the same in our churches.  We talk about discipleship and the importance of sacrifice and service, but we often drag our feet or make excuses for not doing those things.  In the end, maybe we each would prefer a faith or a savior that wasn't so challenging.  I'd like to keep my own goals, dreams, and ambitions without having to lay them down at the cross of Christ and replace them with obedience to God's will.  Of course, there are going to be setbacks and frustrations and we will fail, but the call remains to "run the race."  So whether we are setting out to become a runner or a disciple, we shouldn't be surprised that it will come with pain and hardship.  I almost forgot, but my sore feet are reminding me again.

They're finally here!

Well, I finally received my Vibram Five Fingers shoes several days ago.  Here's what they look like:

Attractive, huh?  Well, they're not stylish, but they feel great.  I've been wearing them around the house to get my feet used to them, and today I took my first serious run in them.  The day after I got them I ran around the block just to see what they felt like running, but nothing strenuous.  Today the weather was warm enough in the afternoon to give it a try for a longer distance.  I ended up doing a little more than a mile in them.  No aches, no pains, but I was glad I only went that far for now.  By the time I got home, I could start to feel my feet tiring a little. 

It's an exhilirating way to run, though.  You can really feel the ground, but the rubber on the bottom of the shoes is enough to keep your feet free of cuts and scrapes.  They provide good traction on most surfaces.  There is some hard packed snow and ice on our roads, so I did slip a few times, but no falls.  It just makes you pay attention to where you're going.  I was also a little wary of going out and running on snow because of the temperature.  I wasn't sure if my feet would stay warm, but they did.  In fact, they warmed up as I went.  The top cloth on the shoes is not meant to insulate much, but at least it gave some protection from the wind.  I wouldn't go out and run if it was around 0, but anything in the double digits should be managable for moderate distances (< 5 miles).  The only thing I think I'll get is some socks to wear in them because my left big toenail rubs a little on the rubber part that wraps over the end of the toes, even after trimming it closely.  I think it's because that nail sticks up just a little more than the others, so it's not a fit problem.  It's probably nothing that would do any damage, but just a little annoying.  Plus, the socks will add another layer of warmth for these colder months.  All in all, it was a great first run in them.  I found myself smiling uncontrollably through much of it. 

For now, the weather is supposed to hold up with warmer temps through the rest of the week, so hopefully I can get out there again for at least a mile every day.  I'm really trying to hold myself back and take it slow because I've heard some stories of swollen feet, sore achilles tendons, and aching calves from people who have gone out and run several miles in them right away without building up to it.  I've avoided all of that so far, but still don't want to push too far too soon.  In the meantime, the half is a little more than three months away, and we still haven't had our baby yet!

Less than 100 days!

The countdown has clicked past 100 days, so I guess I need to really start thinking about how I'm going to make it through training for this half marathon.  My Vibram Five Fingers shoes are on order through Scheel's, so I'm patiently waiting for them to arrive.  I went with the style that fully encloses your foot, but not the neoprene kind for cold weather.  You can see what I got here: http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/products_KSO_m.cfm  Basically, I figured that I'm going to be training indoors at first, and these seemed to be a good compromise between cold and warm weather.  Also, there was some question about the availability of the other more insulated kind, so my mind was sort of made up for me.  I'll post more about them when they arrive. 

Based on advice from various sources, I'm planning on starting slowly with them.  I'll walk around the house with them on for a few hours every day for 5 days, then gradually start trying to run in them, doing a mile the first week, then ramping up from there.  I'm hoping my feet will be in good shape soon enough that I can go through a standard 12 week training cycle for the half.  I think I will be cutting it close! 

The other countdown around our house that has me preoccupied lately is the countdown to the birth of our second child.  The due date is Feb 22, but let's hope he makes an early appearance for my wife's sake! 

Something you should know

It seems like there is a lot of darkness in the world right now. I don't know about you, but I get more than my fill of bad news every day. The recent death of a close friend in Haiti has brought all of this even more into focus for myself and many of you. I just needed to tell you all that, if you're reading this and you're one of my friends, you have brought light into my world. Whether you're a brief acquaintance or a close friend or family member, you have made a difference in my life. I know it sounds trite, just some sappy thing to say to people, but when the darkness gets so overwhelming, sometimes the littlest lights seem that much brighter. So thank you for helping to light up my life in these otherwise dark days. Don't worry, I'm not having a nervous breakdown, and I'm not deeply depressed. I just needed to tell you all that, in the midst of a world that we struggle to make meaning out of, you mean something to me. And you may not believe in God like I do, but you need to know that you mean something to God, too. "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

Oh, and this wasn't some goofy forward. Even though it maybe sounds like it, it wasn't written by a junior high girl (if you're one of my Confirmation students, just, well...you know you write goofy stuff). This is me, Bryant, saying thank you for being my friend. If you have something to give to those suffering in Haiti, please give. No matter what, keep shining your light into our weary world.

*end sappy note to friends*
*resume listening to "pants on the floor"*

It's been a while

I ran for the first time in quite a while today.  There were several reasons for taking a break from running and several reasons why today was the day I started again.  I haven't run in a while because first, we got hammered by snow over Christmas.  Then, we were out of town to see family at the end of December.  Then, when we returned home, we found Minnesota had remembered that it was supposed to be cold during the winter.  The short days with sub-zero temperatures were not good for my overall morale, and not being able to run outside really started to get to me.  Then, when the weather finally started to warm up, I went and dropped a table on my left foot.  I thought maybe I'd broken my big toe at first, but thankfully it was only bruised.  It's still very black and blue, but the pain is gone.

So, with the weather improved and my toe on the mend, it meant that I was finally able to get back out and run a bit today.  I didn't push too far, only going about 3 miles.  I'm glad I didn't go farther as my feet and calves are a bit sore this evening.  It looks like warm(er) weather is supposed to be around for a while, so hopefully I can get back into shape.  It's amazing how quickly the muscles in your feet lose strength when you don't exercise them!

So there were many reasons why I was thankful to be able to run again today, but perhaps the biggest was because I really needed to do it to help grieve the loss of a good friend from seminary who was killed in the earthquake in Haiti.  I know running may seem like a strange way to mourn to some people, but it will make sense to you if you're a runner.  After hearing the news, my wife (who is nearly 8 months pregnant) said this was the first time in a long time she felt like she really needed to run, but couldn't.  I suppose some people run just for the exercise, but those who truly love to run understand that it fills a lot more needs in our lives than simply burning calories and getting an aerobic workout.

So this morning, as I ran through the foggy and frosty Minnesota prairie, I prayed for Ben, his wife Renee, his cousin Jon, and all their family and friends who have been devastated by the news of Ben's death, and I prayed for all the other people whose lives have been torn apart by this horrendous tragedy.  I came back feeling drained in nearly every possible way, but still trusting that God will fill us again.