Too Much of a Good Thing

Most injuries are the result of pushing ourselves past our limits. We reach the breaking point of our physiology. When we do this, we receive the only appropriate punishment -- an injury.

My recent back injury reminded me of my mortality and finitude. Instead of exercising, I rested. I ate and slept. This formula proved to be sufficient penance for my sins. I am exercising again.

In athletics, as with everything in life, there can be too much of a good thing. Just as students can over-study, athletes can become over-trained and over-raced. (I once did 2 marathons on back to back weekends. Pure insanity.) It is a mystery -- this homeostasis we're all seeking. Nor is there any failproof test to warn us when we have reached our peak. I have come to the conclusion that I will probably never get this right. Few of us read our bodies that well. We love what we do so much that the impulse is to go all out and train harder. But the writer of Ecclesiastes reminds us that there is a time for everything. 

A time to train and a time to nap. A time to race and a time to rest. A time to be elated and a time to accept staleness.

And I wise enough to do this?

P.S. Today I resisted the urge to run and simply got in a long walk at the Tobacco Heritage Trail here in South Boston, VA. 

Still, I managed to get in my miles for the day. 

Scholarship as Christ's Slaves (Gal. 1:10)

This morning I was in Galatians chapter 1. 

Something kept pulsating in the text. In Gal. 1:10 Paul writes, "If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ." The Greek has: "Christ's slave I would not be!" It's a Yoda-ism, used for emphasis.

Young scholar, no one can serve two masters. Let your sole ambition in your scholarship be to please Christ, not men. Never adapt your message to your audience. Never compromise your convictions in order to pass your PhD exam. You are first and foremost the slave of Christ. It is therefore as his slave, responsible to your divine Master, that you measure your words and publish your journal articles and books. Do not compromise the truth like the Judaizers or desert it like the Galatians. Live by it and seek to make it known to others. 

Decision Made!

I'm often paralyzed by decision-making. Over the years I've tried to tell myself that there are no wrong decisions. I don't believe this but it makes me feel better about myself. Bottom line? It's up to you to make the decision. More about that in a minute.

Meanwhile, it felt so good to be able to get back to the gym today and do a very light workout. 

Nothing too strenuous. 

Then it was back to the High Bridge Trail for a 7 mile run. 

I took is slow and easy and managed to get in some respectable steps for the day. 

I knew I would have to make the decision as to whether to run the 50K ultra here in December or the Honolulu Marathon the same week. I couldn't do both races. So I commited it to the Lord. I don't play games. When I ask for guidance, I mean business. So come December I will be running the High Bridge Ultra and not the Honolulu Marathon. Sometimes there is not the "right" decision, only the one you can live with. Well, the decision has been made. I have chosen to sign up for the 50K Freight Train Ultra in Farmville on December 6. The decision has been made. Yes, I would have loved to get back to the islands this winter, but I feel that I only have a few years left to run an ultra, and there's no sense in postponing it any longer. I haven't done an ultra in a few years and I'm not getting any younger. The ultra experience is all about "survival" and the willingness to keep moving forward. That's it in a nutshell. I've heard of ultra runners who smoke marijuana while running. I could care less. I will run this race as a 73-year old who's probably looking at his last 50K ever. Needless to say, I'm *ultra* excited about it. 

The race also has a 100K run, which means that I will have ample time to finish the 50K distance. I could even walk the whole thing if I wanted to. (I may have to.) How long will it take me to walk-run this event? I'm guessing about 8 hours, but that's only a guess. I've got two months to train for the race. I've been a victim of overtraining before. And I'm pretty Type A. (I know, shocking!) I think if I can get up to a 20 mile training run I will be good to go. I know that I am at great risk for overtraining and fatigue. How to deal with all this training anxiety, that's what we want to know. If you have any ideas, email me. I'm all ears.