Greedy little me...

How do you prepare for what you cannot see fully?

"Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

All I can see of my 2011 race season are the first few steps, but every step I take reveals more of that staircase so I'll keep on in faith that my God has something grand for me at the top. As the mileage continues to creep up I am reminded of His faithfulness in healing, but I would be remiss not to admit that it has come with it's own set of challenges.

I am greedy. Greedy for miles. Greedy for speed.

There was a time this fall when I would have been happy just to be able to run 6-7 miles again without aggravating the tendinitis & spending the following week in steady pain until it calmed down again. As I approached mile 15 of the 18 mile run I completed this weekend I found myself getting frustrated with the amount fatigue I felt & how slow I was.

I didn't get enough sleep. The sun wasn't even fully risen when I started. Not only was I tired, I was met with a -20F windchill the entire time & the layers of tights + jackets gets heavy. 2 to 3 inches of snow blanketed my footing & that became increasingly difficult to push thru when my feet didn't want to lift very far off the ground. I am still running thru tendinitis and this prevents me from zoning out during the difficult parts of a long run. I have to think about every single step so my form doesn't get sloppy & I end up hurting myself.

Given all of those things OF COURSE I'm going to be tired & consequently, slow. But the Greed still tried to sink my spirit. I refuse to resign myself to that.

With better focus, this is how it really looks. "It was hard to get up, but I got to wake up with the sunrise over my first few miles. The soft morning light made the snow sparkle, it was beautiful. The air was cold but I was perfectly geared & hardly felt it. 2 to 3 inches of snow cushioned my footsteps which is so helpful as I adjust to these long minimalist runs. My tendons are tired, but they do not hurt & this is the highest mileage week I've had in SEVEN months! "

Sometimes the line between a blessing & a curse is merely the glasses thru which you choose to view it.

Because of the tendinitis it may be harder, I may experience more fatigue, I may be slower, but I choose to be thankful. Every mile is a gift & I show my thankfulness by savoring every step up that staircase. God is Good! :)