July 28, 2008

Running Took the Back Seat, Even During Marathon Training

Last week I had the privilege of chaperoning 23 youth from our church on a mission trip to Daytona Beach. The whole trip was amazing, overwhelming, and tiring almost beyond words. I learned so many things about myself and shortcomings that I need to improve on. I will not go into detail about our work since this is a running blog, but the two main lessons I learned about myself while there are 1) I am so, so, so fortunate for everything in my life. I have a great DH, a nice home, a good job, a caring church family, and wonderful friends and family. There are so many people far less fortunate than me that are in need of help. No more being greedy or EVER feeling sorry for myself b/c I can't have... or don't have... 2) I have some hatred towards one or two people that it is time to let go of. Even if someone has not asked for forgiveness, I should give it to them. Wow! That's going to be a hard one, but I will work on it.

I used last week as a recovery week by switching weeks 11 & 12 of Pfitz. I also rearranged the mileage and ran 8 miles every day at 4:30 a.m. after only 4-5 hours sleep. It was hard, very hard. Once back in L.A., I was in a major running funk feeling tired & lazy. I put off my 16 miler to today and was glad I did. I ditched the Garmin for the day and just ran by how I felt. I really wanted some time to reflect on my trip and the recent goals I have made for myself. It was a recovery week, so I didn't feel so obsessed to meet a certain pace. School starts for teachers in 4 days and I have a lot, lot, lot to do. I'm starting to get excited about all the little wonders I will experience this year!

2 comments:

  1. Great entry! Glad to hear your trip went well and that you're feeling enlightened.

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  2. Running Blogs are better when they are about more than just running. You write well, so it is good to expound on other topics and activities that you care about. Good luck with getting back into the school groove.
    Train hard, recovery week is OVER.

    js4

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