Uncomfortable

The feeling of success experienced when you see a goal to its completion is even more sweet when that goal seemed impossible not so long ago.

For 2021 I decided to step out of my comfort zone and signed up for a training program called Love the Run Your With (LTRYW) through the group Another Mother Runner. Each month, February through May, has its own goal event. For February it was running your fastest mile.

I haven’t done a timed mile since my freshman year of high school. That was 26 years ago. And back then, as I divulged in a previous post, I despised it. Fast forward my 14-year-old self to now and my 41-year-old self loves running. Still, I’m not a speed runner. My jam is to run longer distances at a slower pace, not to be lightening fast.

I took a over year off from serious running due to the effects of rheumatoid arthritis on my body and my cardiovascular fitness. The disease had produced global affects on my body that made running even short distances a grueling struggle followed by serious fatigue. What was once easy left me gasping for breath. At one point I wondered if I’d ever be able to return to the sport I loved. I ran the 2019 Chelan Man Half Marathon not knowing if it would be my last.

This past Thursday I saw my rheumatologist for my quarterly check up and he’s thrilled with my progress. And I concur! I had forgotten what feeling “good” felt like, but the past couple months have been a reminder. I’ve had my ups and downs–the downs usually following a super busy/stressful week and the clinic or when I accidentally eat foods I shouldn’t. But that recent rheumatology visit, along with this running program, has helped me see the light at the end of the tunnel. The sport is not lost to me.

My hiatus from running has given me new perspective on what I’m able to do. Each mile and it’s challenges are a gift from God in my sight. Recently I was faced with a training run that landed on a day where the temperature hovering around 3°, the wind was blowing a good 10mph and snow intermittently fell at a steep angle. I could have avoided this run based on the brutality I may have faced. Instead, I layered up my SmartWool and accepted the challenge. As I pounded away the miles each was an earthly manifestation of Heavenly goodness in my life. They were the answer to so many journal pages covered in my tears, tears that fell as I cried out to the Lord asking Him to relieve my suffering and bring me new life free of the encumbrances of RA.

So today I ran as fast as I could for a mile. As the LTRYW trainer Jenny Parker Harrison said in a recent pre-event briefing, “You can do anything uncomfortable for a mile.” I was joined by one of my running friends as well as a pack of dogs. Literally, we ran our warm up with no less than 5 dogs weaving between our legs. Would you expect anything less from a veterinarian? I survived the first timed mile in 26 years–it was real, it was kinda fun (when you add in the warm up conversation had between me and my running buddy), but all together it was NOT real fun. The last third of a mile was a mental game to not give up, to not give in. I had a secret goal of getting between a 7′ and 7’30” mile….and I did it! To be exact I did 7’29″…a lot better than the 15 minute mile I barely managed in high school