Saturday, August 6, 2011

Thank You

I'm not a terribly religious person. Mike and I both grew up Catholic, and our two older boys go to a Catholic school.

However, we *never* go to mass as a family. I know. Shame on us (Catholic guilt).

We tried a few times last spring, and it was just awful. Perhaps there are 2 year-old little boys who will sit quietly in pews, but we do not have one of them. Since we don't have a church nursery, Mike and I had to take turns with Colin in the atrium. Oh, Tyler was there in the atrium too. The little ones get the older ones all riled up... You know how that goes.

Or maybe you don't?  

SO painful.

At any rate, I still believe in the power of prayer and believe that cultivating a relationship with God is important. I do want to make it a goal to attend Friday morning mass when school starts. Each week, there is a 9 am mass that all of the children at Catholic school attend. Parents are welcome to attend too. I think it would be nice for Evan and Tyler to see me there.

Where am I going with this?

I'm battling yet another injury and instead of asking God to fix it, I've decided to just thank Him for allowing me to still be able to run.  

I'm frustrated.

Things were going so well. I was building some solid mileage and increasing my speed. I was feeling really confident about breaking a 1:45 in my upcoming half marathon (5 weeks from today).

Now I feel like that's kind of slipping away. I have to listen to my body, and right now, it's telling me that right around a 9:30 pace is where it's at. That's it.

Cue pouting baby photo

It is what it is.

During my run this morning, I did a lot of positive self-talk. I kept telling myself how great it was that I was still out there running. How great it was that I was still able to do it even though it didn't feel particularly great. I kept telling myself that sometimes, this is just part of distance running. Perhaps there are people who are fortunate to never be injured, but I don't know... I've read enough running blogs to know that more often than not, that's not the case.

I told myself that with time and TLC, this calf strain/shin splint/whatever the heck is going on will go away.

And at the end of my run, I thanked God for allowing me to still be able to run. I thanked him for still taking care of my body and allowing me to do something that I love.

The function of prayer is not to influence God, but rather to change the nature of the one who prays.~ Soren Kierkegaard

4 comments:

  1. Oh Allison, I can SO relate to this post on every level (from the Catholic guilt to injury frustration to being thankful to God...). This morning on my recovery run I was thinking these same kinds of thoughts about injury and gratitude. We all go through it. You will get through this! I was remembering how I felt 3 months ago when my back went out and I was so discouraged. I was worried it would derail me, but I did what I had to do to heal and now I am running strong again. I think you are right, this IS part of distance running. We have to listen to our bodies and deal with setbacks. You will get better and you will be stronger in body, mind and spirit once you are on the other side of this thing. Hang in there!

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  2. PS - I love the pouty baby face. Soooo cute!

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  3. allison, i'm so sorry you are having to deal with this. been there. done that. You will get back at your previous condition soon and based on your most recent post I'm POSITIVE that will happen. excited for you. My dad grew up Catholic and found in adulthood that guilt sucks and relationship with our God is what matters. Sounds like you have found that. Thank you God for giving us bodies that can run and do something we love!!

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  4. Booo. Is there such a thing as a runner without an injury? Ouch!!

    I always figure that God is strong enough and big enough for me to yell whatever Im thinking and it not hurt His feelings. lol. Now, as far as running, I have taken to singing praise music, just incase that mind body spirtual thing might help me go just a little bit further. Im that desperate. :O)

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