Lucky...
It's not something that is a secret. When I run, I think...a lot.
A couple of days ago Mrs Messenjah gave me permission to head out on a 20 mile run after church. When I say, she "gave me permission" it's because having a one month old and 2 rambunctious other children can be taxing on her. I do try to help as much as I can with cooking, "light" cleaning, laundry, yard work, baths, showers, playing games, reading, etc...normal parenting duties. There are sometimes though that I just need to get away. I am admittedly a very high stress person and if I haven't run in a few days, the claws tend to come out over incredibly trivial things.
This run, I knew, wasn't going to be like many others this year. The forecast called for highs in the mid to upper 90's, with 85-90% humidity and wind gusts of up to 20mph. Typically your normal runner will see a forecast like that and scoff at going outside, especially during the hottest part of the day, but as I have said on many occasions, I am not your typical runner. I like to test what I am capable of. I love to see how far I can push things to know my absolute breaking point. Many times it doesn't bode well, but that is how I learn...by failing.
Needless to say, the heat, humidity and wind nearly did me in. I was hydrating really well, but stupidly only brought one pack of Clif Shot Bloks to last 20 miles. Ooops. I was forced to a walk for almost the last 7 miles with a few sporadic bursts of light jogging thrown in there as I was so low on calories. As I continued to watch my watch and the miles very slowly ticked up and my pace per mile very slowly got worse, it forced me to think how lucky I was ON THIS DAY to be out whining and complaining about how terrible my run was going. I got to thinking about a friend who I've known since we were toddlers and how she would just love to take one step without crutches because of a tumor that took that ability away from her 25 years ago. I began to think about how lucky I am to be able to run at all because of a stroke that tried to take that ability from me 17 years ago. I began to think about how lucky I was to have a body that has recovered from years of gorging my face to fill some sort of selfish void that I had created in my head. I began to think about how lucky I was to have a wife and kids who care so much about me that they would forgo a few hours away from me so that I can clear my head. Lucky...
I finished the run about 30 minutes slower than I was hoping, got home, had a nice chat with my parents who happened to stop by on their way home from their vacation, had some dinner and hung out with my family. I was exhausted, calorie deficient, cranky but thankful that I made it home with out any serious complications.
As I got up at 4:00am to go for my run after a long night with the new baby, I got to thinking again how lucky we are to live in a country where we can do things like running without having to worry about getting shot at or abducted. Sure, there are cases where this has happened and it makes me sick to my stomach to think about, but the majority of us will never encounter anything like this. I am so lucky to be able to sleep in a nice cool house in the summer and warm house in the winter. I'm lucky to have a bed, food, a job to go to, a car to take me places, and most importantly a family that loves me. I'm lucky to have shoes to put on my feet that have taken me to some amazing places and some very dark places. I am truly lucky to be alive and be able to experience a beautiful sunrise in the Iowa countryside
Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah
A couple of days ago Mrs Messenjah gave me permission to head out on a 20 mile run after church. When I say, she "gave me permission" it's because having a one month old and 2 rambunctious other children can be taxing on her. I do try to help as much as I can with cooking, "light" cleaning, laundry, yard work, baths, showers, playing games, reading, etc...normal parenting duties. There are sometimes though that I just need to get away. I am admittedly a very high stress person and if I haven't run in a few days, the claws tend to come out over incredibly trivial things.
This run, I knew, wasn't going to be like many others this year. The forecast called for highs in the mid to upper 90's, with 85-90% humidity and wind gusts of up to 20mph. Typically your normal runner will see a forecast like that and scoff at going outside, especially during the hottest part of the day, but as I have said on many occasions, I am not your typical runner. I like to test what I am capable of. I love to see how far I can push things to know my absolute breaking point. Many times it doesn't bode well, but that is how I learn...by failing.
Needless to say, the heat, humidity and wind nearly did me in. I was hydrating really well, but stupidly only brought one pack of Clif Shot Bloks to last 20 miles. Ooops. I was forced to a walk for almost the last 7 miles with a few sporadic bursts of light jogging thrown in there as I was so low on calories. As I continued to watch my watch and the miles very slowly ticked up and my pace per mile very slowly got worse, it forced me to think how lucky I was ON THIS DAY to be out whining and complaining about how terrible my run was going. I got to thinking about a friend who I've known since we were toddlers and how she would just love to take one step without crutches because of a tumor that took that ability away from her 25 years ago. I began to think about how lucky I am to be able to run at all because of a stroke that tried to take that ability from me 17 years ago. I began to think about how lucky I was to have a body that has recovered from years of gorging my face to fill some sort of selfish void that I had created in my head. I began to think about how lucky I was to have a wife and kids who care so much about me that they would forgo a few hours away from me so that I can clear my head. Lucky...
I finished the run about 30 minutes slower than I was hoping, got home, had a nice chat with my parents who happened to stop by on their way home from their vacation, had some dinner and hung out with my family. I was exhausted, calorie deficient, cranky but thankful that I made it home with out any serious complications.
As I got up at 4:00am to go for my run after a long night with the new baby, I got to thinking again how lucky we are to live in a country where we can do things like running without having to worry about getting shot at or abducted. Sure, there are cases where this has happened and it makes me sick to my stomach to think about, but the majority of us will never encounter anything like this. I am so lucky to be able to sleep in a nice cool house in the summer and warm house in the winter. I'm lucky to have a bed, food, a job to go to, a car to take me places, and most importantly a family that loves me. I'm lucky to have shoes to put on my feet that have taken me to some amazing places and some very dark places. I am truly lucky to be alive and be able to experience a beautiful sunrise in the Iowa countryside
Stay Strong, Run Long
Tha Messenjah
Comments