Great FEAT, Not so Great FEET & some Application!

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Amen, and amen! Yesterday, I completed another 20 miler in my 13th week of training for the ING Georgia Marathon on March 25. In reality, instead of running 20 miles, I pushed it to 22.

My motivation for running 22 was to get near the “wall”. For those of you who do not know, the “wall” in marathon running is the point your body shuts down and you feel like you can not take another step. From past experience, my marathon “wall” is somewhere between miles 18 and 22. Since I have not yet hit the “wall” in my last three long runs, I decided to push my body to see if I could get near it.

I have good news. I did not hit the “wall” at 22 miles. Now that does not mean the “wall” (or the BIG HAIRY GORILLA, as I like to refer to it) was not waiting me at mile 22.1 or 22.2. But thank goodness for today I did not brush near it. In fact, it was a great run. What made the run even better was that it was my fastest 22-miler ever.

Here is how the run with my good friend, Dr. John Thweatt, pastor of FBC Pell City played out:

• First, it was a little bit chilly in the initial five miles. I think the last temperature I heard from James Spann was 27 degrees. Yes, that is chilly.
• John and I conversed about everything—our families, ourselves, our preaching, our churches, our ministries—you name it we talked about it. By the way, every time I speak of you, I always speak in glowing terms. And so does John when he speaks of his people.
• The first half-marathon (13.2 miles) was a new personal record for me—2:05:00. If my brain calculated the time correctly that is 9:37 per mile pace, twenty three seconds faster than my marathon goal pace.
• Mile 20 was another personal record for me at 3:15:00. That translates into 9:45 per mile pace.

Finally, I achieved my personal best with 22 miles at 3:38:00, which is a 9:55 per mile pace. I am not totally convinced of the accuracy of the last mile since I was running more by feel and not by a specific distance. I may have run more than a mile. I can safely say I know I did not run less than a mile, because I ran for 11 minutes on the last mile.

Pardon me for writing so much about this feat in my training program. I recounted every step with Vonda late this afternoon. After divulging my thoughts with her, I thought I would share my excitement with you.

Now, for the not so Great FEET

My run was filled with some humorous moments. Whenever you run for 3 hours and 38 minutes with someone else something funny will inevitably to happen to you.

At mile 17 or 18 John and I were reminiscing about our college football playing days. Have you ever noticed the farther away you get from those days the better athlete you were? I ask that question rhetorically. So, please, do not leave any comments.

Some of the humorous experiences I cannot divulge. However, one is worth recounting.

While running through Jemison Trail in Mountain Brook I was bragging about my ability as an offensive lineman. “I was too small to play, but I made up for it in my ability,” I bragged. Of course, John asked how I developed that ability, and that is when I reminded him of how my brother and I taught ourselves how to ride a unicycle for better balance.

What happened next, as we would say, is priceless.

Remember now, we are running a trail with rocks, gravel and roots. ROOTS would be the operative word in the preceding sentence, and I am bragging about my agility.

So, I am boasting and bragging when out of nowhere a root moves in front of me…and you can only guess what kind of mess I made. My fall was in slow motion. I stumbled. I stammered. It was deliberate. I even had time to think, “Uh oh, I am falling. This is not going to be good.” And then I fell with a great crash.
Yes, I put my hands out to catch myself, and now the palms of my hands are very fresh and tender, not to mention my left knee and shin.
The look on John’s face said it all. I think he was glad he was two or three strides in front of me. If we had been closer, we would be at the hospital having his body x-rayed for broken bones; for I am confident I would have landed on him. He stepped back to lift me to my feet, brush dirt off my shoulder and we pressed on.

And Now for the Application
Trust me I hear those of you who have read this far in my blog saying, “Get to the point, Ryan. Get to the point. Give us the application.”

Running 22 miles is a microcosm of life, and so here is my application.

First, be selective who you run with.
I ran with John today so he would pace me. He lifted me up to a personal best. In life we must be particular who we run with. People will either lift us up or bring us down. Associate with people who lift you up, or who make you better. John Thweatt made me a better runner today.

Second, as in running, you have many ups and downs in life.
You should embrace each challenge as it comes, pick yourself up, clean yourself off and move on.

Third, decide in advance you will do your best.
Today, I set out to run a personal best. Each day I should decide to do my personal best, not for myself but for the Lord.

Four, recount on the good.
There were parts of the run that were not very pleasing. We climbed three or four brutal hills. My fall bruised my pride. Instead of dwelling on the negative, I dwelled on the best parts of the run. Life is like that, also. There are parts of your day that tough. Instead of dwelling on those things, recount the good from your day to others.

I could give many more applications, but I will resist and bring this elaborate and self-consuming blog to a conclusion. In short, today was a good day to run. Actually, every day is a good day to run.