Winter Running Update

  I spent a good part of the weekend in Tacoma for a basketball tournament with my son's school.  We are not a sports family that devotes our weekends to travel teams and sports tournament.  It is not "us." With our children in a small private school where sports are encouraged and open to everyone, we get a small taste of multi-day tournaments in a different city.  It has been a positive experience for all our children to learn the rules of a sport and teamwork skills even if they do not play after middle school.

Many of us parents mingled on the bleachers between games and sat together at the all team spaghetti feed.  A few asked me, "Have you been running?" or "How is your racing going?" Which really makes me happy that many "nun-runners" still take a interest. I shared with many the short answer.  Here's the longer version:

My running and racing plans always morph and change sometimes last minute.  Which is why I always seem to sign up for races late and miss the early bird deadlines.  Originally when I began this running journey of ten races in 2020, I had planned on doing a full marathon in the spring.  I ran a half in December and beat my original time.  My training was already halfway there.  However God is teaching me that there are many events we cannot plan for and we have to navigate through them.  Changing plans is OK and sometimes necessary.

I have gotten three major colds since mid December.  Due to my work and family demands I almost always exercise in the early morning hours like around 5 AM.  When I am sick, I need sleep to recover.  So I forgo the early morning workouts or do not exercise at all.  This means I have had one or two good weeks on and then one week of nothing.  I fell like I not have not  had any consistency since early December.

I also dealt with an increased amount of stress after Christmas Break that was off an on until a few weeks ago.  Running actually helps with stress.  I feel like it helps "re-organize" my brain.  My emotions dissipate and I can think clearly after a good workout.  Sometimes the excess amount of stress makes everything feel overwhelming even the things I enjoy.  Finding workout clothes, lacing up my shoes and going for a short run feels like a chore equivalent to cleaning the whole house.

The good news is if you have been exercising regularly, you are not starting from scratch when you pick it back up again.  It is probably better for me to do a fall or early winter marathon because I tend to have more time for longer runs in the summer.  Fall is one of my favorite times to run anyway.  So I am trying to be more open and less anxiety-ridden about plans being derailed.  If that is something I am gaining from this journey, than that is another win.

We had a pretty great weekend and enjoyed stunning views of Mount Rainier on the drive up.  Not so much on the ride home because it is rainy.

Race Report: Be My Muddy Valentine

Be My Muddy Valentine
5K Obstacle Course Race
Time = 57:33

On Saturday, February 15th I conquered several obstacles and waded through piles of mud compling the Be My Muddy Valentine Obstacle Course 5K at Lee Farms in Tualatin.  It was my first race of 2020.  One of ten.

Needless to say my morning did not go according to planned.  My son was supposed to do the race with me.  We did it together in 2018 and 2017 and were looking forward to spurring one another through the challenging course.  A nasty throaty feverish cold went through our house this week and he got hit the hardest Friday late afternoon.  Also both years we were blessed with sunny warm-like conditions and zero rain.  I woke up Saturday morning to pouring rain and cooler temperatures.  The rain was supposed to continue throughout the whole morning into the afternoon.

 I honestly did not want to go.  Last week I worked extra hours and I found my mind still partially there in the evening hours when I returned home.  I wanted to be with my family on a blustery Saturday morning cozying up at home.  Now I would be gone the entire morning racing solo.  My husband reminded me I used quite a bit of spending money to run this race.  Which is true.  Obstacle course races tend to cost more than regular running races.  The frugal part of me (which is partially to blame on my stubborn Dutch heritage) could not justify wasting that money to stay home.

As I drove forty-five minutes to Tualatin, God kept putting the word "obstacles" on heart.  There have been many blessings in my life the past few months.  I could count them one by one and make a gratitude list.  However, there have been plenty of obstacles in both my working and personal life.  Some I expected. Others I was ill prepared for.

I was reminded of crossing the obstacles in life as I crossed the first obstacles of my race.  I began my race with a wave of about twenty other men and women. Starting the race, we ran along a mix of dirt trail mixed with some rocks.  This was not difficult for me at all. At one point I was at the front of the pack.  I could tell I had more running training than most of the group.

 One of the first major obstacles is two large walls approximately nine to ten feet tall with a slight incline.  Runners must gain speed and run up the wall "parkour style" and climb back down.  My son can always make it over the wall on his first try.  Children naturally climb when they play. Their bodies are also more flexible.  As we creep into our forties, our bodies lose their flexibility and balance.  I think our brains also have a built in fear of "What if I get hurt badly" whereas children go both feet forward and consider the consequences later.  It always takes me an extra try or two to get over.  This time with the wet and extra muddy conditions, it was not looking good for me.  I tried and barely got a couple feet up the wall and could not grasp the top.  Some younger twenty somethings who caught up to me said, "Do you want to get over the wall?"  To which I replied, "Yes, can you help me?"  They nodded.

We counted, "1-2-3" and one lifted me by the foot and the other grabbed my arms.  I hoisted my body over.  I stayed at the top of the wall and helped the next person over.  We repeated the procedure on the second wall.  It was like this throughout the whole course.  Another person and I lifted a tire together because we knew we did not have the capabilities to lift it alone.  We guided each other through the muddy swamp and encouraged one another as we tackled a rope climb.  I would rather had my son to team up with, but I was grateful for the people in my wave.

It reminded me of many obstacles we faced in the ministry and in our personal lives.  We had to open ourselves up  to people that could get us over our own walls--sometimes people we would least expect.  Of course God was with us and showed us His unconditional love and grace.  He provided us with people to walk with us through those obstacles. Here are a few examples:

When my youngest was a baby she became quite sick with bronchiolitis.   Rob had to go to California leaving me behind with a preschooler, toddler, and a very sick baby.  A friend in my church who was single at the time probably had better things to do on a Friday night like go out with her friends.  Instead she chose to hold my sick baby to give me a break.  She put my preschooler to bed.  She sat on the couch and watched the Winter Olympics with me because I had little energy to do much else.

Two years ago we were walking through a difficult time in our ministry.  Due to confidentiality needs and people desiring space to heal, I could not draw much support from friends at church.  This is something that is never easy but sometimes necessary when you are the pastor or pastor's spouse.  It can be lonely and sometimes end a ministry, but thankfully it was only a season in our lives.  God provided us with Joey and Robyn from 10 10 Ministries who walked with us and helped us move from Point A to Point B.  We were blessed we had met them the summer prior before everything occurred.  We had instant support that we did not have to go searching for.  God also provided me with supportive co-workers which made my workplace a refuge from the challenges of my personal and church life.  This is something I have not always had.  More often it has been the opposite.

On Sunday Rob preached from Romans 12 and I was reminded of verse 15:  "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those of who mourn."

Who is helping you over your obstacles?  How can you open your heart to receiving their support?

On How We Spend Our Time: Protecting the Inner Circle

When Rob and I met Joey and Robyn in June of 2017 on a 10 10 marriage retreat, we talked about the work/rest rhythm and protecting quality time with one another...and our family.  It has been a slow growth process for me.  I am coming off a few weeks where I feel like "the train derailed."  I spent the last week surveying the damage, cleaning up the wreckage and putting the train back on the track.

I was reminded of last summer.  I love the beginning of summer because it is a blank sheet of paper to sketch our hopes and dreams for the next twelve weeks.  We have created "Summer Bucket Lists" on whiteboards and mentally in our minds.  Last year in early June the Oregon rain dissipated and the sky opened up to a warm summer-like sun.  Our family biked and skateboarded to the park a stone's throw from our house as we typically do on Sunday afternoons in the spring and summer.  My son who was eleven at the time prefers to venture into the woods and climb trees versus utilize the play equipment.  He was overlooking Pringle Creek which is an urban flow of streams that go through several of our parks and neighborhoods.

My son and I began tracing in our minds where the creek flows to.  We had run across the same creek in a different park a few years ago when we were training for an obstacle course race.  Then my son had this grand idea, "Let's follow the creek as far as we can.  We can put on old shoes and walk through it and see where it leads."

This was the one activity he wanted to do with me in the summer.  It was simple and did not cost us anything.  We did not even have to drive anywhere.  However, there always seems to be a hundred obstacles getting in the way of doing the simplest and most meaningful activities with the ones we care about.

 I do not work many hours in the summer so I could not even use my job as an excuse.  You know how it goes.  The laundry, organizing the middle closet, and summer education course takes precedence.  Not to mention the time suckers that demand our attention like social media and addictive reality TV shows.Guilty!  But I was sorting laundry while I was watching it!  Still guilty. Then of course the conversation in my head:  "Amy you are not working this summer.  You have extra time to volunteer at church. You can organize A, B, C, and D.  You could serve on another committee."

You move, you push, you create your long to-do list and your goal is to disappoint nobody. You have a clean house with folded laundry. You organized the whole attic top to bottom. You completed your second to the last education course for your associates degree with a decent grade.  You teach VBS and do a pretty stellar job. You plan a youth group whitewater rafting and hiking adventure.

 The truth is we usually disappoint the ones we care about the most.  Because late August comes and you still have not done the one thing you promised to do with your son.

 So on one of the last days of summer, I told my son, "Let's do it!  Let's go creek walking!"  We strap on old shoes and we walk a half mile down the road and enter the creek at the baseball field near our house.  We are in a tree covered canopy as we step from one slippery rock to the next.  We keep commenting, "It is hard to believe we are in our neighborhood."  We feel like we have been transported to a rural forest miles away.

My mind has been transported too.  I am fully present with my son.  Not dwelling on the house work that needs to be done, or the orientation meeting at my daughter's school I have to go that evening, or the fact I go back to work in three days. Not even dwelling on what bacteria might be in the water or the fact we might be trespassing through other people's backyards.  That has all been put up on a shelf and I don't need to take it out and examine it at that moment.  For the record we did get yelled at by a cranky elderly man to get off his property even though I believe the creek is technically city property.

Shauna Niequist in her book Present Over Perfect (which is on the 10 10's recommended reading list) says the following about disappointing others:

“Picture your relationships like concentric circles: the inner circle is your spouse, your children, your very best friends.  Then the next circle out is your extended family and good friends.  Then people you know, but not well, colleagues, and so on to the outer edge. Aim to disappoint the people at the center as rarely as possible.  And then learn to be more comfortable with disappointing the people who lie at the edge of the circle—people you’re not as close to, people who do not and should not require your unflagging dedication.” (55)

I am reminded of this memory on this rain soaked still-winter-not-quite-spring Saturday morning in early February.  When work demands increased triple-fold.  When church responsibilities still linger.  When housework needs to be completed.  When I really should exercise because I neglected it all week.  When there is a pile of emails I still have not responded to.  I am going to lay that aside and put it on a shelf.  Instead I am going to sit and eat homemade cinnamon rolls with my family and talk about future summer vacations.  Tonight I am going to see a movie with my husband.  I am not going to disappoint my inner circle this weekend.