What Running Makes of Me

"There is no substitute for finding out one's own self, for the personal revelation, for knowing first hand...When I run that happens. The body and the spirit become one. Running becomes prayer and applause for me and my Creator. When I run, I am filled with confidence and the faith that word contains. I can face unanswerable questions, certain that there are answers."

George Sheehan, This Running Life

There is a bend in the West Mississippi River Road just southeast of Downtown Minneapolis. When you head south, the path plunges down over 100 feet of vertical elevation over the course of a third of a mile. The road and accompanying recreational trails pass under the iconic arches of the I-35W bridge that provide motorists passage over the river gorge. As you run along this section of the "Grand Rounds Parkway", it feels like crossing into a new time and space. Though it is over a mile from the origin point of most of my runs, this unintended gateway is truly where my running begins.

The hill provides a dramatic divide between a bustling downtown metropolis and what feels like a separate part of the world. When my legs reach the bottom of the hill, my stride evens out in stark contrast to the choppy steps a long downhill necessitates. With a few final adjusted breaths, my aerobic system, muscles, and frame unite and I'm simply running. Momentarily, after another quarter or half a mile, running begins its work. By the two mile point, before a gradual uphill section rises to meet one of my favorite bridge crossings in the Twin Cities, running has revealed what's truly on my mind.

By the top of the Franklin Avenue Hill, my running has become the truth. All of the things I am at the top of the hill are a reality. The stretch of the achilles, gastrocnemius, and soleus are real. The onset of lactic acid accumulation initiated by my pace is a true or false test of physical exertion. The most pressing issues in my soul and mind have come to the front and I am the sum total of my physical, spiritual and emotional parts.

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Over the years I've paged through a few of history's renowned theologians, philosophers, and thinkers. Kierkegaard, James, Nietzsche, the Greeks, the Romans. reformers, scholastics, romantics, theosophists. Nihilists, positivists, fascists, communists, and republicans. Generals, poets, pastors, professors, farmers, and naturalists. Criminals, heroes, and the editorialists in the local mullet wrapper tribune.

Too much. My mind is only capable of so much inquiry before the questions disable any return on investment. The time required for digestion requires to much space in actual time, of which all thinkers recognize we have so little. Though I continue to seek, the place I've been given to find is while the minutes and miles pass during my time on the run.

There is a point during every run where I am fully all of the parts of my being. I am more than my patellar tendonitis or problems at work or how to potty train my toddler but those things are a part of my experience. And experience tells me the run will come to completion in fine form. Without always knowing it the run has been a prayer to my creator and a celebration of all the things within my current experience. 

As Dr. Sheenan is quoted above, during my run I am a fully discovered self. According to my beliefs and convictions, I see it as a place where an eternal, holy and wise God communicates himself to me. Of course, I recognize that is a statement of inherent faith.

But regardless of spiritually, there remain few things more real than what running has made of me. Every day I head out for a run there will be a moment of honest clarity where the truth is known if only for that moment at the top of hill on the Mississippi River Gorge.

The War on My Timeline

As a kid I remember riding in the car and pulling up beside beat up old trucks or mini vans or station wagons completely covered with bumper stickers. I was too young to understand the metaphors or puns or even some of the language being used. But somehow, I intrinsically knew the driver was passionate about something. There was a marked intensity that was palpable even if I had no understanding.

Fast forward to today. Grab your phone. Hit Facebook, Twitter or even Instagram. I'm right back at the window of my family's minivan looking out at a nearly indecipherable world of e-bumper stickers.

The truth is we're not more or less opinionated than we were 20, 30 or 50 years ago. We just have more access to information and more square footage to cover with sticky sided vinyl. Yet, despite more perceived awareness and the availability of more potential platforms to inform, it feels my corner of the world is more divided than ever before. And according to every thing else I can find, the rest of the nation feels that way too.

It feels like a war on my timeline and I'm struggling to figure out where to engage. I've posted about sport and it becomes a war zone about the politics of socioeconomics. I've posted about ministry to various at risk segments of society and it becomes a war zone about theology or race relations. 

Have we lost the ability to ignore the things that don't deserve our time? Have we lost the ability answer legitimate questions without hostility? Is there a way to stand for beliefs, knowing you'll upset the cart, without the sole intention of creating hostility?  

I know there has to be a fight and change requires anger, division and most likely rage. I'm an endurance sport coach and athlete so I am fully aware that washing yourself clean through the tides of pain and struggle is both necessary and often healthy.

I'm just not sure social media bumper stickers are any more effective than the polyurethane plastered to the rusty bumpers and rounded glass of AMC Pacers in 1987. 

And yes, my car is covered with bumper stickers, too.  

103 Days, Toddler Injuries and Dr. Sheehan

We'll, we're deep into 2017 and I'm quite behind on my goal of one post per week. Life happens and I'll chalk up the lack of posts to focusing on my family and coaching, both of which are completely true and part of my three-prong focus for the year.

The other included running every day for a year. That dream is currently alive and well. After today's brief shakeout and strides I'm at 103 consecutive days of running at least 2 miles or 15 minutes. I'd say 2-3 runs per week are 15 minutes to 3 miles at just faster than 8 minute pace. The other 4-5 days are 4-8 miles at what ever feels comfortable with no goal pace. After the run I allow the garmin data to tell me if I should do a short day or get another normal day in before a recovery is needed. 

I'm also doing a lunge matrix before each run and a hip strength and mobility series after each run. They are the recommended items from Coach Jay Johnson if you want to look them up online. My legs feel pretty normal and I ran the 2017 TCM Hot Dash 10 miler 2 minutes faster than a year ago on a much more challenging course. Overall I feel good and my runs are now habit which was my man goal all along. 20-25 miles per week obviously isn't a ton of volume. But if I get up to 25-30 a week over the summer I'll easily surpass my highest mileage total in at least 10 years.

In my reading I've been enjoying some classic early 80's Dr. Sheehan and I'll try to get some prime snipets put together for another post in early May.  There has also been some time looking back at Joe Vigil's classic text "Run to the Top" as I've enjoyed seeing the success of his protégé, and one of my favorite pros, Brenda Martinez. 

I'll wrap up this post with something from the parenting realm. I'm not an expert and my wife and I are learning day by day how to raise a very active 19 month old toddler. But in case you were wondering, it's not a great idea allow the boy to hop off a moving swing. After a wonderful few precious hours of family time on Sunday, our guy hopped off a slow moving swing and the landing created a fracture in his lower tibia. We spent the afternoon at an urgent care and then Wednesday at an ortho getting his first hard cast. It was pretty lame but we all love each other a good bit more and that was also one focus point for my 2017. Maybe we'll come up with something a little less traumatic next time.