I Choose Hard

By Carissa

It struck me the other day when I ran down the mental list of my next three runs that they were all going to be hard.  First in the queue was hill repeats.  Eight sets of running up a quarter mile hard and then jogging back to the start only to begin the torture all over again.  The second workout was a pace run.  Pace runs are a chance to practice running a pace that one plans (or in my case hopes) to race at.  Thanks to McMillan Running Calculator and my most recent race I’m training at a half marathon race pace that defies common sense.  The third scheduled workout was a long run.  The first hour and twenty minutes would be relaxing but the last twenty five minutes would again be at race pace.  Shifting into a faster gear at the end of a long run is always a struggle for me.  

The work out may be hard but the peace of the early morning and the view of the moon is beautiful

There is a certain amount of anxiety with which I approach each of these runs.  This is hard work.  Considering that I have a long track record of hitting or exceeding my expectations for these training runs, my anxiety must be connected to what I know the run will contain.  This is guaranteed:

There will be pain.  

There will be struggle.  

There will be the desire to stop.  

However, 

I will keep going.  

I will shut out those voices in my head that ask why I am doing this.  

The ones that plead with me to stop.  

The fact of the matter is I can do this 

and so I do.

This kid chooses hard too.  A pic from the day he ran 7 miles at the track.

Jodi is also training to run the Girlfriends Half in October.  She told me the other day that the training program we are following is stressing her out.  She doesn’t like doing speed work so often.  Her plan is to revise the program so that she will both be ready for the race and can once again experience the joy of running.   I understand how she is feeling.  It’s certainly tempting to take the pressure out of training and the “hard” out of it.  Not that Jodi’s training won’t be hard.  She loves to run fast but she also loves to run fast all the time and at her own choosing not at the dictation of “the schedule.”  With this schedule, there are days that one is supposed to run slow alternated with days of fast running.  I knew there was Following-The-Schedule trouble when Jodi kept reporting in to me that she was running fast on her slow days.  Ah, I sure do love her and our different approaches to running!

I bought Jodi this shirt because it made us laugh but it's kind of true too.

Choosing hard has been my approach to running for some time.  What qualifies as hard has been the variable.  After childbirth, the hard was just getting out the door or onto the treadmill.  My next hard was distance.  Within the first year of my third son being born I trained for a half and a full marathon.  The challenge of the longer distance fueled me in a different way than a 5k or a 10k.  I liked that it was hard.  With distance under my belt, I chose to start attempting some of those speed workouts I had formally ignored.  And guess what?  It's hard.  The fact that I am now dreaming of a challenge with the word “ultra” in it should really be no surprise.

I love this quote so much its now on the wall of my son's room.

Why do I choose hard?  I can’t help it.  I can’t sit in the comfort of what I’ve already done and not aspire for more.  As scary as it is, the hard has allowed me to accomplish things that I never thought possible.  I’m willing and motivated to keep embracing hard in order to see where it takes me.  

I also believe that this mental and physical training that I devote to running makes me spiritually stronger for all aspects of my life.  After all, I am in training to persevere as I follow Jesus.  Life is hard.  Unlike my workouts, I don't have a lot of choice in the matter.  Running allows me to practice persevering both physically and mentally.  When life is hard, I draw from the strength to persevere that I've practiced while running.  I make my runs a time to commune with Jesus.  As with all aspects of my life, He is with me through the hard and He is my song through the victories.

Here are a few verses about persevering from the Scriptures that encourage me through the hard:

James 1:2, 3 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

James 1:12

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised those who love him.

1 Corinthians 13:17

[About love] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Revelation 2:3

You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.

How about you sole sisters?  Do you choose hard?  Does running help you persevere in other aspects of your life?