Are You Doing Too Much?

Why is rest so important?

Because overtraining will result in injury and take you out of the race.

My training book made it clear that if during the marathon (and while training) you need to walk a little, slow the pace, or even stop to stretch for a bit, do it! It’s important to remember that 26.2 miles is quite the distance and if you’re in it for the long haul, you need to listen to your body.

Early on in training (week 2 or so) I started feeling some pain above my left heel. I didn’t think much of it and kept running and stuck to my schedule. As I went out the next day for my run, I only made it one block from my house before sharp pain set in and it hurt to walk. But, if you know me, I am a bit on the type A side.  I couldn’t get it out of my head that I had to finish my miles and get them in no matter what, so I limped the 2.75 miles instead of swallowing my stubbornness and pride and going home.

I could barely go up and down the stairs without pain. Turns out I was suffering from a wee bit of tendonitis. I started stretching it more and talked myself into believing I would be okay to run again the next day. I wasn’t. The day after that didn’t prove any better. After 3 days passed I began to freak out because I wanted to keep going. My thoughts were frantic. I couldn’t get behind in my training because I am no athletic superstar and I needed all 5 months to build up to the marathon or I would never make it!

After several deep breaths, a review of my training book and wise words from other running friends told me exactly what I didn’t want to hear, “you just need to rest.”

REST?! I CAN’T REST! I NEED TO RUN. I’M GETTING BEHIND. I’ll never finish now! These thoughts carried me on a swift current to the worst case scenario and a huge fear – not being able to run the marathon. Friends, I know this all sounds very dramatic, as it was so early on in training. Missing a few runs here and there at that stage was not going to break me, but if I had kept running on an injured foot…that would have put me out. Hindsight is 20/20 and I see that rest is what healed my tendonitis (along with regular icing, ibuprofen, and KT tape), but in the moment, rest took a concentrated effort. Every fiber of my being wanted to get out and run. Fighting against that was hard, even though I knew it was exactly what I needed in order to get to the place I so desperately wanted to be – back out on the pavement training!

Rest did its work and my tendonitis got better – the pain subsided and I was able to resume training again with no real ground lost.

Fast forward to three weeks before the marathon. It was another early Saturday when I embarked on my last 18 miler before the marathon. With each stride around the familiar lake I felt strong, energized, and excited. When I hit 13.1 miles, I was smiling like an idiot, picturing marathon day in my head, imagining friends and family cheering me on. I finished the final loop of the lake and headed back out onto the road toward home.  Mile 14 hit and with it a sharp pain in my left knee that took my breath away. My stride faltered and my breathing fell out of rhythm. The pain dulled but didn’t go away and I was forced to slow my pace down to what felt like a crawl. Looking back, I probably should have stopped then and there, but I had it in my head that I had to get in those last 4 miles, no matter what cries of pain echoed through my body. Each step started to feel weighted and every little curb or incline made me grimace and gasp out loud. Only when I made it home and started to stretch did panic begin to rise in my head and heart. This has never happened before! What is going on?? Why now – on my last long run before the race?!

After icing, researching how to KT tape my knee, and taking ibuprofen, I talked with my running friends and already knew my training book confirmed what they had to say. Adding miles at this point would only hurt me. I needed to rest…AGAIN. It felt SO WRONG to skip two runs and shorten one of my last long runs so close to marathon day, but I had to. It’s what my body was telling me. I needed rest.

A huge lesson I learned the hard way through this whole experience: LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Pay attention to what it is saying. This truth was also reinforced during the marathon. At the start of the race my knee was tight due to a distal hamstring strain. Because of this, I had to pace SUPER slow – a lot slower than I wanted, but it was necessary if I wanted to go the distance.  Ultimately listening to my sore muscle/body and running slow allowed me to power through that marathon, smile, and actually enjoy what was happening around me. Someone commented on one of my race day pictures, “Were you smiling the whole time??” I felt STRONG and never doubted I would finish and experienced a crazy shot of adrenaline around mile 19/20 (mentioned last week).  I walked when I needed to refuel – keeping my head held high – and then kept running.

At my pace.

In the same way, when it comes to your spiritual race, pay attention to your soul! Listen to what’s going on in your heart and your mind. Soul care is vitally important to your spiritual journey.

What do I mean by this? Be real with where you are at. Another first time marathoner shared their story after the race. They felt some pain in their hips at the start of the race and had been dealing with it throughout the last few weeks of training. As the miles went on, the pain increased and was nearly unbearable as they approached the finish. Turns out, they had been running with a stress fracture in their pelvis that was exacerbated because of the 26.2 miles. As a result, they don’t know when they will be able to run again.

Just as ignoring injuries in a race will lead to greater damage, ignoring struggles, sin issues, and pain in our spiritual race will only lead to greater injury. Listen to your soul. Don’t pretend like you’re 100% if you’re not. It will hurt you and potentially take you out of the race. Spiritually speaking, it could take you out of sweet growth and new things the Lord wants to show you, dream with you, or use you for!

In order to run with endurance and go the distance, listening is key. Is there something you are struggling through right now? Pain, grief, doubt, sin? It’s okay to not be okay. Pain (as with a physical race) is usually indicative of a larger issue. Do you need to slow down and rest? Do you need help? Just as I sought assistance from an ice pack, ibuprofen, and KT tape to help heal my injuries, do you need to confide in someone? Seek some truth from the Word? Encouragement and wisdom from those around you?

In today’s world we move at the speed of crazy busy. We are in constant motion, trying to do all the things, please all the people, and make all the ends meet. We join all the committees, ministry and prayer teams, small groups, seminars, etc. So many of those things are really good, but how’s your heart? Where are you at, really? You can keep running in circles, running from this meeting to the next. You can keep ignoring the pain. But, it will eventually catch up to you and chances are be far worse at that point. Listen to your soul.

Right now, is your heart in some kind of pain or struggle?

Yes?

Then, brother or sister please, slow down. Seek out a trusted friend.

Drink some Living Water.

Rest.

Next week: Are You Running Alone?