This is an accidental Advent post. I began writing this in July and now we are the end of second week of Advent in December. (I’ll save the tale of that start and this finish for another day it is still an unfinished story.)
This summer I reached my goal of a 50km week (~30 miles). In my effort to grow as a runner I realized my consistency was lacking. I worked through June to run 5 to 6 days a week instead of 3 and for each run to slowly grow in length. The summer is a challenging time for consistency because as a youth minister I have weeks at a time where I am away and there are extra demands on my time. Despite this I reached my 30 mile goal in the first full week of July. Looking back on my running log I then was able to meet or exceed this for 11 of the next 20 weeks with 3 others above 20. This resulted in my running 534 miles July through November versus running 109 miles in the same period last year.
Last year I lived and died by the rubberband method. I would scrimp by on small runs and walks then have a long run at the end of the week. I felt tired and satisfied that I had accomplished my goal but I wasn’t making any progress. This year I have seen myself making progress I didn’t know was possible which is good because I have a goal I don’t know if it is possible. I am running a 100km race in January.
Right here at the peak week of training the wheels have come off, well at least one wheel. Two weeks ago I started feeling an acute pain in my right calf. At first I thought it was a high ankle sprain after a weekend of rest I concluded it wasn’t structural. I rode my bike and carefully ran a few miles to keep up with my training. My calf had other plans, last week ended with tenderness and weakness. After all these weeks of work, at the apex of my training schedule, I sit here this week with zero running miles. Waiting, hoping, and anticipating a pain free run Monday morning.
Turning back to Advent, a season of waiting and anticipating, my current situation has made me mindful that we miss what we are aiming for. We long for what we are striving. Last year I preached a sermon on Paul’s Athletic metaphor in 1 Corinthians 9 which I ran parallel to professional ultra-runner Sally McRae’s attempt at the Grand Slam of Ultra Running.
In this passage Paul uses the phrase “Run to win!” as he points to the self-disciplined life. Imagine for a minute if Sally had set about preparing for her races by hitting the golf course improving her putt, then heading to the range to improving her accuracy, and then finally capped it off at a NASCAR driving school. Self-disciplined yes, but focused no. No serious athlete would prepare for their event because it is aimless. If Sally were to stop her athletic pursuits she would know exactly what she was missing.
This is what an Advent pause does it reveals our aim. So this is my encouragement and challenge for myself over the next few weeks is to pause and wait. To reflect on the trajectory of the sum of my activity. Am I headed to where I am aiming? Are the longings of my heart and the striving of my actions in congruence?