pace yourself

Tonight I went running with a friend ten years my junior.
I asked her how far she was running and when she said only about 1.5 or 2 miles, I teased her that I could go at least twice that far. And to just let me know when she needed to stop.

I have been running pretty regularly for the last few weeks. It isn’t long but keep increasing my time and distance. I’ve stopped getting blisters. I don’t suck wind after five minutes anymore and I was feeling pretty good about myself. Thinking I might even be able to out run this girl who was so much younger and obviously in more shape than me.

As we started to jog I told her that I run pretty slow. Like my husband used to walk beside me while I ran, slow. And she slowed her gait a little bit for me but it was still faster than I usually go. I was a little embarrassed and was not going to ask her to slow down again. So I just ran at her pace. I stayed close. And was fading fast.
A little over a mile in I was ready to quit.
Again, pride, which isn’t usually one of my better qualities, kept me going even though I couldn’t breathe well enough to carry on a conversation. I told her if she wanted to chat she could only ask yes or no questions.
I kept up. I struggled. And eventually my side started to cramp.

Thankfully, about this time she was asking me if I was ready to quit.
I lied and told her no.
She asked again, hinting that maybe she was.
And so, out of pure consideration for her, of course, I stopped and we walked the rest of the way back to her house.

I was frustrated at my bad run. That I only went a few miles rather than my usual three or four. And those were a struggle.
That I was trying so hard just to keep up.
Because, I was running her race. Not mine.
I quickly grew weary. And quit.

Which is exactly what I do when I try following the wrong person.
When I try to keep my house neat like my neighbors. I usually quit before finishing one room.
When I try to stay on top of lesson plans and grading papers and having my copies ready, like the type A personalities next to me. I quit and let the papers pile up on my desk.
When I try to look like my friends. I quit when I can’t get my hair to do what I want.
When I try to balance everything so seamlessly. I overbook and eventually quit. Order pizza and sit on the couch.

Essentially, following every body else and keeping up is hard work.
Instead I need to remember just to slow down. To keep my own pace. And that really there is only one person I need to worry about following.
And when I do, I can go so much further.



This post is part of bigger picture blogs..........and attempt to find the bigger picture in our crazy week and look for faith along the way. Check out some of the other posts Maegan's blog.