11/28
Running and Religion
I have been thinking a lot about faith and spirituality lately. I don’t remember exactly what brought it on, but I’ve been reading about many different non-Christian religions, mainly to see what they’re all about. I’ve read about Buddhism a bit, and read about Unitarian Universalists. I really admire Abe and his faith. I admire his ability to look at Catholicism with a critical eye, and acknowledge the fact that he believes in the main tenets, but not necessarily in the hierarchy that dictates where it has gone in the recent past. (Abe, if I’m incorrect with that summation, let me know.)
I’ve been reading BeliefNet.com, and thinking about various religions, trying to find one that fits. In essence, I am trying on religions like clothes, at least theoretically. But I’ve realized two very important things recently. First, I’ve realized that I do believe in some kind of higher power. I don’t know what he or she or it looks like, sounds like, does all day, but I believe there is something up there/out there/in there that is watching out for us. The events of this past weekend confirmed that for me. For maybe the second time in the last ten years, I really prayed and I prayed hard. And I guess, in essence, my prayers were answered. It’s not making me into a “Crazy Christian” (thank you Aaron Sorkin, now learn how to be funny), but it made me realize that I do believe in someone or something that is watching over us and can help us out.
The other thing I realized was that I have a mish-mash of beliefs that may not fit neatly into any one organized religion, and that’s ok. I was reading about Hinduism, thinking, “well, I do yoga pretty regularly and really benefit from it, is Hinduism for me?” and that’s when I realized that trying to conform myself to one particular religion is not only beside the point, it’s against the point. The whole point of this is to really examine what I believe and what I practice, not to adopt a set of beliefs because it sounds ‘about right.’ I mean, that’s the whole reason I walked out of confirmation at 16. I knew that those particular beliefs were not mine, and never would be. I was a progressive little stinker. Anyway, I digress. I realized today that what I truly want is not necessarily to find a common narrative to my beliefs and to find others with that narrative, but to really explore my thoughts and beliefs. I know that I believe in some kind of higher power. I know that doing yoga makes me feel really good. I know that I enjoy mindful meditation when I can do it. I know that I don’t believe that we were all born with Original Sin, that Jesus died for our Sins, that the Bible is the Word of God, that using contraceptive is evil or that Communion really is the body and blood of Christ. But I do believe that Jesus was a good guy who did some cool things and the Bible is a good set of stories. I believe that by following the Golden Rule we can get pretty far in this world. I believe that people are essentially good and lovable and that whatever higher power is out there loves us all. I believe that taking time to think about all of things is important, whether it be in a church, outdoors, on a yoga mat, running, whatever. It seems easiest to me to do it in a church.
So, basically, I guess that I would like to go to church more. I would like to go to church with Abe more. Unfortunately, it usually interferes with running. : ) My new quest will be finding a Saturday evening service.
11/13/2006
Happy to Run 6 Miles…
Yesterday, I managed to run 6 miles! I was planning on doing as much of the 6 miles as I could, but also giving myself permission to head back if necessary. I thought for sure my knee would act up, forcing me to cut it short. I was pleasantly surprised to make the whole distance, and feel great.
I was even more pleasantly surprised when I checked my chrono at the end to see how long the run had taken us—65 minutes! Including walk breaks! So, we did just under 11”/miles including walk breaks. Phenomenal. 11:45 at Grandma’s is going to be no sweat.
I realize that some out there (if anyone besides my boyfriend reads this) are snorting at the thought of just under 11:00”/mile. But remember, this is coming from a girl who was struggling to do 13:30”/mile not so long ago. As I’ve gotten faster, running has become more fun, and it’s felt better. I may never run a marathon at less than 10”/mile pace, but that’s fine with me. It’s about the journey, right?
Kristin Armstrong has started a blog:
http://rodale.typepad.com/mile_markers/It’s pretty neat. Now if only Ed Viesturs would start a blog. And Aron Ralston. Then all my heroes would have blogs. And Abe, too—Abe needs to have a blog.
Random thoughts regarding the 2007 race calendar:
January—Frozen ½ with Steph
April—Crazylegs 8K in Madison (so my parents can see me run)
June—Grandma’s!
September—Iron Girl duathlon
October—TC 10 Mile
Too many ambitions…
I have way too many interests. I know that the first step in my long line of ambitions is getting my RN license and practicing as a nurse, but I have so many interests beyond that. Interest of the day: epidemiology. Neat. I could get my MPH in Community Health Education, and then my PhD in Epidemiology and then teach! Or do I want to be a physical therapist? Or do I want to be an Advance Practice Nurse, a Nurse Practitioner or a CRNA? ARGH! So many choices. I still have my little pipe dream about a house on the North Shore with Abe. What position fits best with that?
Anyway, debate of the day. Every day, it’s a different idea. But I do at least know that the first step is getting my RN license.
Went back to run club last night, and saw lots of old friends—Val and Steph, Pam, Corina, Seglinda, even Leann was there. Ginny too! I admit that I very much needed a break from run club, but it was good to be back. It was good to run with the group, and yet be able to run at the pace I wanted to run. Steph and Val have talked me into doing Grandma’s again with them next year, albeit with some changes to the training. WE are going to aim to do in 5 hours. That’s an average pace of 11:45” per mile, which I think is totally do-able. I think it’ll be fun. I must admit, I’m pretty excited to start marathon training again.
Hopefully, Abe’s family will be able to join us that weekend at Jay Cooke. It was so much fun last year! And maybe this next year I won’t be so crabby at the finish. : )
On the blog again...
I finally recovered my username and password, so I can start posting again! Yay technology. Plus, now I can keep Abe entertained.
So, a lot has happened since July 17th, in terms of the sporting life of Sara Keller, and in other areas as well. Sportingwise—I did the Iron Girl duathlon, and completely kicked butt. I did much better than I thought I would, plus I loved it!! Here are some pictures.
I successfully led Pam and Kate through the TC 10 Mile, although not to the finish line. At the top of James Ireland Boulevard, Kate says to me “Sara, you’re barely sweating. You look like you haven’t even run a mile. You should just run it in.” I paused and said “Really?? Ok!” and I took off. It felt awesome to sprint down the hill by the Cathedral (although the finish line was A LOT farther than I though it was!!), but I truly do regret leaving Kate and Pam to cross the finish line on their own. I should’ve been there with them…this is why I am not a good group leader and why I need a break.
And a break I got—ever since testing out the free C9 socks we got in our goody bags, my right knee has been messed up bad. It got better for awhile, but I went out and ran 6 miles last week and ever since then, I have not been able to run. It really, really hurts. I’m seeing a chiropractor tonight, and I hope she’ll have good news.
Let’s see…despite my earlier excitement, I have given up on swimming for now. It’s just not any fun swimming laps. It’s quite boring, actually. Also, the pool is getting much more crowded at 6am and I’m sick of the real swimmers taking up the slow lane. Back to BodyFlow and cycling for me. And running, as soon as I get the go-ahead from the chiropractor.
Non-sportingwise, I started school!! I am LOVING chemistry. Oh, and I can write about school, because I told my supervisor at work. She knows that I’m going to school at night, and am planning on starting nursing school in 2 years, and she is all about it. I’m glad she’s ok with it, and even excited about it. It felt really good to tell her and be honest about it. So, school is going well. I am getting an A-/B+, which rocks. I felt a little iffy about the instructor when the semester first began, but he completed redeemed himself with his lecture on electron configurations and has consistently lectured well since then. I’m really loving chemistry!
Back to the sporting stuff, I’m trying to do yoga more consistently. I am hoping that will help my bum knee. Right now, the tentative plan is to do Grandma’s Half-Marathon and do TC Marathon next fall. I’m wondering, though, if I should do Grandma’s full, so I have a complete comparative experience. My goal is to run the marathon in 5 hours—which means an average pace of 11:45 per mile. I think I can do it. I could push for 10:00 per mile, but I have to have something to work towards!
Abe, I hope you found this new post entertaining. I shall try to post more often.
Coming up…some pictures from the TC 10 Mile and the Iron Girl Duathlon.
