The results...
27,108 vertical feet / 5280 feet per mile = 5.13 miles
\During the middle of the month I was lagging behind because of vacation, feeling blah, and having to shuffle around my run days to accomodate other things. I ended up swapping out a few of my pavement days to hit more elevation on the trails ( no complaints there )
I learned a lot more than I imagined I would during this experience.
It was a whole different kind of running and it required a completely different mindset. While speed and distance were still important to my overall training program, these goals took a backseat to the up and down. I learned to focus on conserving energy by keeping a consistant cadence. I learned to listen more to my body and recognize when to hike the hills instead of run them to not kill myself off with 10 miles to go. And, I learned that when you are the only one on the trail at 6:22 in the morning you will inevitably very narrowly avoid a head on collision with a fellow runner who shows up in your face out of nowhere. Screaming like a banshee is allowed in this scenario.
The most important lesson I learned while climbing to 26,400 feet is this
God is my Dad.
My entire life I've been taught this and I've really felt it here and there but it hasn't been a consistant thing. I think a huge part of this was the fact that I've always been taught to address God using the words Thee and Thou. Extreemly formal and uncomfortable and overly formal in my opinion. These words convey the requirement to be solemn in my conversation with the almighty. I understand and respect the idea of reverence and respect but I find it very difficult to feel those things when I'm feeling uncomfortable and awkward. Imagine asking someone for advice. Maybe a trusted friend, sibling, or, your Dad. "How art thou this morning? I have a question for thee." I imagine you would both feel pretty out of place.
When I'm running and I see something I like I stop, take pictures, and sometimes end up taking a break for 30 minutes. One morning as I sat on a big rock overlooking the beautiful Heber Valley
I was trying to have one of these awkward moments and I wasn't feeling any connection at all. It was strange. Then I just started talking. Out loud, almost shouting if you can picture it. I ditched the haughty Thee and Thou and kicked back and had a conversation with my Dad.
Conversation
/ˌkänvərˈsāSH(ə)n/
The informal exchange of ideas by spoken words.
The interesting thing about a conversation is it takes 2. As soon as I tore down the facade of reverence things became real. I had one of the most engaging and powerful experiences of my life.
I set out to run 5 miles. I made it so much further.
Too often in life we hide behind masks of insecurity, complacency, and social expectations. We take ourselves out of our element and things become awkward. Certain conversations scare us so we resort to phone calls, emails, text messaging, or not avoiding the interaction all together. We allow distance and convenience to become excuses for the degredation of our relationships, experiences, and life.
It's time to Burn that Script.
This is my goal for July.
Stay tuned....
