Patience and Persistence

Sponsorship money continues to come in and the total now stands at £1,650.  This week, I have run on three days, adding up to a total of 13.3 miles.  Each "run" was on the treadmill, consisted of 30s run/30s walk, and was broken up into segments of between 12 and 30 minutes.  The longest so far was this morning, when I did 3 segments of 30 minutes.  In addition there has been an awful lot of cross-training - some strength work, but mostly bike, crosstrainer and rower - for a total of 8 hours spent training.  And yes - I did do the 3 hrs 45 minutes on Monday, including the walk to and from the gym.  I've also done the calf strengthening exercises most days, and have almost reached the 3 sets of 10 which the physio recommended.

This week there have been some fantastic examples of dedication and effort on display at the Winter Olympics and in the efforts of Davina McCall in her challenge for Sport Relief. Lizzy Yarnold said a couple of things that really resonated with me.  Firstly, she said that by the time she came to start her slides, the hard work had been done.  She had done it over the preceeding months and years, in every training session, every decision about what to eat and drink, every time she had an early night instead of going out with her mates.  I don't have - and don't need - the the training regime of an Olympic gold medallist, but for me, too, the hard work is being done now. By marathon day, all that will remain will be to put it to good use.

The second thing Lizzy Yarnold said was about believing in your own potential and working to be the best "you" that you can be. I won't win the London Marathon, I'll probably never make a "Good For Age" time, I'm not attempting a time target, or even trying to run the whole way.  But I can, and will, finish.  That means I need to stay well enough to start.  Several people in the past week have tried to persuade me that it would be better to pull out of the London Marathon and try again next year, or perhaps another marathon in the Autumn.  But everything has been planned for this year - and that's what I want to do.

In order to do it, I need both patience and persistence.  Patience to resist the temptation to run too much, too fast, too soon. Persistence to do what I need to do instead - all that cross-training, which I find boring (unlike running, which is intrinsically enjoyable), plus the stretching and strengthening exercises.  My 3:45 session on Monday was important as much for the psychological strength of having done what I'd decided to do as for the physical training effect.

As I think about these things, I am reminded of some verses from the letter to the Romans: "...we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope" (Romans 5:3-4).  If I had not injured my calf, I would not have needed to alter my training in this way.  I would not have needed to endure hours of crosstraining.  I would not have learned that I could do this, and I would not have the increasing confidence that I can and will do whatever I need to do to complete the challenge which I have set myself.

Romans, of course, is talking more about spiritual challenges than physical ones.  The text continues: "And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)

 I fully expect to complete the Marathon - but even if something happens and I am not able to, I have the assurance of two things.  Firstly, that it was not for lack of dedication or trying that I fell down; and secondly that, whatever happens, God loves me, just as I am.