Finding my Rhythm


I am a distance runner in my own right. I ran 3 full marathons last year and am right now training for my first ultramarathon (49K) next month. And having trained for running long distances, I have found that I don't usually find my pace until after the 3rd mile. The first couple of miles are the most difficult for me as I struggle to find my rhythm. The excitement and anxiety of the starting line pumps my body with so much adrenaline that my timing is off. I try to keep in pace with the pack, pushing me to run at a pace I am not used to. It is in mile 4 when my body settles into a comfortable tempo that I could sustain for the rest of the race.

Danny Dreyer, in his blog ChiRunning, says "Your body loves rhythms ... it thrives on them. Your heartbeat, your breath rate, your need for rest are all based on rhythms that occur naturally in your body or that you've established in your life. The more rhythms you establish, the better your body likes it. When your body has a rhythm to follow, it doesn't have to work as hard. It knows what to do and when to do it."
Your body loves rhythms ... it thrives on them. Your heartbeat, your breath rate, your need for rest are all based on rhythms that occur naturally in your body or that you've established in your life. The more rhythms you establish, the better your body likes it. When your body has a rhythm to follow, it doesn't have to work as hard. It knows what to do and when to do it. - See more at: http://www.chirunning.com/blog/entry/running-with-a-metronome#sthash.9ToniP33.dpuf
Your body loves rhythms ... it thrives on them. Your heartbeat, your breath rate, your need for rest are all based on rhythms that occur naturally in your body or that you've established in your life. The more rhythms you establish, the better your body likes it. When your body has a rhythm to follow, it doesn't have to work as hard. It knows what to do and when to do it. If you go to bed at the same time every night and you get up at the same time every morning, your body knows, "Now I get to rest, now it's time to get up." When you begin each day with a rhythmic consistency, it allows the rest of your day to unfold more easily than when you dive into the day with no rhyme or reason. - See more at: http://www.chirunning.com/blog/entry/running-with-a-metronome#sthash.9ToniP33.dpuf

Finding my rhythm. That is what I always strive to do in the first few of miles of a long run. As my body settles into the running rhythm it is used to and comfortable with, then I begin to enjoy the run, the scenery and the people I am with.

I am into the first mile of this marathon called the Superintendency and I am trying to find my pace and rhythm. Just like a long run, there is excitement and anxiety in this first mile. I'd like to start strong, but I also want to last and finish strong in the end. I ask for your continuing prayers. I also ask for your patience. The rhythms of this role are quite different from that of pastoring a local church. I am still looking for the right tempo and cadence, trying different combinations, that will make me effective and efficient, as well as faithful.

What about you? What are your personal rhythms of life? And what are the life rhythms of your family and your faith community? Are you aware of them? If so, are those rhythms optimal for growth and faithfulness? Or is there anything that needs to be tweaked? Do you need to slow down? Or maybe speed up? Is there a need to re-order your days or perhaps change the way you do things? If you are not aware of your life rhythms, I invite you to start paying attention to them.

The writer of Ecclesiastes says, "There’s an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything on the earth." (Ecclesiastes 3:1, The Message). The chapter goes on to outline proper times of doing things, suggesting a pattern, a rhythm of life, and calling us to pay attention to this rhythm and live according to it.

As I run this race, I always remind myself that it is a marathon and not a short sprint. I have to pace myself. I remind myself that I have been created uniquely and have to run at my own pace and not at a pace dictated by others. I remind myself to find a rhythm where I am not only able to run but also enjoy the run. I encourage you to do the same.

Your fellow disciple,


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dear Papa and Mama: A "Coming Out" Letter

Image
February 23, 2019 St. Louis, Missouri Dear Papa and Mama, Design of Papa and Mama's tombstone in Baguio City, Philippines There’s something in my heart and mind that I’ve been wanting to tell you for some time now. While there’ve been chances to do so, I’ve avoided them not knowing how you would take it. My sense is you probably knew it already but you, too, have avoided the conversation, not knowing how it will go. I know I should have had this talk with you before each of you passed away and I regret not being able to do that. But I am writing this letter anyway, hoping and praying that somehow, as you are now in the presence of God and in the company of that great cloud of witnesses, you would read this, and you would understand. If I were back home in the Philippines, I would go to your gravesite and read this to you. But for now, this will have to do. So here it goes: I’m writing this on the floor of the Dome in St. Louis. It is the first day of the Special Called Sessi
Read more

Making the Road By Walking

Image
The Rapanut grandkids having a light moment together before we drove to the airport. My mother passed away earlier this month . And while she had not fully recovered from the stroke she suffered almost two years ago, her death was sudden and completely unexpected. The last time I talked to her, she was full of life and happy to report that she was making good progress in learning to walk again. That was three weeks before she died. Phone and internet lines had gone down after the devastation of typhoon Mankhut, preventing us from making wi-fi calls. Perhaps I should have tried harder to find other means to connect. It's too late now. No matter how hard we prepare ourselves and our loved ones for it, death still comes with an impact that shakes us to the very core .  We who are left behind are left to pick-up the pieces from the life that has ended while dealing with the void created in our own lives and the deep sense of loss. So many details . So many matters to think of
Read more

Blue Christmas Run... for those in the dark

Image
This Saturday, I will be running the Willow Solstice Marathon in Willow, Alaska for the third straight year. Last year, I did it as a prayer run, playing on the theme of it being held on the winter solstice, the longest night (or at least the Saturday closest to it) and dedicating the run to those who are in the "longest nights" of their lives. I plan to do that again this weekend. I am reposting excerpts from a blog post I wrote a year ago because my words then are still my words now as I again dedicate this run in prayer and solidarity for you who are living in darkness right now. +++ I am running the Willow Winter Solstice Marathon this Saturday. It will be another prayer run for me. This time, I'm running for those who can't. Let me explain. From its name, the Willow Marathon is held on a Saturday closest to the winter solstice, the day when the darkness is longest. In some churches, a Longest Night or Blue Christmas service is held and is specificall
Read more