Endurance Running

Endurance Running

With all the layers I wear on Sunday mornings you may not have noticed, but I do not exactly possess what you could, in any reasonable—or any other—way call a marathoner’s body. And I never have. Nevertheless, once upon a time I gave it a shot. I started training to run a marathon in my mid-30s, but because of pain in my knees and hips from the constant pounding, gave it up after six months or so.

And that’s when I learned about sprint triathlons: a half-mile swim; 25-mile ride; and 10k (6.2 mile) run.

You may have guessed that I’m naturally buoyant, so swimming wasn’t a huge problem; I really liked riding my bike (especially downhill!); and in shorter distances—say 5 to 7 miles—I was a passable runner. So that’s where I put my energy.

And although I competed in several sprint triathlons over the next few years, two things in particular stand out to me vividly from my very first race…things I could have learned from this week’s Epistle reading.