Into the Woods: Chasing Western States 100

"Not all who wander are lost." J. R. R. Tolkien

 The difference between going for a run and going to train is this:

want to VS have to, 

And while I love running, sometimes the pressure of training gets heavy. 

Sometimes life gets heavy. 

Emotions get heavy.

Convictions get heavy. 

And the voices get loud, so loud I just want to run away into the woods. 

I didn't want to follow my training plan. I wanted to escape it all. I wanted to run into the woods without structure., without pressure and without explanation. 

But with 7 weeks until Western States 100, there is no room to let my emotions have the reigns. Even though I felt hijacked by chaos, I knew I needed to lace up and follow the plan. 

10miles. 

I headed to Holdridge for elevation and "church in the woods". It wasn't long before I was watering the trail with my confusion, concerns and convictions. 

It's hard to see the path when your eyes are dripping tears. 

I found myself walking the trail, trying to gather my surroundings. Between the music in my ears, the voices in my head, and the ache in my heart, I felt completely unraveled.  

I wanted to feel it all, because I could. but God knows sometimes all feels like too much. 

The sunlight broke through the branches and scattered across the trail, touching my skin with fragments of warmth, like the Lord himself was comforting me. Through blurred eyes, I tried to navigate more than just the miles in front of me. I was trying to navigate my heart. 

The trail wound deeper into the forest, and somehow, with all the hidden dangers around me, I felt a peace that passes all understanding. I felt safe, I felt secure, under His wings. 

Safe in His presence. 

Safe in His glory.

Safe enough to let my heart calm and my body settle. 

Every mile pulled me farther into the splendor of His creation, and little by little the weight of the world dissolved. 

By the end of the 10 miles, so much had changed. 

The shame had melted. 

The remorse had loosened its grip. 

The grief had quieted. 

And His power is made perfect in my weakness, because that trail that I could hardly see through the tears had become Holy Ground. 

RUNDOWN:

"And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul." John Muir

Whether you are climbing uphill battles or barreling down hill faster than you can calculate every part of the trail serves a purpose. 

This life has so much offer. But it is not always going to be a paved path. The harder the course, the more damage but also the more refined you will be if you don't give up. 

I have been taking the harder paths and even though I know it is good training, it is a mind bend. 

TRUST your TRAINING. 

My body is beginning to feel little tweaks as the miles have accumulated. 

May 4- May 10

Distance: 74 miles

Elevation: 6,562

Bootlegger 5k was an evening race on the trails on Saturday. I gave it a rip and surprised myself and podiumed.  Glory to God for keeping me upright because that trail was technical and dark. I even beat Andy which came as a total shock. I wanted to run it together, but Andy took off to race it on his own. 

Maybe that's what life and trails have in common, we rarely see the whole path in front of us, we just trust it, and the grace for the next step. Because sometimes the trail breaks open and some days it puts you back together. 

In Peace, not Pieces, 

Anita

Our Crim group started this week!!