Run for God - Connect Magazine - Spring 2016

connect S P R I N G 2 016

MAGAZINE

WHAT CAN A

FEATHER DO?

+

REMEMBER THE GOAL FEAR OR FAITH?

FROM YOUR FRIENDS AT

A WORD FROM MITCHELL

WELCOME TO

connect connect is just Hello Run for God Community! as simple as the name states.

It’s our way to connect with you.”

I sure hope everyone is as ready for spring as I am. You know it’s been really great seeing all of the Run for God graduations taking place. It really excites me to know that souls are being won for the kingdom of God through the sport of running. But the question is, will you join us? We hear from so many people that like the idea of having a Run for God class where they live, but don’t feel equipped to lead it. Make no mistake, God doesn’t call the equipped, He equips the called!

I sure hope that you will enjoy this issue of Connect as much as we enjoyed putting it together!

Enjoy!

Mitchell Hebrews 12:1 James 1:2-4

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features

DE PA RT MENTS

6R emember the Goal AN INSPIRATIONAL DRAMA 16 I nstructor Spotlight: WHAT CAN A FEATHER DO?

12. DEAN’S THOUGHTS: Sometimes I’m Hard Headed

23. Sticky Notes 21. Behind the Scenes 26. DEAN’S THOUGHTS: Stop the Music

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STARTING YOUR DAY WITH A RUN? START YOUR RUN WITH GOD Pick up your copy of

Run for God

DEVOTIONS TODAY!

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Copyright © 2016 Run for God, LLC. All rights reserved.

CONT R I B UTO R S

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any other form or by any means without the prior written permission of the Run for God, LLC. Printed in the United States of America Dalton, Georgia If you require medical, fitness, or nutritional advice, you must contact your own health care professional. You should seek the advice of a doctor before starting any exercise routine.

This publication may contain information relating to various medical conditions and their treatment and an exercise/nutrition protocol. Such information is provided for informational purposes only and is not meant to be a substitute for the advice of a physician or health care professional. You should not use this information for diagnosing or treating a health problem or injury.

Dean Thompson serves as

Director Dave Christiano is a

the National Race Director

Christian filmmaker and twin

for the Run for God Race

brother of Rich Christiano.

Series as well as serving as

He owns Dave Christiano

an instructor at his home

Films and ChristianFilms.

church in Cohutta, GA. Dean

com. Several of Christiano’s

loves to run, loves life, loves

films have been released to

his wife Debbie and loves

theaters.

Christ. Look for all of Dean’s stories in Run for God’s Devotions.

To make informed health care decisions, you should always consult your physician for your personal medical needs. Neither Run for God nor its agents, affiliates, partners, or licensors are providing these materials to you for the purpose of giving you medical advice.

For any questions about your health and wellbeing, please consult your physician.

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IT ALL

STARTED WITH A

SHIRT.

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DIRECTOR DAVE CHRISTIANO

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The inspirational drama about a girls cross country team.

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“... whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.”

E “

1 Chorinthians 10:31

VERYBODY NEEDS A PURPOSE IN LIFE” says Director Dave Christiano, “and one simple verse in the Bible provides the direction we all need.” Remember The Goal is an inspirational dramatic movie about a girls cross country team coming to theaters on August 26th.

It follows the story of a new Coach, fresh out of college, who takes over the girls cross country program at a private Christian school and attempts to lead them to a state title.

“The Coach has great wisdom for her young age and imparts this to the girls by covering many situations and issues in the story” says Christiano. “AlleeSutton Hethcoat plays the lead role of Coach Courtney Smith-Donnelly,” says the Director. “She is terrific in this role and a strong role model and leader with high character. We need more people like her in real life and my hope is that she will be a positive influence to many.” The theme of the movie is based on 1 Corinthians 10:31: “whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.” That phrase ‘whatsoever ye do’ includes running.

Remember The Goal will speak to many important issues. For example, the movie is a visual example of the humility and the character of Christ.

CAST MEMBERS OF REMEMBER THE GOAL (L to R) Allee-Sutton Hethcoat, Quinn Alexis, Sydney Marks, Margaret Tant, McKensie Miller, Jayla Palmer

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It will encourage teens to obey their parents instead of disobeying them behind their back. The drama will show you one way to deal with a friend who struggles with the problem of smoking weed. It will forever solve the self image problem so many people deal with. It also gives teens something Christiano feels everyone desperately needs: a purpose in life.

THE MOVIES THEMES

And lastly, this film could inspire people to want to run!

The movie has a message for adults as well. It will make parents think about the way they address their children and what should be a priority in life. Finally, the film has a word for Coaches. It will make a Coach consider changing the way they lead their teams, with this particular principle applying to any sport.

Finally, the movie puts forth training principles that will make any cross country team better. A common phrase in the film, 10:31, could change a youth group or sports team.

Humility Respect for authority Self-esteem Purpose

The entire movie is based on 1 Corinthians 10:31 and that one verse can be life-changing.

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The film is set to open in around 330 theaters across ten southeastern states from Texas to North Carolina on August 26th when cross country season rolls around again. Dave Christiano is a former cross country runner in high school and college, plus he has Coached two high school cross country teams. He insists he produced his running scenes accurately and realistically. His passion for the sport ensures this movie is very authentic. Actresses from Nashville, Tennessee cast as runners, namely, Quinn Alexis, Jayla Palmer, Sydney Marks, and McKensie Miller, had to do some training to prepare for their roles. Margaret Tant, the other actress who rounds out the top five runners on “Orange Hills Academy”, is an active member on her school’s cross country team.

The film is set to open in around 330 theaters across ten southeastern states from Texas to North Carolina on August 26th when cross country season rolls around.

“I had never run before this film so I definitely had to train!” said 16 year old Jayla Palmer, cast in the role of “Shelby” as one of the runners. “I started training about two months before we started filming. I met with a cross country coach and she gave me some tips, and then I ran at home with my brothers.”

“I met the director, Dave Christiano, not long after being cast,” said Quinn Alexis. “At our initial meeting, Dave gave me instructions on how

RACE WITH US AND THE CAST OF REMEMBER THE GOAL AT THIS YEAR’S

4 .16 .16 at Historic Prater’s Mill in Dalton, GA 500 Prater Mill Rd NE, Dalton, GA

GET REGISTERED AT RUNFORGOD.COM 10

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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

to train. Because I wasn’t a runner prior to this film, I started with a five minute jog and built up to 20 minutes and then 30 minutes nonstop.” Sydney Marks was also a non-runner. “I started walking for five minutes and then jogging ten minutes around my street.” Christiano says the five actresses actually could be a pretty decent cross country team if they kept at it. They all became quite good and are very believable in their roles as runners.

“I didn’t know much about cross country before I was cast in Remember The Goal,” said Jayla, “but now I have a lot of respect for cross country runners.” Quinn adds, “I think cross country is a beautiful sport because it combines the individual beat-your-own-best mindset with a united team effort.”

Some good results came about for the girls who were involved in this film. “The girls and I have formed such a strong bond. They are some of my best friends,” said Sydney.

Margaret added, “The cast and crew were so fun to work with and the girls and I are best friends now.” Cross country is a lot like life and Remember The Goal will relate

For more information about becoming a sponsor contact Dean Thompson at Dean@runforgod.com

the two together. You can watch the official trailer for Remember The Goal at FiveAndTwoPictures.com or the movie’s Facebook page.

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Dean’ s Thoughts

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ometimes I’M HARD HEADED

Since I was training in February for Ironman 70.3 Chattanooga in May, I thought it would be a good idea to test my fitness level by running (enduring?) the Scenic City Half Marathon. I went into the race below peak fitness, but I was hoping for a good showing anyway.

MY PLAN WAS TO RUN AT a pace a little faster than

worse, a girl less than half my age

what I thought I could average, as long as I could, and

was ahead of me. Although I had been

hope to keep it at a good pace the rest of the way.

beaten by female runners many times,

This would put my finishing time in a window that

the only local female who had ever

would make me feel better about hitting my running

beaten me was Lanni Marchant, who

goal in the upcoming Ironman 70.3. If I could finish

holds the Canadian national record for

in that range, I would celebrate and look forward to a

the marathon. God was getting ready

successful half marathon split in the Ironman.

to teach me a lesson about humility.

I found out I was a little behind where I had hoped

As the race unfolded, I heard the

I would be and, by mile nine, was feeling sorry

young girl’s footsteps fade behind

for myself to ensure I maximized my misery level.

me, until they disappeared entirely

Thinking back to the start, I felt good for the first half

by mile three. I hung onto my goal

mile or so until I looked down, expecting to be running

pace for four miles and faltered a bit

too fast, and my GPS said I was actually running a little

on the fifth. At six miles, I was already

too slow. Uh oh, this didn’t look good. To make matters

close to that slower acceptable pace

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had just run the longest race of her

I crossed the finish line and that’s when God hatched His plan to teach me a lesson about humility.

life. I would find out later that she was chasing me as hard as I was trying not to be caught. I turned to her as we walked away from the finish line and told her I was glad she was there, because if she had not been there, I may still be out on the race course!

She laughed and a friend of mine called to me.

I walked over to my friend and she

I had planned, and I felt like I weighed about seven pounds too much, which

told me I had run a good race. That is

I did. I had stepped on the scale early in the morning and found that I had

not what I wanted to hear after what

located and secured an extra seven pounds just in time for race day. By seven

I calculated to be a poor performance.

miles, I was at an average pace that would be good if I could finish the way I

I looked at my watch and said, “Yeah,

had planned. I fixed my eyes on the path ahead and my mind on my plan.

that’s not what I was looking for.”

After I ran the same pace for mile eight, the wheels came off. Mile nine had us trekking across ice covered bridges, around sharp turns and up hills, a deadly combination. My left leg cramped while going uphill and I knew it was all over.

I ran forty seconds too slow for that mile, but a strange thing happened as I completed mile nine, when I seemed to get my legs back. Tired and heavy legs filled with molasses, but legs that worked, at least. I knew the girl had to be closing the gap by now, and a quick glance back as I passed the ten mile mark and rounded a corner confirmed my fear. She was about twenty seconds back.

I had a newfound determination. I may not be able to hit my goal, but I could fight for fourth place. It looked to be a classic battle between an almost fifty year old man and a hundred pound, 20 year old girl. At least she had given me a head start.

The last 5K was a grind, but I managed to keep a fair pace, which was not bad, considering the shape I was in not long before. She managed a little quicker pace but, fortunately for me, I was able to hold her off by nine seconds. She had given me too big of a head start, but at least she was respecting her elder. I missed my goal by more than a minute.

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God said, “No, that’s not the right way to say it. Just say, ‘Thank you.’”

No one has ever needed to be tough on me, because I can beat myself up better than anyone else can. I know where all the vulnerable spots are and I exploit them. Being positive after a bad race is not in my human nature (read sinful nature), but I knew God was telling me that I didn’t need to rely on my human nature. I need to rely on His nature and His grace.

I walked away from her, disappointed in myself, and promptly ran into someone else I know who was telling me what a good job I had done. Since I had just been taught a lesson by God, surely I would respond differently,

I crossed the finish line and that’s when God hatched His plan to teach me

right? Not so much. I replied with

a lesson about humility. Although I had run what I considered a poor race, I

more self-absorbed, self-pity as I

turned to shake hands with her and tell her she ran a good race. I found out she

explained that I had just begun riding

held conference records on the track at UTC. She was a fantastic runner who

my bike again and that must be why I

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performed so poorly today. God was trying to work on me,

excuses this time. Then I asked him about his race and we

but I was having none of it.

talked about how he had just run a PR and he was really proud of his race. I immediately snapped out of my funk.

But He is such a patient God. After going through the same conversation for a third time, I grabbed a banana, went to the car, put on my training shoes, ate the banana and left my car to go for a cool down run. I felt like an idiot because

He had just run much slower than I, but was elated at the result. God had sent me someone to “gently” tell me that I should be thankful for the ability that He gave me. We had a great discussion about his accomplishment.

I realized that, not only was I bummed about a bad race but, more importantly, I had let God down in my human

We can get so hung up on our own desires that we miss

interactions since my finish. He wasn’t looking for a cocky,

the blessings He is trying to share with us. Sometimes

excuse-making, poor sport. He was looking for someone

we notice and we are convicted. Other times, we don’t

who would shine His light, and I was dimming it!

even realize that we missed it. But, I’m thankful for a God who loves us so much that He has the patience to endure

On my cool down jog, I felt terrible on both counts, but God wasn’t finished with me. As I was running down the sidewalk surrounding Finley Stadium, a young guy stopped me. It’s odd for someone to stop a guy as he is running, but I felt compelled to stop. I didn’t know who he was. He didn’t even look familiar, but he talked to me as if he knew I wanted to hear what he had to say. He asked me

our petulance even though we don’t deserve it. In this case, He gave me four tries to get it right. The joy in that young fellow’s eyes made me forget my own “problems.”

It makes me think about Hebrews 13:2, “Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels.” Was that young man an angel? I don’t know, but I’ve not seen him since then.

how my race went, I responded with just the facts and no

THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

For more information about becoming a sponsor contact Dean Thompson at Dean@runforgod.com

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Instructor Spotlight

What Can a Feather Do? Molly Wade has a feather in her hair.

Typically, having plumage in your hair isn’t a particularly intriguing phenomenon.

Unless it’s Molly’s feather, that is!

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“

The

entire state of New Hampshire was abuzz this winter just before she revealed the color of this year’s plume.

Well, maybe it wasn’t the entire state, but I think it was on par with the presidential primary hubbub. The question on everyone’s mind was: “What color will the feather be this year?” Thousands of votes were cast (okay, maybe hundreds) to guess the hue of the feather that Molly will wear in her hair all year long. The imaginative revealing, achieved through a self-written poem, showed that the names of all who voted “gold” this year would be tossed into a drawing for a cool prize. It also disclosed the color of the upcoming Run for God class t-shirt color.

Molly sees the world pushing God further and further out of the spotlight and she recognizes the need to be creative in reaching others.”

The idea for the feather came, somewhat, by accident. Molly, as you will

every sentence she speaks, you can

no doubt discover, is an exceptionally creative person. She wanted to do

feel the passion she has for people

something that would remind her to continuously pray for her Run for

and the need to do all she can to

God class participants each day, particularly those who were struggling.

have a positive impact on all who are

If she wore something in her hair, she thought, each time she looked in a

fortunate enough to meet her. She’s

mirror at home, gazed through her rearview mirror in her car, or just saw

not big in stature, but her heart is

her reflection in a window, it would remind her of her class and she would

as big as the stone rolled away from

offer up a prayer. As people inquired about the feather, it was one more

Jesus’ temporary resting place two

opportunity for a quick prayer. She chose a blue feather, since the shirt color

thousand years ago.

her class was wearing was blue, and the two have been connected ever since. It was a much more impactful decision than she could have imagined

You can hear it when she talks about

from the start. She wears the feather for an entire year so that she keeps her

Phyllis Woods. Phyllis took on the 5K

friends, also known as class members, in her prayers even after the class

Challenge as something far outside

ends. After all, the struggle doesn’t end at the graduation race. Quite the

her comfort zone. She had just lost

contrary for so many. How cool is that idea?

her mother, so she was struggling with much more than the discomfort

The creative side of Molly Wade goes on forever, but the compassionate side

of running. She was not fast. As a

shines even brighter! She is from St. Paul, Minnesota and lives in Madbury,

matter of fact, the idea of finishing

New Hampshire, so her accent is delightful to a southern fellow like me. With

the 5K graduation race last was a

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“

Molly likes to see the

real fear for her and she worried about it frequently.

Of course, Molly patiently explained to her that she

magnitude of what

wouldn’t finish last because of her tradition to always

people can do when we

Phyllis anyway. Besides, what she was accomplishing

take the time to meet

5K chanting phrases like, “I’m giving it to Jesus!” and

people where they are.”

run with her last runner and she would be behind was much more important than placement. She ran that “God is helping me with this!” As it turns out, there were other “regular” runners (as she likes to refer to them) behind her, so she wouldn’t have finished last anyway!

As God often does, He wasn’t through using Phyllis after her triumphant run. She went through some personal misfortunes, not the least of which was losing her home to a fire. When she came back to the group, her testimony was stronger than ever! God now uses her to encourage others.

So often, God takes the things we do in obedience to Him and multiplies them. Because Molly was faithful to encourage others with her exuberant personality, He now uses those whom she has built up!

Molly is a fast runner, too. She is running the Boston Marathon this year, which would be enough to be excited about for most runners, but not for Molly.

Through her Boston experience, she is raising money on behalf of Camp Shriver, a month-long summer camp for both abled and disabled children. Another passionate endeavor, the camp seeks to explore the endless and unique possibilities for disabled children and the relationships they develop through interaction with others. In addition, the other kids see the world through the lens of their disabled friends. The stories coming from this camp are inspiring and there’s Molly right in the middle of them!

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Molly likes to see the magnitude of what people can do when we take the time to meet people where they are.

You don’t have to be an athlete to participate in a Run for God class. We can meet them where they are and, with God’s help, can take them across a finish line they never dreamed they could see. When a child has low self-esteem because they feel different from everyone else, we can meet them where they are and let them know that we are all born imperfect, their’s are just more evident than other’s. It doesn’t matter if someone is four or eighty-four, we can meet them where they are, and Molly is constantly searching for those places!

Molly sees the world pushing God further and further out of the spotlight and she recognizes the need to be creative in reaching others. This year, for her Run for God class, she

When you talk to her, you’re inclined to think that she

will include all three disciplines of triathlon. It’s one more

probably went to school to be an artist, or maybe a

way she reaches further out to include those who may

creative writer, but you’d be wrong. Molly is trained as

find running off-putting. The first thought is, “How are

an attorney and practiced law for a while. She spent

you going to be able to do all of that?” If I have discovered

over ten years as a legal editor before moving to New

anything about Molly, it’s that she will find a way.

Hampshire. She is now the Marketing and Public

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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS:

Relations Strategist for St. Thomas Aquinas High School in Dover.

Her husband is an airline pilot and she has four precious gems, also known as children.

God often has plans to use us in ways we may not imagine. God is using Molly in a way that utilizes her talent. She didn’t go to school to do what she does, but God does things like that. He used a guy named Moses who argued with God that he couldn’t be the leader of a nation, especially one that was in such desperate straits! But He did, once Moses decided to let go and let God do His thing. Molly has followed God to an unexpected path in her life and He is using her to make a mighty difference where He has planted her. What is God trying to tell you? Are you resisting His urging like Moses did for so long?

For more information about becoming a sponsor contact Dean Thompson at Dean@runforgod.com

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There was a popular axiom over twenty years ago from a frequently played commercial that asked us to “Be like Mike.” I don’t know about Mike, but I’d like to be more like Molly!

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BEHIND THE SCENES

Why Do WeWait?

Why do we wait for the last runner to finish before handing out awards?

WE GET THIS QUESTION often, and

we understand that some of you fast runners may be waiting a while before getting your award. But here at Run for God, we have decided that EVERYONE should experience that magical finish line experience no matter what their time may be.

For this reason, we hope that you will hang around and help us cheer every runner in, and be inspired by those who just a short time ago were saying “I can’t” and are now saying “I did”.

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S

ST ICK Y NOT ES

FEAR or FAITH? The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

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S

ST ICK Y NOT ES

Fear is something that almost all of us can relate to. Some choose to call it other things like anxiety or stress, but at the end of the day it’s most always fear.

W

hat are some things that we fear? This is

So back to the original question, is

a question that I recently posed to my Run

fear a sin? Absolutely! The Bible says

for God class and I received many answers.

in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not

Just a few of the responses were death, the

given us a spirit of fear, but of power

unknown, flying, drowning, and so on. Did

and of love and of sound mind.” You

you know many studies show that the number one fear in

may be saying to yourself, “Mitchell,

America is public speaking? I can absolutely relate to that

that doesn’t say that fear is a sin.”

one! Fear is something that almost all of us can relate to.

You would be correct, but we must

Some choose to call it other things like anxiety or stress, but

consider the source! The Bible does

at the end of the day it’s most always fear.

say that God did not give us a spirit

Recently while preparing for a study, I came across a question that really got my attention. Would you consider fear a sin? Strange question right? On the surface, you would think that the simple answer is no. There is a gentleman by the name Tom Elliff who visits our church every few years to speak. When I read this question, I immediately thought back to a quote Tom made that I had written down in my Bible. His quote was “Stress equals Selfishness.” Tom’s point was that anytime we are stressing over something, we are in effect saying that whatever we are stressing over is too big for God. We feel it is something that we can’t turn over to God and that we must take it on our self.

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of fear. So if God does not give us that spirit then who does? There are only two possible answers here.

Either “the devil” or “I don’t know.”

In either case, it would be wrong for us to accept the spirit of fear. If from the devil, then the reason is obvious. And if you don’t know, then the reason should also be obvious. Do you remember when you were a child and your parents told you not to take candy from strangers? They told you this because they didn’t know the

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source, and when you allow things in your life from which you do not know the source, bad things can happen.

Moving on. So what does the Bible say about what is a sin.

Romans 14:23 says, “…for whatever is not from faith is sin.”

Whatever IS NOT from faith is sin. This passage of Scripture brings up another question. Can faith and fear coexist? No. Faith and fear cannot coexist. One will push the other out, and which one wins is up to you. We see this in Matthew when Jesus’ disciples awake him in the boat because they were afraid of the storm. Jesus responds to them and says “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?” We see the same response from Jesus when he asks Peter to get out of the boat and walk on water. Peter was actually walking on water when his faith was completely in Jesus, but the moment he began to doubt and fear, he began to sink. Jesus’ answer was the same. “O you of little faith, why do you doubt?”

“Faith and fear cannot coexist. One will push the other out, and which one wins is up to you. “ The Bible illustrates this principle clearly here, and we see it in our everyday life. In order for fear to set in, faith is pushed out. But the opposite is also true. When faith takes over, fear is pushed out. Jesus calls us to live by faith (2 Corinthians 5:7) and the choice to do so is ours.

So we’ve determined that fear is not, I repeat, is not given to us by God. We’ve established the fact that faith and fear cannot coexist. And we’ve also seen where the Bible

WHEN YOU FEEL FEARFUL, REMEMBER...

plainly says that whatever is not from faith is sin. So fear must be a sin. Faith is the cornerstone of our salvation, and anything that we do that is done out of fear instead of faith is unacceptable to God. It is for this reason that you must know the reason that you came to know Christ. When you came to know Christ, did you do it out of faith and a sincere desire to

1. Reach Up Pray and ask God for the peace of His Spirit which passes all understanding.

2. R each Out

follow Him, or did you do it because you didn’t want to go to

Call someone who knows how to listen while

hell? Coming to know Christ out of fear is not true salvation,

you sort things out.

it’s when you come to Him in sincere faith and brokenness over your sin that you’ll truly know salvation.

3. R each In Decide to control only what you can — yourself.

Fear is something we all struggle with, and it’s a sin we can all pray about. Let’s all make the decision to push fear out and let faith take control.

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Dean’s Thoughts

STOP

the

MUSIC

PRESSING PAUSE for recovery

It

doesn’t matter if you’ve run 28 marathons or a single 5K, one thing we all have in common is a need to recover. We’ve all experienced the dull pain of soreness derived from a session of

intense or prolonged running. It may take a long interval session for some, while a simple five mile run is more than enough for others. It all depends on your fitness level.

We’ve all done it, or should I say over-done it. While the soreness brought on by a marathon is different from the soreness of short intense running, the things we need to do to recover from each are the same. Of course, if you’re a beginner, you haven’t had the experience to know how your body reacts to the soreness, making it more difficult to gauge how much recovery you need. If you’re not sure how much recovery you need, remember this: too much recovery will not hurt you. Too little recovery could lead to major problems and some unanticipated time off from running.

Training In order to reduce the extent and intensity of your soreness, it is important to introduce new elements to your training schedule slowly. For example, insert interval training into your preparation for a race begin it three months from the race date. If you want to work your way up to running eight times 400 meters, you should start with something less. Maybe begin with four 400s, or eight times 200 meters at the same pace you will want to complete the 400s. You want to ease into any changes to your training that increases the strain on your body.

When you choose to run hard, make sure that you are warming up and cooling down. There are numerous studies that show that an adequate warm up will lead to less injury and less soreness post-workout. You should never begin running hard right out of the gate. Warming up could mean simply walking before running if you’re a beginner, or it may mean three easy miles and some dynamic stretching if you’re a higher mileage runner.

Another consideration is the cool down. Some studies suggest that the cool

Too much recovery will not hurt you. Too little recovery could lead to major problems and some unanticipated time off from running.

down is not important, while others show some benefits. My experience is that it makes me feel better.

There are some general rules that apply to increasing your mileage. The most widely known general rule for increasing mileage is the 10% rule.

Never increase your mileage more than 10% from one week to the next. In addition, if you are increasing your mileage each week for several weeks,

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insert a recovery week into your plan every fourth week. That recovery week will help your body adapt to the increased stress level. Decrease your mileage by 10-20% during the recovery week.

Slow down and take it easy on your easy days. It’s recovery.

If your watch makes you run faster because you’re watching your pace too closely, turn it off. There is probably no more important imperative than running easy on your easy days.

I talk to a lot of people who run their daily runs at nearly the same pace they run their 5K races. If that’s you, you’re probably running too hard on your easy days. Your easy runs should be a minute-and-a-half to two minutes slower than your 5K race pace.

After a race, recovery is even more important than a hard workout or a long run. A good rule of thumb is one easy/ recovery day for each mile raced. If you ran a 5K, your body needs three days to get back to normal. If you ran a half marathon, it will take your body about two weeks to recover completely. You can run on these days, but make sure those runs are easy.

After the Run There are some things you can do after a run that contribute to a more rapid recovery. Most importantly, get plenty of rest.

When you run, you are producing tiny tears in your muscles that are repaired while you are sleeping. If you don’t get enough sleep, the muscle restoration may not be sufficient.

Our goal is to build those running muscles stronger as the process progresses. If we don’t give it enough time, we will only break them down more on the next run.

Foam rollers and massagers have become increasingly popular. As your muscles are rebuilding, blood flow becomes very important to bring nutrients to the muscle and to take toxins away. Massaging with foam rollers, stick rollers, balls,

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vibration devices, or with a hands-on masseuse will force blood into and out of the muscle and speed recovery. Many elite runners perform some type of massage after every run.

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You may know someone who sings the praises of ice baths,

muscles to fight off the free radical

and you may think they’re crazy. Or, maybe you have

damage that occurs during running.

tried them yourself. Many runners take regular ice baths,

The best source for antioxidants is from

especially after long runs, to aid in recovery. Some studies

fruits and vegetables. For more natural

suggest that they don’t work, but there is a lot of subjective

omega 3s, eat plenty of fish and nuts.

evidence for their effectiveness.

Diet You can help to jump start the muscle rebuilding process by eating the right things after your run. The optimal window to begin the process is within 30 minutes of completing your run. Aim for around 300 calories or less with a mix of carbohydrates to protein at a ratio of about 3 to 1. Those calories can come from food or drink. The importance of these calories goes up with the intensity and/or duration of your workout. The harder you work, the more important it is to start the muscle rebuilding early.

Don’t forget that drinking enough water is also important to recovery.

When your body is dehydrated, it slows the recovery process. There are many studies that attempt to explain how much we should drink and they do not all come to the same conclusion.

From a practical standpoint though, there are two things to understand: 1) Drink when you’re thirsty, 2) Gain an understanding of how much you sweat when you run by weighing yourself

Your overall diet can impact the soreness from running too.

before and after runs. Aim for replacing

A diet rich in antioxidants and omega 3 will allow your

about 75% of that weight while you run.

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THE WATER There is a lot of speculation about caffeine too. Some say that it is a diuretic and the amount you drink has to be subtracted from your overall fluid consumption, while one study by heat and hydration expert Larry Armstrong, Ph.D., author of Exertional Heat Illnesses, suggests that caffeine is no more a diuretic than water. In addition, a 2007 study at the University of Illinois found that regular coffee drinkers felt less sore after exercise when they consumed caffeine before

THE BIKE

the workout. Like anything else, some caffeine will not hurt you. However, if caffeinated beverages make up most of your fluid intake, you should probably cut back.

Active Recovery There are alternatives to running. For example, swimming is a great way to keep your cardiovascular system in top shape without stressing the running muscles. Of course, that allows the running muscles to recover more quickly. Find an activity

THE ROAD

that you enjoy apart from running and you’ll benefit from it.

A Final Thought When you’re recovering, be careful to consider the feeling in your legs rather than your level of enthusiasm. We have a tendency to think we feel better than we do when we’re working hard to improve. Be smart and always cheat on the side of more recovery.

The Bible says in Joshua 1:8, “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” He tells us that we have to “do according to what is written.” I think we all often

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focus on what we should do, but how often do we focus on “meditating in it day and night?” In order for us to carry out God’s word, we have to let it strengthen us through study and listening to Him. When we do that, the next verse, Joshua 1:9, applies: “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

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