Monthly Archives: May 2011

Hitting the Wall (from the “This popped up in my Inbox” series)

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Got this in my inbox from a friend.  Been thinking about it all day, so I thought I’d share.image

Hitting the Wall

Serious runners, especially long distance ones, talk about "hitting the wall." It’s apparently something that defies easy description and is different for different people. It’s variously described as that point when "an elephant jumps on your shoulders for a ride" or "your legs feel made of lead – if you can feel them at all." It happens usually around mile 20 or so according to most running websites.

Our son-in-law Chris, who recently ran his first full marathon, said around mile 23 he encountered his nemesis:  "an angry, anthropomorphic Wall with fists." Hitting the Wall is an experience of total energy depletion, of mental fuzziness and self-doubt, perhaps even defeat.

Chris said he had to slow to a walk and then eventually stop. A fellow marathoner paused to check on him and offer help. After a bit he started walking again and soon came up on his merry band of supporters, including his wife (our daughter) EA.

As they walked together up a steep hill, Chris confessed he was discouraged and disappointed he wouldn’t finish the race in his target time. EA answered, "No, but you can finish 15 minutes later than that." Her belief in him got Chris running again, and indeed, he did finish within 15 minutes of his initial goal.

Marathon runners aren’t the only ones who hit the Wall. At one time or another it flattens most of us who run the road of recovery. Maybe it’s a relapse, a consequence, a disappointment or just plain old exhaustion, The Wall crushes you. Physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually you’re spent.

So what do you do? How do you get past the Wall? You do what this new marathoner did: You surrender, stop and get your breath, assess your need for help, find support, and start running again. You set a new goal and keep on going.


Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Galatians 6:9

Marnie Ferree

Somedays (okay … some weeks/months/years) are just like hitting the wall.  But we get to start again, fresh with each new day.  One day at a time, one moment at a time, accepting hardship as a pathway to peace.

(the picture wasn’t in the email, but I wanted someplace of me looking like I was really having a good time… running)

Thinking like a fit person…

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image The past couple of weeks I haven’t been thinking like a fit person.  I had met a goal I had been training for since January of running another 5k, I’d trained three-four times a week, and greatly improved my endurance and speed drastically.  I beat my previous 5k time by four minutes.  I should have been very happy.

Truth is, it was in the middle of a stressful time at work, more stresses from home.  During the last few weeks, I didn’t find a good outlet for letting out my frustrations.  I grew increasingly isolated and withdrew into myself. I made some really bad decisions with my time, which only increased the stress I felt, along with guilt and shame.  I should have recognized the signs,  found one of my support friends and worked things out.  Instead I let pride get the better of me (again) and the end result was I regressed.  All of that has nothing to do with dieting, but part of the reason I’m on this journey is to be more fit, and fit isn’t just a physical property, but also a emotional and spiritual component as well.  So this post is the beginning (again) of me trying to think like a fit person, and recommitting myself to the practices I’ve fostered the past couple of years to become the person I want to be.

So… with that as prelude, I’m going to go back to some number crunching. 

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