As a was in my car tonight driving to a sporting goods store to buy some trail running shoes, I started to think about the race next weekend and the kids at our orphanage in Haiti.
Before I share those thoughts with you I'll give you some background info. on this weeks past events. Last Friday morning Doug and I went out and did a very hilly 18 mile training run and as a friend from Haiti would say "We Killed it". We both felt good and ended strong. The next morning we were ready to do a 27 mile run on the Appalachian Trail. (side note: when training for a 50 mile race it is very important to do back to back long hard runs so your legs are trained as much as they can be to run for 10 straight hours.) Our legs were feeling good and were both encouraged that we physically felt strong and were ready to take on this final long training run. Then around mile 2 we started to head up a mountain, the trail was completely covered with leaves and it was very difficult to see where and what you were about to step on. Then what I feared was going to happen unfortunately did. I stepped on the side of a rock that was under the leaves and rolled my ankle. At first my adrenaline kicked in and I kept going. I wasn't sure how bad it was until after about another mile of hiking, that's when my adrenaline left and fear set in. Was I done? Was I going to have to drop out of the 50 in two weeks and let the kids down? Was I going to let Doug down? Why did I where my running shoes on this rock infested trail? After hiking about another 2 miles, Deb picked us up along the road and the Advil and icing began.
Now you know why I was driving to a sporting goods store to buy trail running shoes. Which brings me to my thoughts I had in the car. I once heard someone say you have to be "Crazy" to run a Marathon (26.2 miles) but to run an Ultra-Marathon (50 miles) you have to be an "Idiot". Well I not sure about that but when I think of what it's going to take to complete this race, three words come to mind. Perseverance, Survival, and Faith.
Mental and Physical Perseverance. Anyone who is a distance runner knows that it's as much, if not more mental than it is physical. You have to just keeping going no matter how painful it is. To stop is to fail. To quit is to get a DNF (Did not Finish) next to your name when they post the results. You must persevere.
Survival. When you run a Marathon people almost always ask you two questions: "Did you Finish?" and "What was your time?" I haven't run any Ultras yet but I think the question I'll be most asked is "Did you survive?" 50 miles is not about time, it's about surviving it.
Faith. Faith in my training, faith in myself, faith in my brother, and faith that when my strength is gone He will keep me going. He will be there when I have nothing left.
When I was thinking of those three words in my car, it reminded me that they are very fitting to describe the character of 31 very special children in Haiti that I have the privilege to know and am in constant amazement of.
They Persevere. Even though there is about 75% unemployment rate where they live, their noses are buried in the books every night after being in school all day. Most of them are in the top 10% of their class.
They Survive. Sometimes that's what living in Haiti is about. There are days that reaching the end of the day is considered a "Win". Some of the stories that are known about their past are chilling to even think about let alone experience, not to mention the unknown ones.
They have Faith. For those who have been there and have met these kids know it. You can feel it when your with them. God is the only one that can bring that much joy in the mist of so much pain and uncertainty.
So next Saturday I will be thinking of the children of Good Samaritan. What I have to endure for 10 hours they have to endure to live. Someday I pray we can help change that.
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