Shin Splints

 

I'm in pain. I've got shin splints. Never had those before. 

Anyone that has had shin splints before knows exactly the kind of pain I'm in.  I found out that you're not supposed to run through them. They're caused by an over-exertion of a muscle surrounding your tibia. When the tibia experiences a persistent pressure that it isn't used to or hasn't felt in a while, the muscle expands and the bone forms tiny microscopic cracks. In the beginning, these cracks aren't enough to cause any type of fracture, but they can certainly cause a whole lot of pain. 

You're supposed to immediately stop what you're doing and allow the muscle and bone to rest. After rest, the pain should subside and a person will be able to return to their chosen activity. However, as is the case with exercise after a period of rest, there is still some form of pain associated with conditioning your bones and muscles to become active in that particular way again.

Running is tough. In all honesty, for me, running is one of the most undesirable activities. I always blamed it on the fact that I have breathing problems (which is sometimes true), but that was mainly an excuse. Excuses were the elements that kept me from running and striving for more. I would start running, but my shoes weren't right, so I would quit. I would start running, but my breathing was off, so I would just walk instead. Or I would start running, but I would get lonely, so I would decide to stop until I found someone to run with. And then I would start running with someone, but I would feel too awkward, so I would make up an excuse to not go running with them again (my apologies to any of my former running partners).

For some reason, I have been reminded a lot lately of a story that I heard when I was younger. A long time ago, a man (let's say his name is Michael) decided that he was going to participate in a marathon. Now, this is a very good goal, but the only problem was that Michael was not a runner. The other problem? The marathon was only two weeks away. Michael decided to go through with it any way. He didn't exactly know how to train for the marathon in that short amount of time, so he began with short-distance running, followed by some sprints, hill climbing, and stretching. Michael repeated this day after day until, finally, the day of the marathon arrived. The time came for the race to begin and Michael was psyched. Starting out, Michael was running very well. He felt good. But then after mile two, Michael started feeling it. His legs were feeling sore. He was getting tired. After a while, no one was behind him and everyone was in front of him. His pace became much slower. He began to feel really awkward because all of the spectators' eyes were on him; this lone runner in last place. People could see the expression of pain on his face. The television cameras were trained on him. All of a sudden, people began to see Michael muttering something to himself. Every other step, he would say something. Nobody could make out what he was saying, but they could see that he wasn't giving up. By the time that Michael reached the finish line, all of the runners were waiting for him, along with hundreds of spectators and camera crews. A reporter came out of the crowd to ask him the questions that were on everyone's minds. 

"Why didn't you give up?"

"I couldn't."

"What was it that you were saying to yourself during the race?"

"I was praying. I was telling God, 'You pick them up, Lord, and I'll put them down. You pick them up, Lord, and I'll put them down.'"

I have to be honest, there have been times in life when I have gone through phases of pulling myself out of the race because of a lame excuse. Either I was feeling down, or unmotivated, or I didn't like where I was at. And every time that I have done that, I always catch myself looking back, wondering why I didn't push myself to finish. I have always been taught that when you start something, you're supposed to finish it. And I believe that to be true. When you start a job, you finish that job and see it through no matter what. Even if you experience a setback (like a figurative shin splint), you finish and finish well. That same principal, I believe, applies to every part of life. 

I am going to strive to run the race well.

"⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing."

- 2 Timothy 4:7-8 

^"2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

- James 1:2-4

Praying for you all.

Keep your head up and your eyes forward.