Getting a Clue

I have written many a stupid sentence before, but this one, from February 16, might take the prize:

I think I know what the problem was: my shoes. They’re worn out. They’re simply not as cushioned as they once were, which means a harder impact and an uncomfortable fit.

That was my expert analysis on why my left knee had suddenly started hurting four miles into a run. Never mind that the injury came on after several days of running 5-milers at nearly two minutes per mile faster than my usual pace. Nope. Clearly my shoes — in great shape and with less than 250 miles on them — were to blame. So I went out and bought a new pair.

Amazingly, though, the new shoes didn’t seem to solve the problem! And so what followed was a trip to the orthopedist, footbeds, a daily infusion of Omega-3, a new stretching regimen, and a slow, conservative running program until, finally, the knee began to feel better.

At which point, I decided to celebrate by running super-fast again! And wouldn’t you know it, a few days later, the knee injury began to resurface. (As Sr. Mary Agnes aptly put it on dailymile, “It is so frustrating when our bodies tell us to slow down, and then humbling when we learn our body was right :)”.

But the real problem here isn’t that I was running too fast. No, the problem is me.

You see, due to a combination of pride and impatience, I hate to follow instructions. I never read user’s manuals. I blanche at the sight of the word “expert,” and blithely assume that if I need to know something, I’ll figure it out. So, I’ve largely worked out my training routines on my own — with little or no consultation of the appropriate guides — and the results speak for themselves.

Thus, when I decided, only weeks away from a planned marathon, that my legs felt so strong that I should try to improve my speed, I didn’t do all those things you’re supposed to do. Intervals, fartlek, speedwork? Who’s got time for all that nonsense? I’ll just start doing my short and medium-range runs as fast as I can! At first, the brisk pace was fun, exciting, exhilarating. And when my knee started to throb a few days later … I went out and bought new shoes.

This isn’t the first time I’ve learned this life’s lesson. Until the age of 24, I was, for all intents and purposes, a non-practicing Christian. Yes, if you had put the Apostles’ Creed before me I would have nominally assented to its tenets, but I never went to church, seldom prayed, and in no way let my faith influence the way I lived, acted, spoke, thought, or treated others.

But when I was 24, I had a Road to Damascus experience. Suddenly on fire for the Faith, I made a conscious effort to start living in accordance with its teachings. I’ll never forget what that priest told me when I came to him in the confessional with two decades’ worth of sins: “Well, it sounds like you’ve tried living your life your way for a while, and now you’re ready to try living it God’s way.”

Twelve years later, I’m still trying — imperfectly, to be sure, but trying nonetheless. With the teachings of Christ and His church as my guide, I am far better able to make decisions, and the result is a far more fruitful, joyful life than I ever knew before when I was doing it “my way.”

I suspect that if I stopped trying run “my way,” I’d find a similar improvement in my physical well-being. Alas, although the Church offers sure advice in matters of faith and morals, it has little to say about exercise. Yet even though there is no Magisterium on running, there is the collective wisdom of experience. There are many people who have run a lot longer, farther, and faster than I have, and who have a lot of good advice to offer.

A great priest I know once said, “The wisest words I ever read came in the user’s manual for my car: ‘Operates best when used in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions.’”

The Manufacturer might not have authored a manual on running, but many of His servants have. It’s high time I started listening to them.