Faith Laces

We find time for the things that are important to us. Period. ~ Scott Douglas,  Scott’s Original Miscellany, Running Times –  March 2011 I always find time to run. It doesn’t matter how hectic life is, I run through it. My goal for 2012 is to make writing as big a part of my daily routine. A day without a run makes me twitchy. A day without writing is just another day -I rarely give it a second thought until I go to bed and realize, “Shoot! I didn’t write today! Oh well.” Commence snoring, which is to say that a day without writing doesn’t plague me with guilt and keep me up at night like a day without running does. Don’t get me wrong — I don’t want to add more guilt to my life, but I do want to make writing as important as running so that I will be motivated to do it everyday. Now how do I do that? Other bloggers have given me some great suggestions in just one word - Cyndi @  Walking in Grace and Beauty ‘s word for 2012 –  Focus Cyndi reminds me to...

‘Tis the season for celebrating — for parties, decorations, and for rejoicing. In all the holiday hub-bub, it may be hard to make time to run, but running can be a festive activity too! Here are some tips for making your next run a merry ole’ time: Run  wearing a Santa hat – Bring a smile to the faces of your neighbors and drivers alike! Run  with bells on – String a few little bells on your shoelaces or add some sleigh bells to the jogging stroller (just a little warning – this could be a tad overwhelming on long runs)! Run  with Christmas tunes – Rock out to some upbeat carols and spread some joy by bursting into song every mile or so! Run  at night to see the lights – Sometimes it’s a bit intimidating to run at night. But there’s no better time to give it a go than at Christmas when white and colorful lights adorn the neighborhood. Just don’t forget to don your own reflective gear! Run  and rejoice in the reason for the season – Read the Christmas s...

Nestled in the hills of West Virginia is a little town called Rachel, home to a post office, Downs United Methodist Church and my parents. During a visit in early December, I had a choice between running along the winding back roads or along the rocky defunct train tracks. I usually avoid the roads because of the narrowness and frequent blind bends. My main concern about the trail following the old train tracks was hunters; it was the height of hunting season after-all. When I expressed my concern about running along the old train rails, my mother said, “Oh they aren’t hunting along the trail.” Great! I made my decision. As I reached the start of the trail, heading towards me in a bright, neon orange vest carrying a rifle in one hand was a bearded man. Ha! I was right and Mom was wrong! But my inner gloating was interrupted by a gunshot echoing in the air. Well, while my original worry had just been confirmed, nothing short of a giant black bear standing on the path was going to st...

I used to think satisfaction came at the end, at the finish line. Now I know that what I see or smell or do on the way is much more significant than the distance we covered or how fast we did it. Susan Williams,  A Mother And Son As Training Partners Honestly, my jogging stroller is heavy! Monkey is now 30 pounds and I don’t know what the stroller weighs, but whatever it is -it’s weighty. Today, as I was running past a couple of my neighbors, they joked, “The speed limit is 25mph through here!” For a second it bothered me that I was slow enough that my neighbors felt compelled to make a joke about it, but I’m not that fast without the stroller, except on the days  after  I’ve run with the jogging stroller – I feel so light and free without the extra weight that I do go faster. So while, I may have been going slow today, I’ll be going faster tomorrow. Photo Credit - Faith Laces Not every run has to be a race. And there are benefits to running (slowly) with a jo...

Photo Credit - Microsoft Clip Art Today was simply beautiful. The temperature was warm in the 60s with no wind and the sun shone brightly in the baby blue sky -perfect conditions for a lovely fall run with Monkey. On the track today we ran together holding hands and crossing the finish line together so we both ‘won.’ We chased our shadows, stepped on each other’s shadow, and merged our shadows into one ‘monster’ shadow. Monkey also picked the few remaining dandelions. On our way to the creek, she fell asleep and napped for maybe 15 minutes. She woke up in time to stop at the creek and toss sticks into the water. I got a great workout pushing Monkey in her jogging stroller up a hill because our regular route was blocked by big tree limbs that fell down during the snow we had a week ago. A metaphorical tree limb fell in my path on Friday and rather than turn to God for the strength and wisdom to navigate, I panicked. I’m deeply ashamed to admit that I blamed God for putting...

As a long time runner, I know there are going to be days when my legs feel like dead weight, when one mile feels like ten, and when the weather makes me want to stay in bed. Monday was one of those days. The Bad and Ugly of Monday’s Run My cold. An almost flat right back tire on the stroller. Rain. The Good of Monday’s Run My daughter’s peeling laughter as she ran beside me. My daughter’s hand firmly holding onto my pants. My daughter shouting, “This is fun!” My daughter saying, “We both win,” as we finish our last lap around the track. Remembering to bring along the rain shield for the stroller. Sprinting through the rain. *** Photo Credit - Microsoft Clip Art Every time I go out there, I win. Every time I finish the task that I’ve set before myself, I win again.  ~ David James Elliott, Actor *Originally posted on Pocketful of Playdough

When I first ran with the jogging stroller, I was nervous. I worried it was too big and cumbersome to control or maneuver easily around cars and pedestrians, but after just a couple of runs, the stroller started feeling like a natural extension of my body and even helped to improve my form by keeping me standing straight and looking ahead. Despite feeling comfortable, I still feel a little nervous when I run with the stroller because it’s carrying precious cargo, so I do everything I can to make my runs with Monkey enjoyable and safe. Ten Tips to Protect Your Little Running Partner: Don’t run with your infant unless he or she is able to sit up on their own, usually around 6 months old. Before I began running with Monkey in the jogging stroller, I checked with her pediatrician to make sure it was safe to do so. Run during daylight hours. Although I don’t take the jogging stroller at night or early morning, my jogging stroller has a reflective light on the wheels, as most joggin...