FIRST and Fifteen

Today was my FIRST 15 mile long run.  In spite of my experience out on the trail last week, I decided to give it another try.  There were no baseball bats this week, but maybe some boxing gloves giving me a pummeling below the knees.  The trail was in significantly better shape, but not great shape.  There were long stretches where the combination of warmer day time temperatures and the traffic of the week had dried and smoothed out the mud into a fairly nice trail surface.  In other spots, the snow melted this week, but there just wasn't enough warmth and sun to dry it out.  Those spots were still deeply rutted - more ruts than footprints this week.  And then there were the northern slopes of hills and a few other spots where the sun could not reach.  In these there was still packed snow, with ice around the edges.

But the beautiful morning made up for the imperfections of the trail.  My FIRST program called for Marathon Pace + 45 seconds which should be a comfortable pace.  Still a little faster than I used to do my long runs, but as it turned out, I finished 3 seconds per mile under target pace on an out and back route that included about 350 feet of elevation gain on the 'out' leg.  I had trouble again finding the right pace during the second mile, but settled down after that.  I was exactly on pace at the turn around point, but having climbed the 350 feet, it was no surprise that I ended up a little fast on the return leg.

I was pretty excited when I got home.  I had never run further than 13.1 miles before.  That's right, this was the first time I have ever run 15 miles.  It feels good.  My wife was excited for me too.  She's like that.  Even with an excellent long run to start the day, that's not what my day is about today.  Anne and Xavier Pacheco, very close friends of ours for the past 13 years, dropped off their 5 year daughter with us on their way to the airport.  Second honeymoon, you might be wondering?  Anniversary get away?  Perhaps a more sobering situation, a death in the family?

None of the above.  Anne and X will be traveling for 35 hours from Denver, CO to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.  They are going to bring home their daughter, Yemi and their son, Abe from an orphanage in Addis Ababa.  Just 7 months ago, Anne and X filled out an application to adopt after years of discussion on the topic.  If you happen to know anyone who has been through an international adoption, you will realize that to be on your way to bring your children home in 7 months is something of a minor miracle.

Unlike some celebrity adoptions you may have read about, this one has no media coverage, no fanfare.  Just two people with a heart for children who don't have a home.  They already had a loving home with two biological children.  Now they have a loving home with four children.  What a beautiful picture of love - to bring into your family two children that do not have a family, and that live in circumstances that give them little hope in this life.

It struck me while I was out on my run today, that while running a marathon is quite a personal accomplishment, it can be a fairly self centered pursuit.  The time, energy and focus it will take to train for this marathon will be significant, and should enable me to run 26.2 miles in a time that will qualify me for the Boston Marathon.  That is an accomplishment that many recreational runners aspire to.  And yet I know that that accomplishment will pale in comparison to the more significant endeavors in life.

I leave today's workout and the second week of my FIRST training with a feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction.  I have run, for the first time, fifteen miles.  I also come away with an exhortation in my heart to not allow my self to become self absorbed as I pursue Boston qualification.  Not all of us are called to adopt, but I believe that all of us who have been blessed - whether with wealth, a steady job, a roof over our heads, a cheerful spirit, or food on the table; we have been blessed so that we may in turn bless those in need.

I'm looking forward to week 3 - 14 weeks to Napa.