Unshakable

How long it’s been since I’ve run further than across the street, I really don’t remember. It’s been at least five years or more. I remember saying to myself “after I retire from the military I’m not going to run any more” because frankly, I was never that good at it. I was always in those special units were everyone seemed like they could run like deers all day long. It was always painful for me just to keep up. This is why I thought that went I finally got a choice of not running, I would drop out of running for good. That was over 13 years ago, and other than a few sprint sessions here and there, I had completely stopped running. I was okay with that, until a couple of years ago when I was no longer able to run because of my back. Just like the fox who couldn’t get the grapes, not being able to run sparked in me the desire to start running again. Still, I haven’t really been able to run for the past year and a half. In fact, my doctor would probably like to keep running on my prohibited list forever. I’m just not ready to raise a white flag and sit down in a rocking chair among the old toothless dogs on the porch just yet.

I came across some information from one of the popular longevity gurus about how VO2 max is one of the single best predictors of longevity. I first heard about VO2 max years ago when it was pretty much restricted to being tested in a lab with specialized equipment. That was long ago way back in the day. This guru also stated that today it was possible for VO2 max to be fairly well estimated with just the AppleWatch. So, I opened the Activity App on my phone and sure enough there was a VO2 max estimation. That was the good news. The not so good news is that my VO2 estimation was well below average for my age. So, adding to my fairly strong desire to start running, was now a fairly strong indicator that I needed to run.

Why running? Since VO2 max is essentially measuring aerobic endurance capacity, the best way I know to improve it is with the tried and tested military practice of running. I went to bed last night with the plan of getting back to running in the morning. I’m no spring chicken. Therefore, I planned on starting slow, easy, and gentle like. A short 2 miles around a quarter mile track alternating easy jogging with fast walking. Well, at least I thought it would be easy.

Today’s Workout Description

Date: 24 April 2023 | Start: 8:13 am EST | Finish: 8:30 am EST

It was a beautiful day, warm without being hot, and sunny without being overpowering. I started the first lap with an easy jog. I was probably just a little over the first 400 meters when I realized that running a mile even with breaking it up with a mile of walking was going to be far out of reach for me to do while keeping it in the easy category. I quickly decided to cut the original plan in half. Not that it was easy, but at least it wasn’t a max effort that would take me a week or so to recover from.

A far cry from the lean-mean-fighting machine I used to be when I was pushing myself to the max with every workout in this place. That seems like a small forever ago. I’m not upset about that though. Just before getting out of the car at the stadium, the thought about how God promised to shake everything that can be shaken so that only what cannot be shaken would remain came to mind (Hebrews 12:26-27). Somewhere between gasping for air and catching my breath, the meaning of this Scripture became clearer. Blessed is the one who God teaches not to lean on things that can be shaken. If we lean on our physical strength, don’t be surprised when we are made weak. If we trust in money, don’t be surprised when it all flies away. When we rely on our success, don’t be surprised when we suddenly fail. The epiphany is this: all that can be shaken must be shaken so that we learn to trust in only what cannot be shaken. Then and only then do we come to understand how weakness becomes strength for those who trust in Jesus Christ (Philippians 4:12-13; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

It took me nearly 17 minutes to jog/run that one mile today. Not going to break any records anytime soon, but I do plan to repeat this little baby-step of a workout tomorrow.