We’ve all seen them on the road. Those bright, fluorescent yellow vests worn by construction workers on the side of roads to warn drivers to be extra cautious and to slow down for their safety.
Those bright yellow vests also make their presence known at marathons – only the caution is for runners. Because runners are now the hunted. The prey. The innocent and helpless. We are about to have our pictures taken at the very pinnacle of our struggle, pain, and peak unattractiveness.
(*The pics below aren’t the TRULY gross ones… But trust me, plenty of horrid pics out there that can’t be posted since they’re copyrighted, and there’s NO WAY I am purchasing them!)
It’s almost cruel that race photographers will set up camp on an uphill climb. I realize that right behind me is probably a million dollar view, however, these photos reveal something quite disturbing. Expressions that I did not know my face could make. Seriously, I can’t even replicate that look in front of a mirror right now if I tried.
But downhill photo shoots aren’t much better either. Sure, my facial expressions might reflect delight and sheer joy during mild descents. If I happen to see the yellow-vested predator ahead, I might even muster up the energy to give a thumbs up or wave as I approach. Somehow on steeper descents gravity and the Nikon predator combine forces and capture versions of me that seem to scream “Please, Lord, don’t let me die on this hill!” Or “I knew I should’ve done more quad strength training!”
And then there are those photos – nice, flat roads, iconic postcard-worthy, cover of Runner’s World magazine potential – from which I can only say gravity and sweat were NOT my friends. I’ll just leave that one there.
Having said all this, there is one bright side. A way to look through the camera lens and see past the fact that I’m never going to be a sports model. Every one of these race photos captures a moment in time. In that millisecond of the shutter opening and closing, a permanent, undeniable image of me has been captured. I can now look frame by frame at my stride, foot placement, arm swing, shoulder and back posture, as well as facial expressions. These photos are now coaching opportunities.
They say if you don’t do it in practice, you won’t do it in a race.
Researchers say on average (men and women combined), one might run 1,700 steps per mile. Of course, MANY factors come in to play. But the point is if I am trying to improve something like – for example – foot placement, I need to consciously practice doing it the right way. If you think about it, if you’re foot landing is incorrect, you are doing it wrong 1,700 times for every mile you run. Multiply that by whatever race distance you are running. I actually don’t ever look at my step count on my Garmin, but for purposes of this blogpost, I did.
My last three marathon step counts:
Big Sur – 49, 256
Oakland – 48,927
Los Angeles – 51,833 (fastest of the three)
I have been a heel striker (landing with too much emphasis on the heel versus mid or forefoot). In my early years of running, I did not realize I was a heel striker. Or that I had a slight tendency to supinate which became evident as I look at how my running shoes wore out (outer edges of the heels showing the most wear). Heel striking also resulted in other issues such as IT band overstretching and knee stress. Over the years, I have tried to correct these issues as well as buy more appropriate shoes. My Hokas are minimal heel-to-toe drop shoes which are designed to encourage more of a forefoot strike when running.
The good news and something I am extremely thankful for is my improvement and lack of injury in recent years. And when I say improvement, I don’t necessarily mean going faster. It used to take me DAYS after a marathon before I could walk somewhat normally and without excruciating pain. Back then I couldn’t even entertain the thought of getting back out for a run for a couple of weeks.
These days, I feel pretty good the day after a marathon. Stairs don’t make me cry…as much. And I’m back out running in a couple of days. In fact, I feel better the quicker I can get back into my regular weekly training mileage. Lately, that’s about 30-32 miles a week. Not super fast. And always some hill training.
Last weekend, I ran one of my fave trail races for the fifth year in a row. The Wildcat half marathon boasts some of the most breathtaking 360 degree views from several of its hill peaks.
photo credit: Jason Lehrbaum
Understandably, it’s a challenge to get a race photographer up to these amazing peaks. Some of the volunteer photographers actually run the race course then post hundreds of free, downloadable pics after the race. One of the awesome perks of running with the most bomb-dot-com fantastic local race organization – Brazen Racing!
Well, as customary after running with Brazen for years now, I check out the free photos after each race. I confess I’m looking for that one magazine cover worthy shot of me where I look ripped, lots of space between the ground and feet mid-stride, Lululemon-proud attire, and perfect form. BWAHAHAAAAA! I can’t even write this without laughing. Okay, I’ll settle for not tripping, less muffin top, and a look that doesn’t say “I should not have had that burrito last night.”
All my talk about me not heel striking, well, one pic from Wildcat last weekend caught me in the act. Oh well. It’s just one right? That doesn’t mean I’ve regressed and do it all the time now, right?
Funny, I kept thinking about that one photo on my runs this week. Consequently, I made a conscious effort to watch my running form more than usual. After all, old habits can slip back easily.
Then I started thinking about what if there were ways to capture moments in our daily lives that we’ve been working to improve – habits, thought patterns – the stuff that can’t be captured on film or with a selfie.
As I started my new job last month, I realized I’ve not been in the 7am to 4pm work commute routine in a while. My morning pace and rituals have been untimed the past two years. I found myself running just a few minutes behind for everything and couldn’t figure out why until this week. I don’t normally speed when I drive, but found myself running more yellow lights recently and wondering when I’m going to get a not-so-attractive photo of myself in the mail along with a traffic ticket.
On one of my regular runs a couple of days ago, I pondered a lot of this stuff. I was talking to God about these snapshot moments. I was glad that only HE saw me during those really unattractive times and that only HE knew what was really going through my mind. As I continued to run and talk to Jesus about how I wanted to improve in specific areas of my life, I started to see that God has always provided the perfect way to keep me in check. In fact, it is in HIS job description:
“But the Helper will teach you everything and will cause you to remember all that I told you. This Helper is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.” John 14:26 NCV
In any given race, the professional race photographers (the ones in the bright yellow vests) might take ten to thirty photos of each runner. I’m always impressed with how quickly they can use bib numbers and timing chips to identify sometimes 30,000+ individual runners AND email notifications within days of the race that these photos are now ready for purchase. The photo companies know that the best chance of selling photos is hitting runners before that runners’ high fades. Especially if it was a great race.
If I purchased every photo from every race I’ve ever run, not only would I be broke, but what exactly would I do with these thousands of pictures of me – most of which are truly unflattering, embarrassing versions of myself at the weakest moments of my life?
The cool thing about God is that He has seen every one of these photos of me… and purchased them. And not to post all over Facebook or put in some Hall of Shame.
And then at opportune times He’ll pull out a few choice photos to encourage me in how to live that moment better next time or to remind me of how the pain of certain moments has made me stronger today.
Natalie and Meagan have “educated me” in how to take better selfies. I didn’t realize there was a right and wrong way. Ha, ha! If they’re reading this, the selfie would be of them rolling their eyes right now. I don’t carry a mirror in my purse, so I confess that sometimes I’ll put my phone on selfie mode to see if my hair looks okay or if I have food stuck in my teeth.
But God takes the best selfies. If I really think about it, He’s in every single one of mine. The good, the bad, and the ugly. What do I do with all these images? How do I sort through them all? Can I delete the ones that I don’t like?
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5
I’m so thankful that the Holy Spirit not only reminds and encourages me in how to run my next “race” with better form; but He also helps me focus and fix my eyes on the things that will allow me to see His purpose in each snapshot.
When I am running God’s race, I don’t have to worry who sees me, how I look, or if there will be a good photo to show for it. Next race goal: To see everything through the lens of Jesus.
