My marathon training schedule lays out specifically how long I need to run each day and at what heart rate. There is really not much flexibility built into the program. So, I have to make decisions now that will be a commitment of my time weeks and months into the future.
I am a CPA that specializes in taxes. That means my work schedule gets very busy from about the beginning of February until the middle of April. Tax season itself may be described as a marathon. You can’t just blow all of your reserves any time you want to get things done. Rather, you have to pace yourself for the long haul all along the way. In doing so, things might take a little longer to accomplish in mid-February than they would at the beginning of April. I guess it’s like the running concept of negative splits. You should always be faster in the second half of a long race than in the first (or so I understand).
Throughout my adult life, I have been rather strict in my observance of Shabbat. Demanding a weekly day of rest for myself has, I believe, allowed me to be on net more productive in every aspect of my life. My family life is richer, my working life more efficient, my spiritual life deeper for observing the Sabbath. I’ve had to fine tune my relationship to Shabbat over time, and the observance in our home takes on a distinctly Rau-family flavor. The essence of our Shabbat observance is, I believe, true to scripture: we do not work, nor do we have work done on our behalf, nor do we engage in commerce on the Sabbath. We boil no water & do not kindle fires. We avoid turning on or off lights. We try to set aside time to study scripture and otherwise share in religious communion.
I’ve never been in the habit of exercising on Shabbat -- I’ve routinely avoided it other than the natural exercise that comes with playing with my children -- but I’ve never really had to explore “rules” about what is within the scope of allowable exercise. So, it is with some consternation that I have made the decision that my weekly long run will fall on Saturday.
The long runs on my program are as long as three hours a couple of weeks prior to the marathon. Generally they’re closer to two hours. So, the question becomes: what is the best day for my long runs?
I’ve been able to be stubbornly observant of not working on Shabbat by being willing to work Sundays -- every Sunday throughout busy season. Long weekday hours & a moderate work day on Sunday allow me to be observant of a Sabbath day of rest as well as uncompromising in Sunday church attendance. And the question, as always, must hearken back to how I can best serve my family while attempting to attain this new goal.
Dare I attempt to figure a long run into my weekday work schedule? I think not. This last year, I began my work days on Monday through Friday at 6:00 AM. This allowed me to take a long lunch, during which I did my exercise. But how long would lunch have to be for me to expect a two-hour run, or how early in the morning would I have to awaken to run two (and even three) hours before getting to work? No, this would surely be setting myself up for failure. The other obvious choice would be Sunday. But how much burden do I want to put on Julie to get the kids ready for church by herself in the morning? And again, exactly how early would I have to get up to be able to do this? No -- I’ve decided that Saturdays will involve running for my period of training.
But honestly, I don’t necessarily think that running precludes rest, or vice versa. The rest of Shabbat is not simply lazing around the house & taking naps (although most Shabbats do, indeed, have both of these features). No, the real rest afforded by Shabbat is on a different level. It’s about setting the day aside, free from the cares of the mundane world. For me, at least at this point, running is certainly not mundane.
So, we’ll see how this plays out. As I say, I’m a bit apprehensive about this decision. It was not made lightly. Though I am optimistic. I believe that I’ve made the right decision.
Shabbat shalom!
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