Hi, Sam. Thanks for the lift. But I really wouldn't have minded getting the train or the bus.
Sam:Oh, no worries. But that wouldn't have really worked. There's no public transport where we're going.
Gracie:Oh. I thought the plan was that we were going to do a run at the gym.
Sam:No. No. No. No. No. I said we're going to do a run with Jim.
Gracie:Oh, okay. Cool.
Sam:And Carla. And Adam. And Jamil. And Susan. And Calvin.
Sam:Oh, and Arvani. And Brenda.
Gracie:Oh, alright. Great. Quite the team.
Sam:Pack.
Gracie:Yes, I have packed. I've got let me see.
Sam:Quite the pack, not team.
Gracie:Oh, well, whatever. It will be nice to meet some new people.
Sam:We'll stop in about two hours for refreshments.
Gracie:Two hours? Wow. We really aren't going to the local gym. Where exactly are we going?
Sam:Well, as we have all this time then, how about we go through a KitBak check?
Gracie:Well, that's not gonna take two hours. More like two seconds.
Sam:Really? That might be an issue. Tell me anyway.
Gracie:Okay. Well, I have in here a bottle of water and a Nature Valley bar. Although I probably won't eat that as it will make a mess in your car.
Sam:Anything else?
Gracie:No. That's it.
Sam:What? No banana, fuel bar, gels, sugar hit or caffeine?
Gracie:What are we doing? A marathon?
Sam:What about clothing?
Gracie:Well, you can see, I'm wearing it. A pair of running shorts, sports vest, and trainers. And not just any pair of trainers. They're my brand new titanium plated light grip, streamlined high speed running shoes.
Sam:Oh, well, you might want to keep those shoes in the car and perhaps put on your long sleeve top and running leggings too. You want to protect yourself. Better to keep everything covered.
Gracie:I don't have any other clothes. This is it. What are we gonna be running in?
Sam:Well, let's not worry too much about that. Brenda will probably have a spare set of clothes.
Gracie:Is there a reason why you're avoiding telling me where we're heading to and what we're doing? I mean, should I be worried about what you've signed me up for?
Sam:Worried? No. It'd be fine. But what I would say is just make sure your emergency contact details are up to date.
Gracie:Hello and welcome back to another episode of Pulse Check-in, an opportunity to take a beat. It's not just me here. It is also Sam over there.
Sam:Hello.
Gracie:Nice to see you, Sam over there
Sam:Hello.
Gracie:in Costa Del, Manchester. Welcome back to another episode. So on our last pod, we posed a bit of a question.
Sam:People have been dying to know the answer to what this episode is about.
Gracie:That's right. We gave three clues, didn't we? We gave a sound effect, a word, then a saying.
Sam:What was a saying?
Gracie:Well, not a saying, not a well known saying, we've made up the saying really, but a hint.
Sam:Binding the pack together, that's what it was.
Gracie:So Josh, as far as I can remember, he did stumble across, do you think?
Sam:He was on the right lines.
Gracie:Yeah. But not really.
Sam:He doubted himself. But, you know.
Gracie:Yeah. Actually, think we're just being kind. Wasn't nowhere near it.
Sam:Yeah. Well, we have had some writings as well. You've been writing in your millions. One person wrote and said, Honestly, I have no idea. The sound at the beginning threw me right off. I was like, What is that? This is what they said.
Gracie:You're directly quoting now, are you?
Sam:Directly quoting with some crying laughing faces as well.
Gracie:Oh, okay.
Sam:Then I thought maybe it's something to do with bad weather, getting through dark times, getting people together when things aren't going well.
Gracie:Well, first of all, let's start with a little bit of validation here. Our listener started off by saying honestly I have no idea.
Sam:Yes.
Gracie:But then went on to disprove that fact by sharing an idea and is almost touching on the edge of it.
Sam:Yeah, I mean there was doubt at the start but because they persevered, pushed through and gave an answer. They got quite close to be fair.
Gracie:That's better than nothing, isn't it? Yeah, If they hadn't done that, they wouldn't have been able to be awarded with our invisible prizes.
Sam:Exactly. Exactly.
Gracie:So, but okay, so that's the positive. But no,
Sam:They they're not said it's probably wrong but those are my thoughts and I appreciate that.
Gracie:But I like that thought about they've thought quite deeply about it. Go through dark times, being near each other. Yeah. That's good.
Sam:Yeah. And then
Gracie:Sorry. I do think, even though they haven't got it correct, we should still award them the prize.
Sam:Gold gold duck. Yeah. Quack.
Gracie:No chicken.
Sam:Chickens. It's always chickens
Gracie:It's always chickens. We'll send them a a bronze chicken, not gold because it didn't get correct.
Sam:Okay. Okay. Bronze chicken for you. You know who you are. Then we've got another item that says the game at the end, is it something to do with hunting?
Sam:Pack of wolves, hunters' wellies, squelching mud.
Gracie:Well, they've got one right. They haven't they?
Sam:Which one? Which one?
Gracie:Well, should we reveal the answers?
Sam:No, think they've got two right to be fair. Packer wolves.
Gracie:They have. They got the sound effect right. Yes. Which was mud.
Sam:Mud.
Gracie:They get a silver chicken. We can't really send more than one in the post.
Sam:We're not sending any chickens. Let's not worry about that.
Gracie:So I think now we best just tell them because I know that people are on the edge of their toilet seats. Yeah. Wanted to know, and it is today's episode and the three beats ahead, giving you the title of today's episode is we are focusing on the wolf run.
Sam:The wolf run
Sam:Which is a bit like a tough mudder.
Gracie:It is like a Tough Mudder, but it's like Tough Mudder on steroids.
Sam:I looked up a brief review, someone had reviewed the wolf run, which the start of it was quite useful, actually. This is from Hannah. I don't know who Hannah is. This year, we took part in our first wolf run, but we didn't stop at just one wolf run. We bought a season pass and tackled one for every season in 2019.
Sam:It's quite impressive. Come rain or shine, we were in the field getting our hands dirty. But what is a wolf run? I hear you say. It's a unique combination of mud, trial, and obstacle run.
Sam:If you've heard of Tough Mudder, think something like that, but a bit muddier and full of more natural obstacles. Imagine a few river crossings, pits of boggy mud, and clambering over everything and anything. Then there's also hordes of runners churning at the ground for the next wave. The wolf run is 10 k of off road running fun. The organisers want you to imagine you're one of the wolves out running wild with the pack.
Sam:Come across a fallen tree, hop over it, get caught in a muddy bog, work together to get through, Need to cross the river, pad through the icy waters and keep moving to stay warm. There you go. That's what a tough mudder is.
Gracie:That is a good description. I would also like to add, I think they've underplayed it a little bit terms of the obstacles.
Sam:Okay. You've done one before, haven't you?
Gracie:I've done one. I did one accidentally this year.
Sam:Yeah. Do want to explain the little intro that we did?
Gracie:Yes. So basically, I had a friend who thought I needed an activity to focus on, an aim, something to train towards. And I'd done the marathon in April. And then after that I was like, well, what can I do next? So they took it upon themselves to sign me up.
Gracie:They didn't tell me what it was, they didn't tell me where it was, they didn't really tell me what was involved and all I knew is I had to meet them near a pub where I live, I'd get in the car and then they were gonna take me and there was a it was a four of us in the car and in that journey which was up in Leicester, so probably took a couple of hours I think. In that journey, it was becoming clear that I wasn't taking part in a normal 10 k. There was something else happening. And they kept kind of drip feeding little bits of information.
Sam:A bit like three beats ahead?
Gracie:A little bit like three Just beats
Sam:as a little interlude in your story, some of you may have noticed our new Instagram page, which we have put a few little hints on our Instagram story. For next game make sure to check out @pulsecheckin on Instagram, follow us, like and subscribe, all that jazz.
Gracie:If they see that on the stories as well they can guess on there as well can't they? Can you interact that way? Yes. So it wasn't really, I would say until I was on the start line, it really began to sink in what I was about to do. Having been pointed out, oh yeah, there's one of the lakes we'll be swimming in.
Sam:I looked at the pictures of the events and I was like, Oh, it is a lake.
Gracie:It is a lake. Yeah. We did three lakes. I think it's 30 obstacles you have to conquer. And it's not just a fallen tree as mentioned.
Gracie:There are fallen trees. But you're talking about like climbing cages, going through tunnels and then the ultimate one that everyone kind of aims towards is this huge slide. When I say slide, it's got water jets going down and you you can only go down face first and at the bottom of that is another pool of water that you just splash into. I mean, is terrifyingly brilliant.
Sam:Yeah, it does sound horrible but also great fun.
Gracie:It is good fun, it is really good fun. And yes, I did learn quite a lot not just about running and how much at the time I was cursing my friends but the actual run was you can't really call it a run. I would say it's
Sam:Right.
Gracie:You do do 10 k,
Sam:How long does it It take
Gracie:took us a long time because it's not a timed event, it's a team event.
Sam:Okay.
Gracie:And it is about conquering obstacles. And actually the run almost becomes a second thing to it and it's, the run is not the most knackered part. It's trying to get through the mud. Now when we say mud, I know I'm only two foot tall but the mud is up, you're like, you're talking up to your hips and your waist in mud.
Sam:Yeah.
Gracie:And that's really quite hard to get through but it's definitely a team effort and I couldn't have got through it and I'm not just talking about our pack which was a pack of four, other people you end up helping people you never meet again or you've never met before because you just wanna, that's the mentality, you just wanna help them get through.
Sam:Why is it called the wolf run?
Gracie:Right, so it breaks down into a, what was that word that you use when you break it down with An An acronym, yes. I think that's right. Or is it chiropractor? No, it's they got the same letters in, don't they? Acronym.
Sam:I'm sure they do.
Gracie:Anyway, yes, Wolf Run is an acronym. So W stands for woods. You spend quite a lot of time running through the woods and a bit like the review said fallen trees. They also make the bit in the wood very, very, very muddy. They help along by jet washing it and then the more people that run through it, the more muddy it gets, harder it is to get through
Sam:I'm gonna change the W, I think we should change it to Woah, that's muddy.
Gracie:Yes. Yeah. And I think this was the first moment during the run where I realized I was totally inadequately dressed. I mean I wasn't wearing like a tutu or a ball gown or anything like that, that's not what I mean. I only do that on a Tuesday.
Gracie:What I was referring to is the fact that I had the wrong type of shoe on for that bit and this is at the start of the run when I realized this. So there was two people in our pack who had done it before and they were wearing very very grippy shoes for trail running. Also, they were wearing shoes that would let in the water. They could purposely get wet. And then when they're when they're out of the mud and out of the water, they would dry off quicker, lighter.
Gracie:Okay. Whereas my my shoe was I was wearing like a road running shoe which are heavier in terms of the body of it but underneath has no grip. Has absolutely no grip because when I run, I don't want any grip. I'm not trail running, never done it. And so me and this other guy had the same kind of running shoes on and we were like Bambi on ice.
Gracie:Like the others were running, we were able to do like a forward motion. Myself and John were just like spent probably about half an hour going left and right, falling over. We didn't get very far very quickly.
Sam:I mean, that's the first thing you were unequipped for the task.
Gracie:Yeah.
Sam:And I guess, in life, if you just no matter how capable you are, if you've got the wrong equipment, like we talked about in episode one.
Gracie:And also there's that thing of like changing conditions and not just assuming that when you step out because that's how it was before, this is how it's going to go again. You've got to adapt, haven't you? You've got to be able to go, oh, on a minute. Conditions are different. If you like consider like times in your faith where you, I don't know, if you ever had a time when you're faith where it's felt a little bit like you're on autopilot, a little bit just go go in with the flow, go in the motion and it becomes a little bit flattened, static.
Sam:I feel like of my personality is that I go with the flow a lot of the time not because because it's easier, I guess. And I think at the same time as I care about other people's perspectives and opinions and wills and wants, I don't want to push my own ideas and change that because I know it. I don't really mind. Whereas somebody else might mind a bit more.
Gracie:In that sense, know, knowing you well, you are very adaptable. You you do change in order to make sure that other people are okay or released into doing what they are doing. I I know you you do that through relationships but I also see you do that like when you're in your role as in in worship and music. Do change, you don't go, right, I'm gonna do this way or this way because you care about other people.
Sam:That's very kind.
Gracie:And it's kind but it's also a fact.
Sam:aha, thanks
Gracie:I guess what I'm getting at is, let me put it another way. Have you ever had a point where you've like thought, yeah, okay, that, you know, I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing, this is all right. And then a situation happens and it takes it almost takes the ground from under your feet and you're like, woah, hang on. And then it makes you think, oh, was I doing that wrong or do I need I need to check-in with my faith to make sure that I'm in line with what I'm supposed to be doing or yeah. Can you think of a time?
Sam:I think quite often it's mainly the same things where it's times when it's doubting yourself and doubting what you've done or doubting my abilities. I feel like I spent so long trying to prepare for it, but it's not. Maybe that time preparing has pulled me down the wrong direction for what's actually happening, I've not spent the time preparing in the right way to be open to the circumstances.
Gracie:So your Bambi on ice or Bambi on mud moment would be doubt. Periods of doubt where you're like, woah, on a minute.
Sam:Yep.
Gracie:I don't I don't feel prepared. I haven't got the gifts I need or
Sam:Or somebody else will be better at this than me.
Gracie:Yeah. And that doesn't have to be in the big events, does it? That can be daily for some people.
Gracie:So it's about having a Trying to find a way to get a sure fit in, isn't it? Being able to stand and yeah.
Sam:What about you?
Gracie:The thing that came to my mind like most clearly, it's difficult because I can't really go into detail but I want to be honest. I would say it was when I had a nervous breakdown and like my road in life had taken quite a dramatic turn. It changed quite significantly and I was in the months leading up to the breakdown. I think I was just relying on what I had always done, the way I'd always coped. I just thought that was the only thing that was gonna get me through but it wasn't working.
Gracie:I couldn't laugh it off. I like to do writing and performing. I was performing but I wasn't at anywhere near like my full capacity to be able to share story on stage. Writing, I couldn't, it just wasn't happening. So I was kind of, I had all this stuff in my head which normally I would be able to put down on paper but I couldn't get out of my head.
Gracie:The stuff that I had tried to live by in terms of what I believed in my faith. I had so many doubts, bit like you and you know, you just doubt. Doubtly I've got even got the skills to function daily, that kind of stuff. And then it just built to that point and I'd say the breakdown was that moment where it's like, this I'm on a different kind of road, on a, I've got to treat this a bit differently and take it from a different angle. And even though that was 2018, I still to this day, I check myself because it's evolving, it changes.
Gracie:I'm still, I live my life trying to recover from that breakdown And part of that recovery is trying to remain open to different ways to approach it. Yeah, hope that brought the mood down.
Sam:No, no, no. I guess that leads that's kind of linked to what the guess is for the three beats ahead. Yes.
Gracie:That's true.
Sam:Yeah. Something to do with bad weather, getting through dark times, getting people together when things aren't going well.
Gracie:Yeah. Absolutely.
Sam:I'm upgrading their bronze chicken to a silver chicken for that. There you go.
Gracie:I reckon go gold.
Sam:Oh, gold chicken. Completed it mate
Gracie:Gold chicken. I'd go gold. Yeah. I reckon go gold.
Sam:What about the o? What's the o stand for?
Gracie:O is
Sam:Is it, oh my goodness, I've made it through the mud.
Gracie:That's the polite version. No, o is for obstacles, physical obstacles.
Sam:Okay.
Gracie:Which they add. And it's stuffed with ropes, climbing walls. You go through very narrow tunnels. You go through tunnels also in mud.
Gracie:And then like I said, the ultimate water slide.
Sam:Oh, very cool.
Gracie:Which I don't know if I talked about this before. But when gather you at the start to do a warm up, I don't remember much of that warm up because most of it I was spent in my head going, what am I doing? But in the warm up, they were very very clear on their instructions for the water side. And those instructions were you can only go face forward on your stomach and because it's water and you go into, shoot into water and it's not, you know, it's not clear water, again it's got mud in it and they say the best way to enjoy the slide is keep your eyes open and your mouth shut because obviously you don't wanna swallow the water and they kept saying it, kept saying it, I got on the slide, I was going down, I did the opposite.
Gracie:I closed my eyes and opened my mouth. Thankfully, I wasn't ill after but yes, yes, but it's good fun. But there were a lot of objects. We did all the objects and there were people So there was a guy in our pack who's really really scared of heights but he didn't let on. Didn't really tell us until the end how scared of heights he was.
Gracie:And there were some really high, not climbing walls, it was a climbing frame but then you also had to walk along the top and it was just roped and there's no safety net at the bottom. And the only way you could crawl over this obstacle course was on your hands and knees and there's no floor, it's just ropes and you're looking down at where you're potentially gonna fall. So it's not the easiest thing. I'm not a fan of heights really and I think that's cause I'm four foot three but he did it, he conquered this obstacle. He didn't tell us beforehand that he was freaked out but when he'd done it, his sense of like, yes, I managed to do it.
Gracie:And he was saying that because we were like cheering him on as well but there was another guy who was alongside him who also had a fear of heights. So they were encouraging each other. They were guiding each other and say, put your hand down there. But the sense of achievement when he done it was brilliant.
Sam:Do that you had an effect on because they were both going through the same troubles that they kind of knew how to help each other better?
Gracie:Yeah, because probably if one of us had been there, we could have easily just either dismissed it. Oh, yeah. You could do it or said too much.
Sam:Or just just be like, why? I don't understand why you can't do it. What's the problem?
Gracie:Whereas they were like quietly encouraging each other. Yeah, they probably did. They knew what to say and how to say it.
Sam:Perfectly placed, you might say.
Gracie:Yeah. And the thing about obstacles, the obstacles, when you reach it, there's like this anticipation because you kind of go around the corner and there it is and you have a moment where you're like, oh, okay. I'm not sure I'm gonna be able to do this. But then by the time you get to like the foot of it, you're going, Yeah, I can, I can do it and I'm gonna do it? And the biggest thing is that you know you're not on your own.
Gracie:I mean, that's like loads of things in life, isn't it? Where you have a moment and you think there's no way, there is no way I can do this. But I wonder if that's a point, it's about recognizing that people taking a beat daily quite naturally. I think that must happen to most people they're confronted by something where you just go, take a beat.
Sam:Take a beat. And even when you spend that take a beat with God, that daily take it a beat, when you do see that obstacle, you're like, there is still that, oh my goodness, but there's a I'm not alone in this. I've got help, I've got, I've prepared by having my taking a beat, taking my time with God and reflecting on what He has to say to me to kind of help me and make me the person that I am to do these things.
Sam:This might be a good opportunity to read one of the writings that we've had this week from lovely listening audience. I love it when you write into us.
Sam:So make sure to either you could get us on the Pulse Check-in Instagram @ PulseCheckin. Go follow us over there or email us at plexus@salvationarmy.org.uk and put Pulse Check-in in the description of your email. We'd love to hear from you. But this lovely listener says, really enjoyed the podcast. When you were talking about having a God shaped hole in your heart, it really spoke to me.
Sam:Recently, I could feel so tired and unmotivated, and that makes you want to sit and do nothing and rest, which is important. But doing that all the time for me just makes me even more demotivated. Finding the balance between resting and being productive is tricky for me at the minute. Actually putting effort into spending time with God or doing exercise for me, I think, is quite important at the moment, but not something I'm very good at. I was in a good exercise routine, but then fell out of it two months ago because I had a few illnesses in a row.
Sam:I made myself go for a run this week, and it made me feel so good. That's how they said it. Was slower, but tried not to focus on beating my previous time, but just completing the distance I'd set out to do. I told myself throughout this month, I'm going to try and exercise twice a week. However, equally, and if not more importantly, is putting aside time to spend with God.
Sam:My car is my quiet time. So at least twice a week, I might try and listen to a podcast or similar that is faith based. The minute, I'm not in the habit of doing anything regular one to one with God, so perhaps this is a realistic starting point. I have not yet listened to episode two. I think she was talking about episode three before. So that could be this week's listen. Thank you for all you're doing with love from one motivated listener.
Sam:So there you go.
Gracie:I like the honesty in that and I like the fact that they recognize the achievement even in the like, they talked about the fact go for a run. So the massive achievement there is doing They went for a run.
Sam:They went for a run. They decided to do something and rather than looking at all the reasons why they shouldn't, just did it. Yeah. So well done for that. Gold chicken.
Gracie:Gold chicken coming your way.
Sam:Yeah, yeah, yeah. They also said they have a love hate relationship with the theme tune. It's too catchy, get stuck in their head. So do you feel the same?
Gracie:Yeah. Give give you reviews of the theme tune. All I can say to that person, our check in friend there is be glad it's not my voice singing. Because you wouldn't want that stuck in your head.
Sam:That why I'm giving out chickens? Pulse chickens for a Pulse check-in.
Gracie:I like that. I was thinking also when you were reading that about the the mud situation on the wolf run.
Sam:Mhmm.
Gracie:You you did ask me actually whether the obstacles was the mud. It is involved in the obstacle bit. It's involved in all of it. And one of the things they advise you is when you hit the mud to keep moving. The worst thing you can do is to stop because you will get stuck and you won't come out.
Gracie:There people who, they didn't lose their lives, they lost their shoes. I know that's not a biggie but quite early in the wolf run, if you've lost a shoe, it makes the rest of the run really quite uncomfortable. And it takes so much energy to be recovered from being stuck in the mud. It takes energy from you and the people around you to pull you out. And I was just thinking about when the pulse check-in-er what are they called?
Gracie:Oh, pulse check-in people.
Sam:Oh, pulse chickens. I was just thinking when you were reading that about when they talk about a realistic starting point. Because they've already, like you said, put on the trainers and gone out for a run. And then even before that they were saying, you know, they haven't done as much exercise as they want to do and time with God has been squeezed out. So they've done something about it as in they've gone out for a run and talked about this, you know, a good starting point being in the car, listen to a podcast, it sees in those moments. And it's, I was thinking of like with the Mudge, it's similar as that you keep moving forward, it doesn't matter how fast or how big a step but just keep moving, keep up the action, keep it active, keep it going And you know, eventually you will come out of that quite restricting, slowing down. Muddy period kind of thing, of time.
Sam:And you come out of it stronger as well, don't you? That's how that's how you feel.
Gracie:Yes. You also come out of it a bit knackered.
Sam:Yeah. Well, yeah.
Gracie:It is quite tiring. It's weird. Isn't it? It's weird that that is the most exhausting thing.
Sam:Mhmm.
Gracie:Going slowly and through thick mud. You'd think that you'd have more time where you're still, you'd have a bit more energy but now it's keeping moving slowly.
Sam:Yeah. And then I guess you need to take that quiet time to recover.
Gracie:Absolutely.
Sam:Where you'll grow. And then be ready to face the next task.
Gracie:I think there are times, you know, I've been in a position where I would just say, oh, I don't pray enough where I'm at time to worship or whatever. Whatever. See, make it sound dismissive, that's awful. But I didn't mean that to come across like that. But yeah, there's been times where I've found that really difficult. Again, you don't have to work that through on your own.
Gracie:So like when I think about the the muddiest points in that run, nobody was doing it alone and nobody got out of it alone. There were people, even people never met before, helping pulling you through and pulling you up onto the bank. And yeah, it's again, if you're struggling, if you're finding it really hard to pray or whatever, you don't have to do that struggle on your own, do you? You can chat to a friend or
Sam:L is for lake or Lord help me. Well lo and behold, this is going to be cold.
Gracie:Yes, the lake. The lakes were strategically Well, they weren't placed because they already existed on the land. . But they definitely washed away a lot of the mud.
Sam:Ah, there you go.
Gracie:They were quite cold.
Sam:I've been washed in the water, washed in the blood. It's a good song.
Gracie:In the mud.
Sam:In the mud.
Gracie:They were quite cold and each one was a different depth. So I think the first one you could like walk through, it's just like waist deep.
Sam:Right.
Gracie:The second one, it was a mixture of both, walked and then there was a dip and then you had to swim but not loads. And then the final lake is the last thing that you do at the very end and that is swimming.
Gracie:And weirdly, the last one was really warm. Now I don't wanna think too much about that because I'm wondering if there was other liquids in there to help it warm up temperature. Do you know what I'm trying to suggest?
Sam:Yeah. People were getting near the end of the run and hadn't been
Gracie:Yeah. That becomes the leaking lake.
Sam:Yes.
Gracie:If you know what mean. But it was So at the start of the race when it was pointed out to me that we were going through the lake, I was just like, no, no, no, no, no.
Gracie:By the time I'd reached the lake, it was the most refreshing even though it was really, really muddy at times, cold. It was the most refreshing wanted thing.
Sam:Is it like having a bath or you like, cleaning yourself down?
Gracie:Didn't quite go to those lengths but yes, we did have a swim and there are photographs and all of us are smiling at that point. It just felt like heaven to be in a lake which is, yeah.
Sam:I'm gonna do a cheesy analogy here.
Gracie:Go on. I like cheese.
Sam:It's like, when you see that lake, you're like, oh my goodness, I don't want to get in this. I don't want to, like, go through it. And it's kind of like when, you know, you've done something wrong, and you don't want to admit to it, you don't want to come to God with it. But when you take that plunge and you're thinking , and you just, I don't know, open up. It might be something you don't know, might be something that's difficult that you don't want to head into.
Sam:And that relief that you feel when finally get it off your chest or you ask for forgiveness or you admit you're wrong and you admit that the only way you can get through this is with some help from God or with some help from somebody else.
Gracie:Yeah, there's no predicting that so when you're on the bank wanting to go in, there's no predicting just how refreshing and good that feels. And the relief as well, isn't there? When you let something else wash over you and clean and refresh you. Yeah.
Sam:I'm gonna give my workout track now, which is the, washed in the water by Elevation Rhythm. I've sang you a brief snippet of it before, but go check it out.
Gracie:But it's a it's a it's a song of, freedom, isn't it? And a song of
Sam:Yeah. And it's definitely got musically that vibe of being free and dancing about.
Gracie:And you don't have to carry it anymore. You don't have to carry all that stuff, all that junk and that Yeah. Dirt and that. Yeah. It's like, go for it. You will feel so much better and be able to kind of move on stronger and freer, like you say in the song.
Sam:Yep. Is that what the f stands for?
Gracie:What? Freedom?
Sam:Freedom.
Gracie:Freedom. No, not quite.
Gracie:But there is there is kind of openness to it. It's field.
Sam:Okay.
Gracie:And that is the run. So the 10 k run and that's what it says on the tin, you run through field.
Gracie:But it's not purposely been made muddy and actually it's quite, even though you're running, it's quite a good moment to breathe because you're more out in the open. It feels freer and release whereas all the other parts of the run are quite closed in and contained. So yeah, there is a sense of freedom in that.
Gracie:And again, I think I said this earlier, the run is kind of more enjoyable because you've done all the other stuff whereas if I like , the girl in our pack had never run further than 5k ever but she smashed 10 k.
Gracie:And what I was saying to her is, you've got to remember that not only have you run 10 k, you've done it in between all those other challenges. And each one of those challenge, whether it was going through water through mud or up a climbing frame or whatever, all took a huge amount of energy.
Sam:Yep, yep. And I guess that kind of speaks into splitting up the main task into parts, like starting somewhere, like our listener was writing in, they started out and you don't have to face it all in one go.
Gracie:Yeah.
Sam:Like, taking one step forward, you've already closer to your goal than not trying it in the first place.
Gracie:Yeah, absolutely. And being kind of at peace of the fact that you are gonna come up against some stuff because that's what life is. There are gonna be difficulties, there are gonna be difficult moments and paths ahead but be like almost like saying, okay, this is where we're at, Not on it on my own, gonna keep going.
Sam:Mhmm. Yep, definitely. We've just been through the W O L F, WOLF acronym. A task for our listener community is maybe come up with an acronym, I guess acronym is the wrong word, come up with
Gracie:Across and a cross
Sam:An acrostic for 'pulse' for us.
Gracie:Yes. That's a good idea.
Sam:P u l s e. What could those stand for? And we'll do that next time. That sounds like fun.
Gracie:And as much as I love a cross stitch, that's not what we're asking for, is it?
Sam:I mean, that would be quite quite nice.
Gracie:What, for somebody to do a cross stitch with pulse written on it?
Sam:No, it's quite a lot of effort.
Gracie:That is lot of effort.
Sam:An acrostic .
Gracie:I think it is acrostic , yeah.
Sam:Yeah, let's go with that.
Gracie:So I think Sam, we've kind of highlighted, haven't we? This whole I mean, it's pretty clear to most people that like the path of faith is not easy, it's not straightforward. And also I don't think it's meant to be. Because we learn, don't we? So much.
Gracie:We learn through the good and the bad, the tough and the smooth and it's where our lives are shaped and our faith is shaped. So I've got a piece of scripture that kind of highlights that in some way and it's from 2 Corinthians chapter 6 verse 10. It says, We may suffer yet in every season we are always found rejoicing. We may be poor yet we bestow great riches on many. We seem to have nothing yet in reality we possess all things.
Gracie:I guess it's about being okay and trusting with having both those elements of life. Almost like going alongside each other.
Sam:Mhmm.
Gracie:All happening together because God is in the detail, isn't He? He's in all those things. It's not just in the easy path, but He's with us alongside us when it's tough. He's cheering us on when we need that energy.
Sam:Yep.
Gracie:He's pulling us up when we we we've got nothing left.
Sam:Yeah. And it's it's allowing like Jesus said it, my way is not the easy way. He said the opposite, mainly. But it's the better way, I guess.
Gracie:Yes.
Sam:It's not saying this way, following Jesus is easy, but what I do say is He'll be there to support along the way. That's where that relationship comes in. And I guess allowing yourselves to not avoid the tough times, but spending that time to sit in those times with Jesus, allowing Him to heal you, and Him to speak to you through those times and learn why maybe they happened. And that's how we can, that's how we improve our mindset, I guess.
Gracie:Yeah, absolutely. And also that encouragement that we talked a lot about in this episode of the fact that you're not alone. And there may be situations or times where it is really, really tough. And you know, be honest and know, recognize if you've got those moments where you think I actually don't know how to pray, I don't know how to get through this, I don't know if I've got the strength, I don't know if I've got the skill set or whatever. And it can be those times could be really really lonely and quite scary.
Gracie:And it's to encourage listeners that in those moments, it's okay to be honest and ask for help Mhmm. And you don't need to do it alone. And let other people pray for you. Mhmm. Let them take some of the weight and the burden and eventually you'll get out of it and, you know, your mates will be there cheering you on as you know, and they would have helped you, guided your hand to cling all the gods and stuff but there could be times when you find that difficult And that's, it's nothing to be ashamed of or embarrassed about, ask for help.
Gracie:Just say, look, I can't pray at the moment, can you do this for me? Can you pray for
Sam:It's quite normal in fact, isn't it?
Gracie:Yeah. I've got the song for my getting on track. This is on my I have a number of playlists when I go out running. It's by Ellie I don't know how you say her surname. Ellie Holcomb. H o l c o m b, c as in silent b again, bit like And the track is called Stronger.
Gracie:So it says, when your heart beats fast and your soul is overwhelmed, you've got that weight there on your chest and it's trying to hold you down and all the demons from your past say you'll fall every time you try. Well, you can stay there in that mess, but darling, you were born to fly. And then it says, so fly away my dear, up to the golden sun.
Gracie:Don't build your home right here. You were made for love. This And it's these particular words I really like. The worry whispers lies but let the truth ring clear. God is stronger. He's stronger than your fear.
Gracie:And yes, I think half the battle sometimes is all those doubts and those fears that we have in our lives, but let God be the loudest voice.
Sam:One thing I would encourage our listeners to do before we have our three beats ahead is, if you've run a wolf run before and had an experience similar to Gracie, let us know, or would give any advice for future wolf runners.
Sam:Would you be up for doing one?
Sam:What obstacles have you had to overcome recently?
Sam:What have you done that you had no intention of doing, but you surprised yourself by the actions?
Sam:Have you done anything random that led you to reveal something in your character you didn't know you had before?
Sam:Now these that's a lot of information I've just given you. So we'll post on our Instagram each question every now and then so you can comment on there @PulseCheckIn. Go over and follow us there.
Gracie:Because as a result of our conversation, you've signed up now, aren't you? You're gonna do it.
Sam:Wolf Run. Yeah.
Gracie:Yeah.
Sam:Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna drag Josh, Doctor Jones along with us as well. We're gonna do it.
Gracie:We're gonna do it as a pack.
Sam:Yeah. Join our pack! Get involved.
Gracie:Yeah. Join our pack.
Sam:Would you be up for it? A chicken pack
Gracie:A pulse chicken pack.
Sam:A pack of chickens.
Gracie:A pulse chicken pack, yeah.
Sam:Yeah. And just to leave you with game three beats ahead. Three beats ahead. A little game leading us into what we might be talking about in the next episode of Pulse Check-in
Sam:Now, we have another guest coming up.
Sam:It's very exciting times who that might be. Send us in your guesses. You get a sound a single word and a quote to lead us into next week. Remember, send your guesses into plexus@salvationarmy.org.uk
Sam:So the sound, Gracie, take it away.
Gracie:You ready?
Sam:Ready.
Sam:What was that? Goodness me
Gracie:It was like it was in the room. What we were doing was in the room.
Sam:The single word is endurance.
Sam:And the quote is, you might recognise this quote, it's "I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled these city walls, only to be with you" , to be with our special guests. And I will say last week's was you had some really good guesses. So if you have no idea then your guess still might be quite right, you never know. Send them in Yeah. And you could. Yeah. I mean, don't just think about it. Send it. Because you could be receiving a chicken.
Sam:A chicken , it's always chickens.