u/Farmer_Di

Im not sure how to phrase this (and please be kind as I am sincerely struggling), but lately I am missing aspects of my previous Christian faith. I 100% believe Buddhism is true and what the Buddha taught is valid, and I no longer buy into the Christian mythology. But I miss finding comfort in prayer and the feeling that someone would answer my prayers and help me. I miss the feeling of community (I am quite alone in my practice) and the emotional high I got from worship. I struggle with meditation bc I get nothing out of it, and don’t see the point. I try to follow the N8FP and I am definitely more mindful during the day and less reactive.

Has anyone else had this struggle? I feel I am now a failure in 2 different spiritual practices and I have nothing to lean on.

Does anyone run with knee pads on technical courses? I’m just getting back into running, and on my first day out I fell and banged up my knee pretty good. I always used to fall during races (I ran ultras back in the day), but now that I’m older and frustrated from missing a week of training, I’m a bit paranoid. I would love some protection!

I am getting back into running after an 8 year break and I am doing a 10k at the end of the month. My long runs are up to 4.5 miles, but they are all on roads. My question to those who have made the transition to trails is: what is more important, the miles or the trails? I can definitely run more miles if I’m on the road because I can just head out my front door. Running on the trails gives me trail experience, but I won’t get as many miles in. Any advice would be appreciated.