Another 3.1 miles...

     Tonight I ran my 4th 5K race.  I completely realize that running 3 miles to a person that runs is nothing (a lot do this on a daily basis).  But if you know me, you know that I was NEVER a runner. In college I lived in a house full of runners and I'd sit on the couch while they got in an "easy" 7... when I tried to run a mile, I almost passed out! I couldn't believe how difficult it was!
   
     While growing up I danced. That was my activity. It may have been dance team, show choir, theatre, or just plain fun dancing, but that was how I kept in shape.  I had no idea that running required a whole new set of muscles and a different type of stamina. I had learned to do some pretty intense dancing while singing (and singing well), so I could regulate my breathing, I had endurance, and I had stamina but apparently I had to rebuild my stamina for this type of exercise. (The picture is of me... center... my mom and my sister after running my 2nd and their first 5K last year).
   
     Tonight's run was very difficult. I have had a lot of congestion last weekend and it lasted until Tuesday night, so I didn't run Monday or Tuesday morning. I did run Wednesday, Thursday I lifted weights and did a small bit of cardio, but because I was awake really late on Thursday night doing a college assignment I didn't run on Friday... so... 1 run for the week... congestion... and to top it all off, on Friday I must have bumped my knee on a desk at work and Friday night I couldn't bend my knee or put a lot of pressure on it. I was sure I would be walking the entire race! This particular race (the Reggae Run) is in Ault Park in Cincinnati... which is all hills.... and big hills. I told Kenny that if I finished before 40 minutes I'd be happy...

I ran this race in 34 minutes and 15 seconds! I'd say the first 2-3 minutes of the race I was walking with my dear friend Gabe because we were toward the middle of the 5,000 person pack and there was no room to run, so I probably did better than my posted time! I was so excited. Running this race makes me think of the endurance, focus, perseverance, and determination it takes to live life.

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.  They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever, Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize."
1 Corinthians 9:24-27

We are called to "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men" Colossians 3:23. I think one of the biggest thing I can learn is to apply the same endurance, perseverance, and even competitive nature to everything I do. It is important to train for my life as a representative of the Lord. I need to make sure that I'm ready for all the hills, cramps, and pains this life throws at me. I need to push through those ailments and have a goal, a target that I'm trying to reach. Living life aimlessly is tiring and hopeless, living life for the Lord gives me joy and an understanding of all the twists and turns, and it makes the prize that I'm running for real and ever lasting.

Isaiah 40: 31 says:
"but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint."

This gives me hope that when bumps in the road of life occur, I know that the Lord will carry me through because I am not running this race aimlessly.