Lessons Learned from 1 Year of Running

I started running exactly one year ago, some of you will remember that, and that last spring I trained for my first half marathon. At that time even thinking about each new step above the last victory caused my palms to sweat:  will I be able to run 7 miles ? Can I run 9 miles? Will I ever run faster than a 10 minute mile? Can I conquer that hill? What if my knee doesn't stop hurting? Will I be able to finish the half marathon?

Stage after stage I have seen improvement, but it doesn't come as easily as it did when I was 16. Nope. I have to work for it, earn it and eventually I own it. For many reasons that is what makes running more rewarding than it has ever been. I schedule my runs for very early mornings, right when it is light enough to see (which is quickly creeping later and later with the sun going into winter hibernation). I make the sacrifice that it takes to stay with it even on the hot days, the stormy days and the beautiful ones, because I know the cost of my current physical condition. Not that I am in great shape, but I am in much better shape than I was. It is all about one step and stage at a time. There will always be someone slower, and someone faster- that is not what it is about for me.

For me it is about progress and that is not all physical or even mostly, a lot of it is God teaching me discipline, endurance, perseverance, and faith. I can see improvement, I have been getting up to run and then I read my Bible and pray and have time to get my day figured out before the boys get up and the daily demands kick in. For me running is something of a spiritual exercise, it has to do with keeping my temple (the dwelling of Christ) as best I can. And being diligent with the gift of God that my body (as your body) is. Running is part of my routine now, a piece of me. With every step I take I want to glorify God as He created me to be just who I am, and I am a runner.

I have now run 600 miles since I started a year ago. I am not super speedy and it is okay with me, it is also something that will come with time. I have run 10 miles the last 4 Saturdays in a row (helping my friend to train for a marathon). I run 5 days a week most weeks. I am no longer scared of hills, although I still take the best of them slowly. I feel God's joy and pleasure when I run, as some form of worship to Him for making me just as He chose to. Running keeps me motivated, moving and in an exponentially better mood. Most importantly however none of this defines me, I am defined by Christ alone. Not speed, distance, quality or quantity, but that I have what God has given me and I will use it for His glory no matter if that ends up being slow, fast or somewhere in the middle. It is all about perspective.

Thank you God for running with me this year, I have learned so much from you, heard you so much clearer, and leaned on you more than ever. You are what sustains me. Thank you for making me a runner, and for being a runner too. Thank you for helping me find contentment on a daily basis, aiming to conform to you and not another, or the world that surrounds me.

What defines you? Does that definition honor God, your creator, or is a hindrance to His definition of you? How have you allowed Him to mold you to His definition? Did you feel his joy and pleasure when you did?

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