It had been on my bucket list to run a full marathon (42.2km) by the time I turned 25, and I officially crossed it off on April 14th at approximately 11:01am for the 11th annual Look Gopher Attack Marathon.
So I guess you could call me a marathoner, but I probably won't run that distance again...at least not any time soon.
The main problem was that I did not train properly for this race, having only run about 12km as my longest run over the three months I was hoping to utilize prior to, and it became very clear to me during the last 15 or so km of the marathon that I should have taken the time to prepare or at least last-minute switched to run the half-marathon instead (as my mother earnestly prompted me to do).
Alas, it was too late. With only 15km left, there was no way I was quitting now. I was in for the long haul. You don't just run for three hours and give up with one more hour to go!
To describe what my body was telling me along the seemingly endless final 10000 meters would be extremely difficult because my mind was focused on pressing on rather than trying to discern what new muscles I was discovering as my feet continued to pound the pavement. All I knew was that I couldn't stop running because I had attempted to walk for a couple of seconds and quickly realized it was a poor choice by the way my legs instantly grew heavy and I had to work super hard to will them to run again.
My goal was to make it to church in time for the 11:30am Good Friday service, and I did. There is no mistaking the spiritual lessons I have learned from this experience.
Sin drags you down and makes you weary. It tears you away from the One who can give you the strength to carry on in life. Many times in my life I have been foolish. Giving in to my sin instead of trusting in the Lord enough to do His will instead of my own.
In my mind I know the truth, but I often live as though I do not believe it. Like knowing that I need to train hard to run a marathon race well, but not following through with it. Both have consequences of suffering.
In life, failing to fight the battle against sin leaves me numb, frustrated, confused, tired, and anxious while failing to train properly for a marathon leaves me very sore, tired, and weak.
There have been times that I doubted my faith just as there were times during the marathon that I thought I might not finish.
Friends, I have discovered that there is great reward and blessing in living God's way even though it is very hard at times as it is against our human nature. I have to consistently remind myself of His truth and press on in faith, knowing that His ways are perfect and are for my good.
May many say with Paul someday, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7
So I guess you could call me a marathoner, but I probably won't run that distance again...at least not any time soon.
The main problem was that I did not train properly for this race, having only run about 12km as my longest run over the three months I was hoping to utilize prior to, and it became very clear to me during the last 15 or so km of the marathon that I should have taken the time to prepare or at least last-minute switched to run the half-marathon instead (as my mother earnestly prompted me to do).
Alas, it was too late. With only 15km left, there was no way I was quitting now. I was in for the long haul. You don't just run for three hours and give up with one more hour to go!
To describe what my body was telling me along the seemingly endless final 10000 meters would be extremely difficult because my mind was focused on pressing on rather than trying to discern what new muscles I was discovering as my feet continued to pound the pavement. All I knew was that I couldn't stop running because I had attempted to walk for a couple of seconds and quickly realized it was a poor choice by the way my legs instantly grew heavy and I had to work super hard to will them to run again.
My goal was to make it to church in time for the 11:30am Good Friday service, and I did. There is no mistaking the spiritual lessons I have learned from this experience.
Sin drags you down and makes you weary. It tears you away from the One who can give you the strength to carry on in life. Many times in my life I have been foolish. Giving in to my sin instead of trusting in the Lord enough to do His will instead of my own.
In my mind I know the truth, but I often live as though I do not believe it. Like knowing that I need to train hard to run a marathon race well, but not following through with it. Both have consequences of suffering.
In life, failing to fight the battle against sin leaves me numb, frustrated, confused, tired, and anxious while failing to train properly for a marathon leaves me very sore, tired, and weak.
There have been times that I doubted my faith just as there were times during the marathon that I thought I might not finish.
Friends, I have discovered that there is great reward and blessing in living God's way even though it is very hard at times as it is against our human nature. I have to consistently remind myself of His truth and press on in faith, knowing that His ways are perfect and are for my good.
May many say with Paul someday, "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7
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