Note: I wrote this back in July and maybe I didn't post it because of the pictures taking so long to load, or the fact that I've dropped the ball on the whole running thing lately. I don't really remember, but it's written, so I'll put it out there and hopefully there will be more blogs to come. People keep asking me about writing, so I'll take that as affirmation to pick up the ol' keyboard once again...
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| At the start line of the Nashville Country Music Marathon! |
A few months ago I completed my first marathon. All 26.2 miles. The weather was hotter, the hills steeper and the pace slower than what I had hoped for, but I finished. It seems that the insanity of training through the winter months in Wheaton, IL, complete with ice, snow and extremely cold running weather wasn't enough, but I had to register for a race in hilly, humid Nashville at the end of April. My training runs were flat and chilly, the race was hot and hilly! That's probably the reason that I laughed out loud when I read one of the spectator's signs along the 26.2 mile course: "It seemed like a good idea four months ago!"
Four months and over 400 miles later and I was headed through the streets of Nashville looking for the finish line. There were several other funny signs, some super sketchy ones and many encouraging phrases too. But there was one white poster-board with words that touched me to the core and provided the motivation that I needed. It simply read: "Forward is a pace."
This was good news to me since I had been on track for the first 13.1 miles, but met my match on a huge hill in mile 15. It was discouraging to know that my time goal wouldn't be met and I had been a bit frustrated at having to take some walk breaks. I kept telling myself from then on, "Forward is a pace." It also helped that I had friends and family cheering me on at different points of the race. I gave my dad a high five around 20 miles and the last 6.2 were the longest of my life.
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| My partner in crime and running buddy, Kristen. Thankful for her positivity during all those long winter runs! |
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| More of the support team. Thankful for my parents spending all day out on the course. |
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| My beautiful friends, Blair and Heather, that joined in the 5k race and then cheered me on! |
After running, I came home to two more weeks of grad school and adopted "Forward is a pace" as my new mantra. Any progress, no matter how small, was better than nothing! Now, as I have moved away and begun to settle back into North Carolina life I need to remember the saying and keep pushing forward in search of what the Lord has in store for me here.
There were several runners that passed me that day in Nashville, and there were many that I ran around as well. It was no fun to be left in the dust, and though sometimes I celebrated a little for passing another person, that wasn't usually the case. When I focused on those ahead of me I felt like a failure. Why couldn't I keep up? When I focused on those behind I puffed up with pride. Who am I to judge them?
We're all runners and we all run our own pace.
When I think about where I'm at in this stage of life I don't want to run at another's pace. It is easy to look to friends who have established careers or entered into serious relationships and wonder why they seem to be "ahead". No good can come from looking back at others who have made different choices or come under tough circumstances and seem to be lagging behind either.
So, while I'm still trying to think and pray through the next step, I know that this may be a time to take a walk break and gear up for the next bit of running to come. I want to continue moving forward, stay the course and remember to run at my pace as I seek to finish well for His glory.
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| Marathon finished. Posing with my medal! |
