running

[Everett]

i used to run cross country in high school. partly because i enjoyed running, partly because it was the only sport in high school you didn´t have to try out for. as much as i hated the races sometimes and as many times as i thought 3.1 miles was torture, finishing a race gave the best feeling in the world. when i started improving it was awesome to see the time start getting shaved off. i still try to run every now and then, but i am by no means an avid runner. however when i do run, it is definitely easy to see how it compares to my walk with Christ. there are moments when i tire and there are moments when i am really unsure of how i can keep going. however, the end is always the same. i finish and i am unsure of how i did it, but the feeling of accomplishment and purpose is fufilling and lasting.

[dakin]

The hardest part for me is when others drop out along the way.  When I was in college, people would "pretend" to be Christians, but then stop going to church and one by one drop the values they used to have.  Seeing others compromise themselves in order to conform made it really hard on me.  As more of my friends "dropped out of the race," I felt more and more lonely.  I kept thinking I was "missing out."  But now when I look back, I see that those who hang in there and run the race to the end get that great feeling of accomplishment.  It was worth it to hang in there!  I still train for marathons and run when I can.  The hardest part is still when I see others quit and give up.  I am so tempted to give up too.  It is always a challenge.

[anruth]

So running the race...

I too ran cross country in high school.  I first started running because I played goalkeeper for our high school soccer team and would get to fat during soccer season, and then have to lose too much weight at the beginning of wrestling season.  So I started running to lose weight for another sport.  Either way I loved the guys on the team.  We had so much fun together doing for fun what other sports had to do for punishment.  Here are a few things I learned running throughout my life.

1.)  It takes about 2 weeks to get in shape.  It takes about 2 days to get out of shape.  I learned that the reason most people hate running is because they never make it out the first 2 weeks.  That or they do it so inconsistently that they never actually get in shape.  True runners rarely take off more than 1 complete day off, instead they vary their training with strenuous and lighter days.  The same is true of our walk with Jesus.  I once heard a saint tell me "Andrew, I'm always only 2 days away from being a heathen."  What she meant was that if she stayed out of the Bible, prayer, and community for just 2 days, she would already be acting like the person she was be fore she knew Jesus.  It takes that little time.  Disciple and regularity are key.  Can you imagine if you only ran 6 miles every Sunday, but never ran a bit during the week.  We are each only about 2 days away from who we once were.  We need reminders of purpose, why we run.  We need instillations of passion, and we need encouraging words.

2.)  It is always easier to run as a team.  How many of us had the discipline needed to get and stay in shape when we were playing a high school sport?  Why is the Cross Country team one of the biggest teams and yet one of the hardest physically?  The reason I believe is that when you run with a partner you have someone to hold you accountable to your own goals.  You both force each other to hold the pace.  You also get to have community.  I love to talk when I run.  I know its hard but its so good for my lungs and my heart, not my literal heart, the heart that loves people.  In our walk with Jesus we need running partners.  People who are expecting us to go running with them at 6:00 AM before work.  I'm being serious people to meet with before work to spend time in the Word and in Prayer.  If you schedule dates to run with people why wouldn't you schedule dates to pray with people or to read the Bible with people.  We all need each other to run this race.

3.)  Running is great prayer time.  When I first started running, I like Kim often just prayed, "Lord I'm gonna die.  I need you to help me.  I need you to help me."  It was awesome to cry out to God so daily and so practically.  Simple desparation prayers during runs made me pray more the rest of the day.  I actually started trying to recite scripture to myself.  I think some of the first scripture I ever memorized was Isaiah 40:30-31, "Even youth men and women grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who put their trust in the LORD, shall renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles.  They will run and not grow weary.  They will walk and not be faint."  Maybe a challenge for you these next few runs, is to leave the iPod at home and just try and think and pray the whole 30 minutes you are out running.

4.)  Running is like flying.  Running when I'm in shape is like flying.  It is as close to flying as I'll ever get.  It feels like my feet barely touch the ground and that I kinda push off of clouds and just bounce from one to the next as on-lookers watch in even.  There is an All-American Runner at Mooresville High, and I got a chance to watch him run.  He runs a 5K or 3.1 miles in under 15 minutes.  Take the time to do that math.  When he runs he flies.  His feet barely touch the ground, his strides long and graceful.  It is a thing of beauty.  When we run with God, we get as close to Heaven as we'll ever get to experience this side of death.  Have you ever had and experience with the Lord where you felt like you were flying?  Where you saw heaven open up before you and you got to taste it like honey suckle on a summer day?  You were doing it.  You were flying.  I don't know many people who do, but what would our lives look like if we lived like that all the time?  Just flying.

5.)  Running on a track is boring.  I hate running on a track for anymore than 800 meters or 2 laps.  I get bored so fast.  I also get tired fast because of the monotony.  The same scenary, the same people, the same rubber padding under me, around and around and around.  Quitting is always just a step to the left away.  I can always just get off the track and i'm right where I started.  I perfer running outside on roads or on trails.  I get to see so many things and experience God in nature over and over again.  Monotony in your running career will kill you.  Monotony in your spiritual life will do the same.  Learn new ways to encounter God.  Study new books of the Bible.  Pray in new places.  Don't fall to heavily into a track-like faith.  Reading the same verses over and over again.  The other cool part about running 3 miles away from my house, is it forces me to keep running until I'm done.  I can't stop, because there I now have to run the 3 miles back to my house.  There is no shortcut or stepping of the treadmill, you gotta antie up and keep running.

6.)  Quitting only gets easier.  The first time you quit will be the hardest you ever think about quitting.  Once you've quit, you've set a precident.  Your body and will knows that they don't have to keep fighting because you might quit.  My wrestling coach told me this everyday.  "Don't quit, don't ever start quitting, cause it only gets easier to do."  So true.  Don't allow yourself to break stride and walk.  You won't die, God told us in 1 Cor. that he never gives us workouts that are too strenuous for us.  If we allow ourselves to stop running and walk, we'll end up walking the whole way.  And then who knows we might even take a seat to catch our breath and never get back up.  It only gets easier.  Once you've stopped running your muscles start working against you, they tighten up and fight any restart you attempt. 

7.)  Runners' high.  Sweeter than any drug I know.  And keep running and you find that runners' high isn't just what comes at the end of the race, it is what happens the whole time you do something you love. 

8.) "When I run, I can feel God's pleasure."  Chariots of Fire.  The bottom line is this race isn't about you.  It isn't about me.  It isn't about if I win the gold medal or even feel proud of myself.  The goal is for God to be pleased.  It is for us to give him pleasure, and when we do that he we will get to taste God's pleasure.

"How great is our God that he let's us suffer, so that we might actually know his goodness."

[anruth]

Actually after a few more hours of thought.  Disregard my previous post.  This is really what the Christian race looks like.  Me a paralytic being pulled in a raft, then pushed on a bike, then pushed by my running father.  He does all the work because frankly, I can't.  This is a video of the story of Rick and Dick Hoyt aka Team Hoyt and how much a father loved his son.  Our Heavenly Father loves us more and we need it more. 

As you watch remember a Ironman Triathlon is a 2.4 mile ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile bike ride, and finished with a marathon.   It is the toughest race on earth. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPLCaAu_H2U

[Tim]

Running your first marathon? I’ve run 3 so I don’t have much experience to draw on, but here are a few things I’ve learned.
Aside from a great pair of running shoes, Hal higdons guide is an absolute must. It is the marathoners bible. The guy has run over 100 marathons. He knows his stuff.

In terms of finishing the marathon, that is not the hard part. I can’t ever say I was tired during a one. The power gels, and the Gatorades keep you going just fine, and its not a race. Additionally, the marathon is the day for fun. All the hard work went in during the months of training. After 4 solid months, your body is ready to run the marathon. Finally, the millions of people screaming and cheering provides such an adrenaline rush and boost, more than any other substance on this planet. The only time that I have experienced the runners high was during mile 19-20 of the Atlanta marathon. It was freaking awesome.

They key is you just don’t stop. Also, you don’t think in terms of the whole marathon, but you take it a mile or so at a time. I would try to take off one second per mile. Other people count steps. Some people dedicate each mile to someone special in their live, and for that 7-11 minutes of each mile, they think of them. The first 3.1 miles are the hardest, after that its just cruise control and autopilot.

I would encourage everyone to do a marathon, with one caveat. Go to a running store (Run for you life, Fleet Feet) and have them put you in a proper pair of shoes. It makes all the difference In the world.