It's hard to describe my feelings after running the entire Run for the River 5K in Duluth last Saturday. Elated to the max probably describes it best. It felt so good to accomplish my goal and to think that a year ago I never could have done something like that. I finished 226th with a time of 35:56, which isn't super fast but it really doesn't matter. I wanted to run the whole thing and I did. 3.2 miles!!
There are some things that I think can be done just by shear willpower. Running, and exercising in general, is mostly mind over matter. If you can persevere through moments of breathlessness, cramps, and minor pain, you can usually do a lot more then you think. There were times (right before mile 3 to be exact) when I became convinced of my need to walk. But, I reminded myself of how disappointed I would be if I did. So I kept on.
Although determination is an admirable quality and needed to get through life's normal hardships, there are many things that pop up that are completely out of our immediate control. Relationship issues, (and lack of relationships), or health problems are just a couple of examples. You might possess the desire to change something in the problem, but yet there's something elusive which keeps the action steps out of reach. The conclusion of that part of our story is left frustratingly wide open.
There are times in our lives where we get to write certain paragraphs of our own stories. We can enter a 5K race, train for it, and accomplish the goal. There are also times where the unexpected happens, and the goal cannot be accompished no matter how much effort is put forth.
Ultimately, it is only God who writes our story, with prayer as a means of communicating to God and telling Him what is on our minds. Admittedly, prayer for me often turns into reminding Him of how I want my story written. It takes a different level of determination to pray and then rest in God's complete authorship. I definitely have some more training to do in that area.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ~Hebrews 12:1-3
4 comments:
Where did you find the race results??
hey jess!
thanks for writing this and for the encouragement! looks like God used the River 5k to speak to you as much as I learned from the Berry 5k. :o) He's good like that, isn't He?
well done, jessica. 35 minutes for a 5K is a quite respectable pace.
you'll need more space when you write the paragraph about training and running a 10K!
Dudes, I actually just remembered my time and placement number. It was on my blue card I got at the end. You can probably try www.active.com and type in our race and see if it's on there.
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