Hebrews 12:1 is currently one of the motivating Scriptures that has kept me focused and going these past couple of months, actually past year. I get inspiration for posts during my quiet, devotional time or while running...and this post is no different; it came together tonight during my run in honor of Global Running Day.
We all have a race to run, our own personal mountain to move, challenge to overcome, or calling to fulfill. Running a race has its stages, per se, just like life with its new chapters, new relationships, new jobs, beginnings and ends.
Whenever I run a race, I start out with nervous energy and adrenaline pumping. This is good because it usually distracts my mind from focusing on the challenge ahead of me, and questioning what I did in the first place by signing up. My training only carries me so far, depending on how much and how long I trained so I count on this nervous adrenaline to fuel me for a couple miles. Then I calculate and count on energy gel packs to fuel a few more miles. I then rely on a surge of accomplishment and pride (in a good, healthy dose), coupled with my remaining reserve (or fumes) of energy, to take me across the finish line.
It is on the race course, however, that perseverance is needed. What I say to myself during the race determines how I will finish. There are times where I've felt like I just cannot go on, run another mile, or complete another obstacle...but then, I see the mile markers and I start doing the math in my head and I realize I am closer to the end than I am to the beginning. Or I hear the motivational cheers of people, complete strangers along the course shouting words of encouragement to runners out of sheer support, which absolutely warms my heart and usually brings tears to the verge of falling & blending in with my sweat. I strategically choose my playlist as yet another distraction for the pain my feet feel, the ache in my back, or the regret for not training more. This is when I realize where I focus is where I go; if I tell myself I do not think I can finish or complete an obstacle, I won't; if I tell myself positive affirmations and remind myself that "I am more than a conqueror" (Romans 8:37 NIV), that "I am fearfully & wonderfully made" (Psalm 139:14 NIV), and I got this, I turn up the music in my ears and I keep going.
But what do you do when there are no distractions to keep you from being overwhelmed by the task at hand, the challenge before you? When I participated in my first Camp Gladiator Stadium Takeover, I rolled my ankle at the very first obstacle station. I had a choice - stop there or keep going. So, I pushed through the pain; again thankful for adrenaline! During the last Cap10K race I participated in, as I reached the sixth and last mile, I accidentally spilled energy drink into my iPod. The music stopped and I had to run the final mile with only the thoughts and noise in my head.
Sometimes our race is a solo endeavor and sometimes we are called to run along side others in support & solidarity. We don't have to have the same fitness level, same muscle tone or have trained the same to be able to run along side someone and let them know that they & their race are more important to us than our own agenda, and that we'll reach the finish line together, encouraging each other along the way.
Sometimes, we have more than medals & bibs to remind us of our race. Sometimes there are scars from falls, injuries to muscles, tendons or ligaments that we have to nurse back to health, slowly but surely, and sometimes enduring painful therapy in the process. I am in the best shape of my life but I also have more scars now than I did six years ago when my journey to being physically fit began. The scar on my knee is from when I tripped & fell during a Spartan race. The scar on my right hand is when I fell off a treadmill (don't ask, long story...the stop button didn't work when I needed it to...word of advice, don't run until you're about to fall to hit the stop button).
In this race called life, not all our scars are visible from the outside. My divorce last year left a scar on my heart that has taken time & 'therapy' to heal. The body is an amazing thing and many times the injured body part ends up being stronger than ever, sometimes even more than before the injury was incurred. Yes, running your race builds endurance, stamina and perseverance. Sometimes you've trained and you're ready for the 'big day' and sometimes life happens and you just didn't train or prepare as you hoped or planned. But you show up, you push through, and you run your race in a way only you can, persevering through the pain & discomfort. You overcome and when you do, when you cross the finish line, you may have some scrapes & bruises but you also walk away with an accomplishment no one can ever take away from you. As I type that, I think back to my Spartan Beast obstacle race and 2015 when I completed a Spartan Trifecta. After all the races, I looked like someone beat the crap out of me with a baseball bat and it took a couple Aleve tablets and a long Epsom salt bath to make me feel human again but I would not trade the pain for anything in the world. I know what I am capable of, and am grateful beyond measure for what my body can do and endure, and I am a stronger person because of the experience.
So, go run your race. You'll survive the trips & falls, the aches & pains, and when you cross the finish line, you won't remember the struggle as much as you will the satisfaction of what you just accomplished. You got this and I am cheering you on!!!
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