Thinking about my sister's and I's long run last week, it's such a good feeling!
In 2000 I ran my first marathon. As I was 'in my prime', as I call it, I only needed to run 3 training runs: a 14 miler, a 12 miler and a 20 miler. I call it in my prime because my amateur american football playing was going well, and I was already physically fit.
As my 20s went on, I always looked at my fitness and endurance levels as waning and thought the 'good old days' were long gone. Then, to run well in 2011, running a 20-miler in 3:40, running 3 marathons in 3 days, gave my ego and self-esteem such a boost!
In the last 6 months, my running has felt slow and sluggish. But, to run that distance with Carla on Saturday, 16.5 miles in 11-minute miles, feels amazing! The pressure now is to keep it going!
But you can't beat the feeling that it gives you!
You know, now I'm not running for a cause, I get knotted up about whether I should be running now. Is this what God wants me to do now? Do I run just out of guilt? But one thing's for sure, it sure does make me feel good. And sometimes in life, we do need our release, our reason to punch the air and say 'I am'.
I pray that I'm made aware by my rescuer and redeemer when it's right to run and when it's not. That I can learn about myself through running and about this world that we live in.