Running can be hard! Yet, at the same time, running can be so satisfying. Especially if a person enjoys endurance sports and enjoys pushing themselves to run farther distances. I began a half-marathon training plan after signing up for a half-marathon and my first long run was 6 miles...in the snow! I began at Spring Canyon park on the bike trail, ran on West Harmony up the first climb then turned to the right to run up that steep hill (if you live in the FoCo area, you may know it), then down towards where Hughes Stadium used to be, on the trail again and back to Spring Canyon. The last two miles were the most difficult as I was running against the wind with snow flying into my eyes. I kept my head looking down and would cautiously look up to make sure I was still on the snowy trail. I finished at just over 6 miles and was glad to be done for the day.
When I did my long 9 mile run a few weeks ago, I pulled or strained a muscle high on my leg towareds the end of my run. Again, I was running in the snow. I used muscle cream and iced it. Then, this past Saturday, I ran 10 miles out at Coyote Ridge and found that same muscle to begin hurting again. I noticed that it was affecting my stride towards the end and my climbing back up the ridge on my way back. Yet, I kept going and wasn't going to let it stop me. Since then, I have been stretching and rolling it out and it feels so much better today than it did Saturday afternoon. Running long distances takes a lot of endurance and perhaps even more so when conditions aren't ideal; whether it is a snowstorm, hot and one is thirsty, a twinge in a muscle, etc. In my mind, I tell myself "I can do it", "just keep going", "one step at a time", etc.
Living our lives for Christ can be similar to training for a long distance race. For a race, each day, a person does a little to prepare for the race whether it is a run or some strength training exercises. As one trains, the strength training becomes a bit more intense and the runs cover longer distances. The intensity and distance go up gradually though as the body strengthens. In our faith walk, we do the same thing.
God calls us to be in his Word daily and to spend time in prayer. In the gospels, Jesus modeled this so perfectly as he would go away by himself to pray early in the mornings. Our time practicing these disciplines; reading, studying, meditating, and memorizing God's Word along with prayer is vital to our personal relationship with our Lord. As we run this marathon of our lives here on earth, we endure through keeping close ties with our Lord and Saviour. He gives us the strength and endurance to keep going. As we lay aside every weight (for running and cycling, less weight is best) and sin that can bog us down, we are better able to run with endurance. We keep our eyes on Christ. He is our focus. He endured the cross and set an example for how we are to endure in this life.
Perhaps you are not a runner. Maybe you even despise running. Yet, I hope you can apply this idea to something you have trained to do that was hard and took a lot of time to work towards that goal.
I have trained for a half-marathon before but my training was mainly running. This time, my training includes weight training, key runs where I am pushing myself to run longer and faster, a lot of ab workouts, and the long runs. This can also apply to our spiritual formation. Sometimes, we need to look at our routines of studying the Word and prayer; our devotional life and ask God what changes that we can make to draw us closer to Himself. Spending time with our Lord everyday strengthens us and prepares us for the storms that we may be currently in or our coming our way.
If you don't have a daily routine, may this encourage you to begin reading your Bible daily and spending time in prayer. There are several Bible reading plans online that are easy to find. Revive Our Hearts has several devotional books that are solidly based in Scripture. You can follow the link to take a peek. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, host of Revive Our Hearts, teaches on Revive Our Hearts and this can be great to listen to as one is getting ready in the morning, doing household chores, or getting a meal ready.
If you do have a daily routine and have felt stuck for a while, maybe this will encourage you to consider to change some things or try something new. Either way, may God bless and encourage your time with Him in His Word and draw you closer to Himself.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2
Now, I am going to stretch my muscles a bit more and get ready for my Monday key run. 5 miles at a tempo pace. :)
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