It's a Race!

On August 14th, I "competed" in my first 5K run. I use the word "competed" very lightly because I wasn't running to beat other people. Luckily, EMSA pays for anyone from our company who wants to run together, to pick one benefit run a month in the metro. This August, we chose to run the "Midnight Streak" 5K. And no, we didn't have to run naked (thank God!). :-)
This is one of the only night runs around in the country, and it was alot of fun. There were only 6 of us that participated in this month's run, but everyone did a fantastic job!

But I wanted to dive in a bit deeper about my experience during my first 5K:

I've never been a fantastic runner. God gave me short, stubby legs- it's just a fact. But I've been down the road of unhealthy, and not taking care of the body in the life that I've been blessed with. So, running I do! I try to keep it fun and interesting, which includes finding new paths to run, and working towards goals like these 5K's. It amazes me to see people who can run whole marathons, those who don't mind taking a 3 mile jog in 102 degree pure melting heat. Those who run in the rain, during their lunch break, an extra mile just because, etc...
I have to work my mind up to go out and jog. But once I do, I feel great! Then I am reminded of even that blessing God has given me- able legs to run and jump and chase my son around.
I am pretty excited about this 5K. I do a *bit* of training for it, though nothing much more than my usual jogging routine. I show up to the race, and it hits me: what in the world did I get myself into??? I've never really run more than 2 miles in a row, at a time! 5 K? That's 3.2 miles folks! In the middle of August I may add. Even though the race didn't start until 11:00pm, it was a scorching 93 degrees out still! But I breathe deeply, and stand in the sea of 1,100 people waiting for the gun to go off.
*BOOM!* And we are off. Ok, things are all right. My adrenaline is pumping, I'm excited- let's do this! I get going at a good pace. The sun is down, so I can deal with the heat and humidity. I'm weaving through the crowd of runners, getting closer to the front. Once I find my stride, the object now is to run in a spot where there aren't people brushing my shoulders to whiz by.
I'm feeling great for my first run. 2 water stations go by- the second one I snatch a cup and guzzle half of the water, then pour the rest down my back. Ahhh. Feels good. Keep going!
I start to get pretty hot at around 1.5 miles. I haven't stopped yet- and I haven't looked back. But everything is starting to get uncomfortable. I feel as if my body is going into slow-mo. "Still not at 2 miles yet...really?!?" I ask myself. I can hear each foot strike the pavement. It seems to get louder with each stride. The pavement burns at my feet. There's no denying it's a hot summer night now. A few people here and there start to pass me, and when I see that I become slightly discouraged.
"I can't stop now- I won't stop!" I say to myself.
As the race comes to a “turnabout,” as I am on the other side of the barriers, there is a group of US Marines running together. Their loud chants endorsed cheers and hoots from the other runners, including me. It’s like they sent a message straight to my adrenaline saying, “MOVE IT!” So I did. I picked up the pace a bit, after grabbing for another cup of water.
I picked up my pace, now being the one to pass around others. I observed the faces of each person I passed- some looked hopeful and fearless, but most of those people were probably found at the very front of the pack! But many- including myself- looked like they had been running for 5 hours, or 20 miles. Sweat poured from our bodies with each step we took, and the humidity within the wind slapping our faces.
I kept up my good pace for about 5 more minutes until I feel my feet start to burn again. I slow down, but it’s ok. I’m working back into a good pace again. Then I see a lady cheering everyone on as they passed. She yelled out that there was only about ¾ mile left to go. Yippee!
I continued my pace a little more, then as I felt the end nearing, I sped up. But my mind felt that ¾ mile has already passed since I saw that woman. I felt deceived! I wasn’t sure whether to believe my feet and mind, or the woman who so cheerfully supported all of the runners, comforting our minds in the fact we were nearing the finish line.
Probably the last half mile of my run, I started reminding myself of Jesus’ long journey to Calvary’s cross, where he died. Not the fact that it was probably only about a half mile he traveled- but he carried the heavy cross on his back, he had a crown of thorns on his head. He was beat as he walked down the road. He bled, he ached- I’m sure his feet burned. The exhaustion spoke through his body, and each breath he took.
This gave me peace of mind and a humbling experience. Once I realized the story I was seeing in my mind, each step became easier. Before I knew it, I had been really striding and then I see the finish line. Nothing could stop me now! The last 200 meter stretch, I pumped it out. I passed about 10 more people before crossing the finish line.
Never once did I stop to walk. This was my ultimate goal of the whole race, was to run it all the way through without stopping. And I succeeded! Prayer and reflection are better than an iPod any day.
"1Therefore, 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." Hebrews 12:1.