"Run For Your Life"

Today is the 10 year anniversary of the terrorist attacks. It's sobering to remember what all went down that day.

At church tonight, there was a guest speaker, a young woman who is a missionary to Uganda. Before she spoke, she played a short video. Carter Conlon is the pastor at Times Square Church in Manhattan. The video is part of the message he delivered to his congregation the Sunday following the 9/11 attacks 10 years ago.

The title of the message in it's entirety is "Run for Your Life." However, this is the clip she played for us tonight. It challenged/inspired me enough to share it with you.

I suppose there's so much more I could write about it (what I got from it, thoughts on it, etc), but I'm just going to let the video speak for itself.

Victory!

Sunday, I got up before work and ran 5 miles without stopping for the first time in my life.
Tuesday, I barely made 2 miles and was cloaked in discouragement.

The last several weeks at work have been so completely hectic. We're understaffed at the moment and overworked.
I got my check today for the last 2 weeks of work and really wasn't surprised to see that I was being paid for 100+ hours during those two weeks.
As wiped out as I was when I got off at 5, I resolved to run this afternoon.

And run I did.

It wasn't the greatest run of my life, but it was a good run. And I'm happy to say, I did 5 miles again.
It feels good to accomplish that again, but more so because of the discouragement that followed Tuesdays run.

I'm a big believer in the importance of celebrating small victories. It's a great way to really appreciate every part of life more. It makes me a more positive, enjoyable person. There are too many things in life to complain about and be down about. But, I refuse to complain more than I celebrate.

So tonight, I'm celebrating 20+ hours of overtime on my paycheck and a great run.

Every small victory is still a victory.

Discouraged

I woke up yesterday morning in a junked up mood. As I headed out the door, I was sure i'd be able to beat the blues on my run, but alas, the blues beat me. Sunday, I ran better than I've ever ran in my life. Covered 5 miles and it felt wonderful. Tuesday morning, completely different story. Couldn't even crack 2 miles. Wound up walking most of the way back home.

You wouldn't believe the thoughts of discouragement that hit me.

I guess everyone has their off days. I just wasn't expecting to come from the best run of my life and get slammed by not even 2 miles.

I suppose, it's all part of the process.

But, tomorrow is another day.

Run With Your Heart

I started reading a book called "UltraMarathon Man" by Dean Karnazes over the weekend. It's funny, well-written, & completely inspiring. I don't want to give away too much of the book, so I won't go into much detail. However, my favorite chapter so far is called "Run With Your Heart." It's taken from a lesson one of his coaches in high school told him.



This morning while I was out for my 5am 3-mile run, I had pieces of the book I read running through my head. I realized as I was nearing the 2.5 mile mark that I wasn't winded, my muscles weren't aching, and my legs weren't tired. I realized, I could push myself a little harder & keep running past the 3 miles I've been doing all week. The four words "Run with your heart" reverberated through me. Around mile 4 I was beginning to feel the run. By the time I made it back home, I had ran 5 miles without breaking to walk or catch my breath. New distance record for myself. Getting ever closer to the halves in October & December.

But this mornings run made "run with your heart" real for me. I wasn't running with my mind...not concentrating on the fact that I was facing a 9-hour work day. Not concentrating on the fact that I got 6 hours of sleep the night before. To me, running with your mind is concentrating on all the things you could be/would rather be doing. I wasn't running with just my body. I ran with my heart. I focused on what the race in December will be like. I thought about those who can't run. I guess I got a little sentimental & sappy out there, but I ran with my heart. I remembered why I'm getting up at 5 am to run & train. And, with everything in me, I promise, it made all the difference.

I'm absolutely loving this book. Definitely a must read! Get it HERE.

To learn more about Dean Karnazes, check out his site UltraMarathon Man.

Passionate.

A few months ago, I blogged about getting up early and running. That only lasted a short while, then I went back to late afternoon runs. During the last couple months, I've rotated a few running partners. Slacked off, got sick, changed running partners again.
But, I'm back to running alone.
I think this is the way it's meant to be for me though. And now that I'm back to running alone, I've been going to bed early & getting up for 5am for 3-mile runs around town. And I'm loving it. Granted, I'm EXHAUSTED by the end of a 10-11 hour workday, I do not regret my 5am runs. In fact, it's the thing I'm beginning to look forward to and cherish the most.

I'm not a morning person. Never have been, will probably never be. But I love mornings. I love watching the sunrise. Love the sounds and the smells.

Sad to say, but I think it's probably human interaction that I'm just not a fan of in the mornings.

But I enjoy being the only one running the roads.

It's not even 8:30pm now, and I'm already in my pajamas in bed with the lights dimmed. This is almost unheard of for me.

But, I'm starting to realize something. When you become passionate about something, it really will change your life. It'll rearrange your schedule for you. It'll prioritize your life for you. If you're passionate about something, truly passionate, it'll be the first thing you'll want to do in the morning and the last thing on your mind before you go to bed. Discipline and dedication will flow out of your passion.

One other thing, I was reading in Runner's World magazine this morning as I was eating breakfast after my run. I found this advertisement:



I thought that was super cool. I'm so stoked and cannot wait until December. Running the St. Jude Memphis Half is going to be amazing. I so can't wait!

Freedom

I haven't blogged in a while. I've got issues with commitment.

But in the last few months of running, I've found something: freedom.

It's become the only thing I do for me. I enjoy it. I'm not a runner, though. Not by nature. My body isn't built for it. It's not something I ever was. But I run.
Life's full of responsibilities. Family. Job. Church. Friends. Full of commitments. These things are not bad things. In fact, I get great joy from most of them. And I find so much meaning in them. However, when you do life with others, you can't be selfish.
And it's true. I run with purpose. I'm running to raise money for St. Jude's Hospital in December. I'll be running in Memphis to make a difference in someone else's life.
But day in, day out...when I roll out of bed, I run for me.

Running, when I get up at 530 in the morning is not for anybody else. Nobody is making me get up. Nobody is outside holding my hand. Pushing me forward. No one will be disappointed if I start walking. I run at my pace. No one will be proud of me if I go farther or run faster.

Freedom.

Freedom, I suppose, is more than doing what you want. But, maybe, it's doing what you want when there is no praise or criticism associated with it. No one praises me when I'm up before the sun and run 4 miles. No one criticizes me when I sleep til 7 and get ready for work without an early morning run.

Freedom.

Happy Father's Day

I'm a sap...this had me in tears.
It's an incredible picture of what our Heavenly Father does for us.



happy Father's day!