Running the Race

Today I ran a 5K.  I have been running off and on for the past four years. Probably a lot more off than on.  Today I was motivated to get a better time than the race I ran two weeks ago. The time from either race will help determine my placement at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta on July 4 (that is if chosen in the lottery.)  With 55,000 people running, the slower one's time, the further back in the line up one is and the hotter it will be when you finally do get to go. So as I came across the finish line, I was disappointed to see that I was not going to beat my time.  I saw the time I was trying to beat flash on the screen as I approached the finish. I struggled to keep pushing hard, feeling as if there was no point.   Gasping for breath I went to check the computer for my final time.  What a surprise to see that my time was actually 1 min and 16 seconds faster than the race two weeks ago.  I forgot that the clock was from the start of the gun but that it took awhile before I actually crossed the start line. Wearing a time chip, the computer would base my time from crossing the start line to  then crossing the finish line. What a delight to be way faster than I had imagined and to now have a new 5K time record!  Woo hoo!  

The race I ran today was the Fallen Heroes of GA 5K to honor those who have given their lives for our country in the Middle East conflicts.  This is the third time I have run this race and it is by far my favorite race.  Running somehow seems more purposeful as we honor those and their families who have sacrificed.  Along the first and what becomes the last half mile of the race, are the pictures and names of the fallen soldiers of GA.  Often family members stand by the picture.  It makes the life and death of those who serve very real.  I find it an emotional experience and one in which I always shed tears.  The last half mile involves a steep incline and ends with a triumphant down hill.  Having already run  2.5 miles, tackling that last hill is tough.  I wondered if I could make it.  I decided to focus on the pictures as I climbed the hill.  I looked at the men who didn't quit but gave everything they had.   I would look at the name and say, "Benjamin did it, so can I."  "Lance did it, so can I." At one point I read the sign and said "Jesus did it, so can I." The man's name was likely pronounced Hey-seuss but saying it as I did was meaningful.  I am motivated to persevere because Jesus did. Jesus persevered to the Cross for me. I could persevere in that physical hill as well as the hills that life presents.

One of the things I like about running is what a picture of life it is.  When I am running in a 5K or taking a training run, very little of it is fun or easy.  There are moments that feel good, like when people are cheering me on or I am chatting with a friend.  However I find most of it just hard.  It is just one foot after the other, after the other, after the other . . . .  Some moments I wonder if I can make the distance.  There are times that I am sure I will have to quit.  A lot of the time I keep asking myself, "why am I doing this?"  I  tell you, I do it for the finish line. What a feeling crossing the finish line is.  Once I can breath again, limbs have stretch, and re-hydration has occurred I say, "that wasn't so bad, when can I do it again?" Sometimes life is really hard.  And sometimes life is just so one foot after the other.  But I know someday I will cross the finish line and I am pretty sure that all that was hard will fade in the glory of being with Jesus face to face.