Running My Race – It’s Not How You Start But How You Finish

Welcome to my blog! I’ve finally taken the leap to become a blogger. I am a self-confessed shopaholic! I love a deal and anything cute! And, I love to RUN (sometimes, maybe ~I think)! My blog is not about one specific topic but things that are passionate and important to me or things that just happen to be on mind. Running has become a motivator and release in my life. It’s one of those things I never thought I’d do--- but I guess never say never. As I think about running and my new found commitment, I think about the many life lessons that I'm learning. There are days when I just really don’t feel like running. I get up at 5:45 or 6 a.m. to subject myself to four, five, or six miles and for the entire run I'm thinking what am I doing? Some days I feel like I can't muster the strength to even get started and some how I do and I finish my goal miles for that day. A few weeks ago in bible study I heard something that sparked me to think about the comparison of my running and my spiritual life. My teacher said you have to press on and it’s not how you start this thing, but it’s how you finish it. If you know anything about running or racing, you’ll understand it’s really all about the finish. On training days, you want it to be over. On race days, you want to finish and finish with a good time. In February, I decided to run a 10K. This was my second race ever and my longest(6.2 miles) in my short running career. I remember every mile and every hill I had to climb ---I swear it was at least 20! I had to walk a few times and I had to encourage myself to keep going. Everything in me wanted to quit and I cursed myself for signing up for this because I knew deep down I wasn’t ready. But, I kept on. I pushed past my limits ---- no matter how uncomfortable and hard it felt. I kept going. And at the end, I finished strong with that final kick across the finish line. I remember that last 1/4 mile and every thing hurt. I wanted to quit but then I realized how close I was to the finish line. I heard cheers and the finish line was in my sight. No walking and no giving up for me. My legs seemed to take on new life and I picked up my pace and ran across that finish line strong. Wow! I'm glad I didn't give up because finishing the race was worth the struggle. I accomplished what I thought was impossible. Mile three was the hardest. I stopped several times and I really thought about going to the emergency station to quit but I didn't and I'm so glad I pressed on. Well, life’s trials are a lot like running a race but in life you can’t see the finish line. You know that it's there but you can't see it or even predict how long it will take you to get there. Each day, each challenge and each struggle are much like the miles in a race. You press on. You learn to lean on faith and trust God to carry you to a strong finish. And when it’s all over, you feel much like the end of a race. Thank you God, I didn't give up ~ I finished.

On my runs I often pray and talk to God. I’m finding strength in my running, and in life. My trials are much like my race, and I’m going to keep running determined to finish strong. Trusting and believing, I'm going to run on and see what the end will be. This is a little heavy for my first blog post, but today it was on my heart and my motivation. Hopefully, I’ve inspired someone to run on.