i'm alive, i'm alive
Since cooking turkey isn't a gift of mine, unless you like it raw in the middle - then I'm great at it - and since I put on almost five pounds in one week of vacation in the land of cheese, I've decided to train for Austin's Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day.
I live with two runners. They get up at the crack of dawn to run. They run easily, breathing gracefully. They have little or no body fat. They just do it.
And they inspire me. So a week ago, I installed the 5K Runner app on my phone, dusted off my Asics and began the pursuit of training for the "double T" as I like to call it. The app has a nice man's voice on it that tells you when to run, and when to walk, and when to cool down. That was all fine and well until halfway into the first day. My shins hurt. I couldn't breathe through my nose. I was getting discouraged.
But through all I've gone through the last 3 years, I have developed a confidence in leaning into a strength that is not my own. I am stronger, but only because of the one I'm leaning on. Jesus.
So I did day one. I did it again 2 days later when I was supposed to be doing day 2. Let me mention here that this is not a terribly hard plan. You run a total of five minutes on day 1. But it was taking everything in me to do this. By day 2 you run 8 minutes. On my second try of day 1, I stopped on the 3rd running part. "I can't do this," I told myself. I walked for maybe 10 seconds. Then I thought, yes I can run until the voice tells me to stop, which will be in about 20 seconds. So I did. I felt like Rocky, hobbling through the streets of his hometown.
I finished day 1 that day. And I did it again on day 3. I did it until I could do it without stopping. I don't care if it takes me 16 weeks instead of 8 to reach my goal. I'm doing it. And I'm doing the Turkey Trot whether I can run it or not.
Today I went out to do day 2 (now in the second week of my program) with my runner son. He ran ahead and looped back several times to keep pace with me, smiling easily, never breaking stride. My small dog I had brought along begged to run on the sidewalk. I was having none of that. I had to stop and stretch my calves twice when I should have been walking. But I ran all 8 minutes. And it felt good not to quit, to know I still have a fight in me.
The sun was just rising in the sky when we began running. Halfway through our time it was bursting through the clouds in stunning hues of pink and orange. I don't always feel God's presence through His creation, but I did this morning.
We are facing some tough things as a family. I know the leaning in on God will be key to pulling us through. And I won't stop fighting. Not ever.
"We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ." 2 Cor. 10:5, the Message.
I live with two runners. They get up at the crack of dawn to run. They run easily, breathing gracefully. They have little or no body fat. They just do it.
And they inspire me. So a week ago, I installed the 5K Runner app on my phone, dusted off my Asics and began the pursuit of training for the "double T" as I like to call it. The app has a nice man's voice on it that tells you when to run, and when to walk, and when to cool down. That was all fine and well until halfway into the first day. My shins hurt. I couldn't breathe through my nose. I was getting discouraged.
But through all I've gone through the last 3 years, I have developed a confidence in leaning into a strength that is not my own. I am stronger, but only because of the one I'm leaning on. Jesus.
So I did day one. I did it again 2 days later when I was supposed to be doing day 2. Let me mention here that this is not a terribly hard plan. You run a total of five minutes on day 1. But it was taking everything in me to do this. By day 2 you run 8 minutes. On my second try of day 1, I stopped on the 3rd running part. "I can't do this," I told myself. I walked for maybe 10 seconds. Then I thought, yes I can run until the voice tells me to stop, which will be in about 20 seconds. So I did. I felt like Rocky, hobbling through the streets of his hometown.
I finished day 1 that day. And I did it again on day 3. I did it until I could do it without stopping. I don't care if it takes me 16 weeks instead of 8 to reach my goal. I'm doing it. And I'm doing the Turkey Trot whether I can run it or not.
Today I went out to do day 2 (now in the second week of my program) with my runner son. He ran ahead and looped back several times to keep pace with me, smiling easily, never breaking stride. My small dog I had brought along begged to run on the sidewalk. I was having none of that. I had to stop and stretch my calves twice when I should have been walking. But I ran all 8 minutes. And it felt good not to quit, to know I still have a fight in me.
The sun was just rising in the sky when we began running. Halfway through our time it was bursting through the clouds in stunning hues of pink and orange. I don't always feel God's presence through His creation, but I did this morning.
We are facing some tough things as a family. I know the leaning in on God will be key to pulling us through. And I won't stop fighting. Not ever.
"We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ." 2 Cor. 10:5, the Message.