Well, guess what? The weather has turned rainy again. It's your typical January weather pattern. But if you're running indoors, weather isn't a concern. There's probably no way even someone as unathletic as I can risk injury while running in a gym as opposed to running on rainy, snowy, or icy roads. You can run on a treadmill I guess, but I prefer running in place, adding a couple of very light weights to keep things interesting. Today my "run" lasted for 60 minutes. I know that while you're running in the gym you can entertain yourself by watching TV at the same time, but I prefer to listen to lectures on YouTube. (Today's lecture was the eye-opening talk given by Mark Lane at UCLA on the Warren Commission Report and its, let's say, less than honest approach to resolving the murder of the century.) The main thing is not to forget doing my cardio work in view of a 26.2 mile competition in exactly one month from today. Of course, I use the word "competition" a bit loosely. Frankly, when I run a marathon my main goal is to finish under my own power without requiring medical attention. On the other hand, the more you train for a race, the more you can enjoy it and even "compete" in your age group. But the truth is that running is not about running fast or running slow or running for competition. We cannot help but run, even if we're terrible at it. We are runners, and so we run. The main satisfaction of running a marathon is that internal satisfaction of knowing you persevered amidst challenges and didn't give up. And as you compete in a 26.2 mile race, you receive the kind of education that no one is given in school. You are forced to learn to be strong and brave and resilient. You learn how to suffer. And you learn to rely upon God in spite of your seemingly impossible situation. He promises his strong arms of support and assistance to all who determine to trust him through the painful yet essential process of personal growth and change.
Are you willing?