It's on! I'm talking about the Bolder Boulder this weekend, of course.
Since its inception in 1979, over 1.2 million runners have completed this 10K race. Today I got my corral assignment. In a normal race -- say, a major marathon like Chicago -- there are 5, maybe 6, corrals for the runners to line up in before the race starts. You are "seeded" according to your average time in that event. Well, the Bolder Boulder has 99 corrals. Yes, I said NINETY NINE. I have been assigned corral 61. Middle of the packer, I am (said in good Yoda fashion). Usually I don't compete very hard in races since I am so slow. But 10Ks are the exception to that rule. I plan to go pedal to the medal in this event. My goal is to finish in my age group in the top 25-50 percent of runners.
Might I fail? At what? Not being the fastest or the most skilled? No biggie. Who am I trying to impress anyway? The older I get (am I talking a lot about aging these days or what?????), I am learning to "go with the flow" -- accepting the adventures, imperfections, and detours that life throws at you. I think of verses like Deut. 24:7 ("Moses was 120 years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone") and Isa. 46:4 ("Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you"). I am doing this weekend's race because it's incredible and because it's BUCKET LIST MATERIAL.
To prepare for the race, today I went to the Y here in Wake Forest and got in a fairly challenging workout.
Then tomorrow, the Lord willing, I will do one last run before flying out to Colorado. Again, if the Lord's kindness permits, I hope to cross another race off on my bucket list. Yet there are still many more goals and dreams on my list. See all my grandkids graduate from high school. Return to Ukraine to teach in Odessa for the fourth time. Run a marathon in another country (like Greece). Run a 5K when I'm 99. Even if you only achieve two or three goals on your bucket list, they are still worth chasing down. I like how Henry Ford put it: "Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you're probably right." Tomorrow is indeed another day for all of us. Only the Lord knows what it will hold. Be content where you are. Rest in him. Make the most of every opportunity he gives you to be active or to serve him. Remember: you are competing only against yourself and you need not compare, judge yourself, or let your ego take over.