Posts about the things I've learned while running

Running Lessons: Training for a Half Marathon

Training for a half marathon title graphic

It’s been a while since I’ve shared any running lessons with you. Last spring, my sister asked me to run the Iron Horse Half Marathon with her this coming September. There are about 60 million runners in the U.S. and the National Runners Survey says that about 2 million of them will finish a half marathon. That’s 3%. In recent years, the half has become the most popular event distance. Perhaps because it’s a good balance of challenging and attainable.

Now my sister is almost 20 years younger than I am and has not only run half marathons, but she has full marathon under her belt. But I’ve run a couple of ten-mile races and the race is in September which gives me plenty of time to prep.

So I signed up.

Then I made a plan. I laid out a progression of long runs so I could hit my target distance and practice it a couple of times before race day. I planned how to gradually stretch out my intervals so I can increase my stamina and improve my overall times. I got a new pair of shoes and the best socks I have ever worn. Now it’s a matter of getting out and logging the miles.

And it was on one of those runs that I started thinking … How does the percentage of runners who run half marathons compare with the percentage of believers who share their faith? (No lie. Your brain thinks of all sorts of things during a run.) Statistics on sharing your faith are all over the place because they usually ask about the last six months. From both Lifeway Research and Barna, those stats are in the 20-30% range. That sounds great until we dig down into the numbers a little more. Rather than comparing that 20-30% to the 3%, it would be like asking a subset of runners who regularly run 20 miles a week whether they had run a half marathon in the last six months. The 20-30% is from a more highly motivated subset, weekly church attenders. If we look at all Christians, the number is more like 2%, as in 2% of people who say they are Christians have ever shared their faith.

Why not?

That’s the most basic instruction Jesus gave us. So as I ran, I thought of some running-related reasons why we don’t share our faith.

Motivation – I’m running the half because my sister asked. Yeah, it was out there on my long-range plans somewhere, for someday, but it wasn’t urgent. My friends, Jesus didn’t ask us to share our faith, He commissioned us to. Besides that, the salvation message of our reconciliation and redemption is an amazing message. If those don’t motivate us, perhaps we should consider whether we have a genuine faith to share.

Training – I have to put in the time to train for the half marathon. I have to be disciplined and intentional. Granted some people could just up and run 13.1 miles and survive, but that’s generally not the recommended or the most effective way to do it. Surprisingly, many followers of Jesus Christ have never considered taking any training in how to share the Gospel. I’m in a class on Wednesday evenings right now, and not only is this maybe my first ever class, but only a slim percentage of the church is participating. We can be a witness for Jesus Christ from the first moments we’re saved, but with training, we can be even more effective. The disciples, Paul, Timothy, Titus–all those guys–were trained in how to proclaim the good news.

Equipment – Good shoes, socks, compression shorts, running app on my phone. All of those things contribute to my success both in training and on race day. When we witness for Christ, we need to be prayed up both for ourselves and for those we’ll be talking to. We need to know the redemption story. We need to know our story. We need to be good, compassionate, respectful listeners, too.

Plan – I have a plan for the half marathon. That way I know I’ll be ready on race day. If I didn’t have a plan and didn’t make an effort to stick to it, I promise the race will be a flop. In the same way, we should be planning how we’re going to share the gospel and then stick to the plan. Choose someone to share with. Pray daily for that person that God will prepare them and give you the opportunity.

Once the door opens fall back on your equipment, your training, and motivation to get you across the finish line.

For we do not market the word of God for profit like so many. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God. 2 Corinthians 2:17

Have you shared the gospel lately? If not, which area can you concentrate on in the coming month? Motivation, training, equipment or planning?

Using Our Resources

By Paula

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Romans 8:32

I take the winters off from running. I do this for several reasons. It gives my body a couple of months of rest and time to recuperate. I get cold weather exercise-induced asthma and it saves me from an inhaler. (If you’ve never used one, blecch) But the overwhelming reason is that I do not like the cold. Period. Dragging myself out of my warm bed and into the cold air is the worst.

Last winter, though, rather than spend the entire two-month hiatus as a bed slug, I lifted weights in the basement. There are some real advantages to lifting. I can do it in my pajamas. I can be a lot less awake than I have to be if I’m running. Most of the time, I barely even have to open my eyes to lift. It works more muscles than running. It’s right in my basement. I don’t have to drive to a gym. There’s no danger of cars or dogs or even owls.

But for years, lots of years, that weight machine sat in my basement doing me absolutely no good because I never used it for anything more than a laundry rack. It was only when I (finally) took advantage of the great resource available to me that it benefited me at all.

God, in His grace, has given me a ton of resources to help me out as I live for Him.

He has given me His Holy Spirit living inside me. But, if I ignore His promptings …
He has given me the privilege of prayer. But if I don’t talk with Him as an integral part of my day …
He has given me His word. But if I don’t read, study, and practice what He’s told me …
He has given me the consolation of friends. But if I don’t call on them …
He has given me the Sabbath. But if I decide I’m too busy for rest and renewal and reconnection …

It’s worse than having an unused weight machine in a basement.

Revival

By Paula

Revive me according to Your lovingkindness, so that I may keep the testimony of Your mouth. Psalm 119:88

Can I be really honest? This has not been my best running season ever. I ran a couple of good races in the spring, but through the summer and fall, I’ve been something less than enthusiastic. I found a lot of excuses. I didn’t put out my best effort. Really, I ended up with nothing but sweaty clothes to show for my trek outside.

Then a few weeks ago, I had some routine bloodwork done. Elevated HA1C. Borderline diabetes. It wasn’t a complete surprise. I know my genetic makeup, and I had gestational diabetes when I carried my son. My risk is above average. Running immediately became more significant, and more of a priority. I had a renewed sense of purpose and commitment to it. When it came to running, I experienced a revival.

I find I need revival often on my walk with Jesus, and more often than the traditional spring and fall series of meetings. Just like a blood test can alert me to some physiological issues, there are a couple of markers that alert me to deeper spiritual ones.

Lack of compassion – When I find I’m more inwardly focused and tending to ignore the hurting people around me, that’s a warning sign.

Lack of engagement – When I find I’m not mentally present in worship or in my study time or during prayers, that’s a wake-up call.

The solution is two-fold. Just like my HA1C results require a change in diet, revival does, too. I need to change what I’m consuming whether it’s media or the attitudes or ideas of others. Instead, I need to take in generous servings of truth, seeing people the way God sees them.

Then I need to be more intentional about my walk with Jesus. I need to remind myself of His majesty and holiness and greatness, and the wonder of His amazing love for me. The more I honor God in worship the easier it is to follow Him in obedience.

In a few months I’ll have my blood checked again, then I can find out how I’ve done and if further changes are necessary. I don’t have to wait that long to see how I’m progressing on my walk. The Holy Spirit will nudge and encourage me at each step. I just have to make sure I’m listening and making the changes He asks of me.

What about you? Do you need a revival? How do you know? What steps do you take to begin a personal revival?

Running Lessons: Abide

By Paula

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. John 15:5

This past Saturday, my husband, my son and I ran in the Greater Louisville Battlefrog Obstacle Course Race. Now what I absolutely don’t want you to do is read that and think I’m some kind of super athlete. Because I’m not. I was just following through on something that sounded like a great idea back in January when we were eating Pizza Hut and watching football. Anybody can compete, they said. If you can walk five miles you can finish the Battlefrog race. This one was three weeks after the 10 mile River Run. I figured I was good to go.

Well, yes it’s five miles. Through the woods. Up and down hills. Through creeks and mud. Then every so often they throw in some obstacle, like the Confidence Wall or the Delta Cargo Tower or the Wreck Bag Carry, or more mud, just to keep it interesting. But what makes this race different is that you are allowed, even encouraged, to help each other. And quite frankly, if my husband had not stuck with me, I wouldn’t have finished the course. He walked ahead of me, constantly giving me feedback. “Stay to the left. The mud’s not as deep. It’s slick there. Grab here to pull yourself up.” He gave me a boost when I was too short to reach the first foothold on the 8-foot wall, then he ran around to the other side, so I could grab his shoulder and not have to drop so far. He sacrificed his time and final ranking to make sure I reached the finish line.

Wow, what an object lesson.

In John 15 as Jesus is giving His last teaching before the cross He tells them plainly, “Without Me, you can do nothing.” On the other hand, if they abide in Him, and by extension, if we abide in Him, we bear fruit. Lots of it.

Abide is one of those words we pretend like we know what it means and we read over it. So I looked it up. It has a range of meanings.
1. To wait for – I waited for Jon to go ahead of me in the race. I wait to follow Jesus’s leading.
2. To withstand, to bear patiently – I had to get through some killer obstacles. Jesus is going to throw some challenges my way as well.
3. To accept without objection – Signing up for the race meant following the course laid out. If Jesus is Lord like I say He is, I follow where He leads.
4. To remain stable in a state – I didn’t follow Jon for a bit, then follow somebody else. By the same token, I need to stick with Jesus the whole way.

The Message translates abide as “joined with” and then elaborates, “the relation intimate and organic.” It was completely natural for me to trust Jon and look to him for help, because of our relationship. How much more naturally should I trust and follow Jesus?

See, I don’t run because I’m good at it. Far from it. Honestly, it was Wednesday before I could walk up and down steps without a lot of pain. Running always teaches me something, though. Always. In this case, it’s a lesson that will stick with me even longer than the mud. (It’s never washing out… Never.)

(And in case you were wondering, my son ran his own race, finished #28 in the killer 15-19 age group.)

Running Lessons: Simple Pleasures

By Paula

Cause me to hear Your lovingkindness in the morning, For in You do I trust; Cause me to know the way in which I should walk, For I lift up my soul to You. Psalm 143:8

When I run, I use an app on my phone that tracks my distance, time and pace. In preparation for an upcoming race, I started using the coaching feature. I set it for the pace I want to run and every minute it lets me know how I’m doing. “9:52. You’re ahead of your pace. Slow down. Great job!” Or, “12:15. You’re behind your goal pace. Speed up. Awesome workout!”

Now the programmers could have left the ‘awesome workout’ part off when I’m behind pace. But I think they left it for a purpose. I tend to get focused on results, on my ability or failure to meet one goal or another. The ‘awesome workout’ reminder points me to something broader. Being out alone in the morning quiet is a good thing. Not only that, being able to run is a gift and a blessing. I shouldn’t lose those simple pleasures because the number on a pace meter wasn’t what I thought it should be.

I get that same kind of narrow view in my Christian walk as well. I set standards for how I think I should be progressing. (Notice, I set them, not God.) Then I have to start monitoring. Am I on pace with the right number of quiet times? Did I read enough chapters? Did I meet my goal for prayer? Or study? Or growth? Am I closer to God than I was last week? Am I on pace or behind?

Now I believe a periodic spiritual inventory can be a good thing, but not an end in itself. For me, I find that in the quest to meet some goal or achieve a metric, I completely miss the joy, the gift, the blessing that comes with a relationship with Christ. It’s a relationship guided by His timing and not my schedule, on His grace and not my performance.

Community

By Paula

Now you are the body of Christ, and members individually. 1 Corinthians 12:27

Even though I run by myself early in the morning, I’m not alone as a runner. I have friends who run and even family members who run. It’s good to have those connections because, believe me, you don’t get too many miles logged before a host of questions pop up.

Should I rest or run through the pain? (Which can be rephrased as, is this a real injury or am I just a baby?) What’s the best way to work up to a longer distance? How do I tell when I need new shoes? Is Gu really worth it?

No matter what questions I come up with, some runner I know has the answer. They’ve been through it and they are more than willing to share what they’ve learned.

Oh, I could figure things out on my own, but in the end, I’d make more mistakes. I’d be injured more often, and for longer periods. By learning everything the hard way, I’d spend less time actually running.
For some reason, that’s the way we operate as believers. On our own. Muddling through. Figuring things out the best way we can. Maybe we’re afraid people will find out we don’t have it all together. Maybe we’re afraid we’ll look weak. Or sinful.

So we keep quiet. We don’t ask. We pretend like we know everything. We never have problems. And we miss out on one of the greatest blessings God gave us.

Community.

In the Greek, the word is ekklesia, and until the time of Christ, it meant any assembly people were called to, like a town hall gathering. Usually, we translate the word “church” and keep reading. The first-century followers of Christ redefined the very word by the way they connected and treated each other.

We need each other, far more than we realize. We need to share our stories and our struggles. We need to testify about how God is working in our lives. We need to be a blessing and an encouragement. We need safety and transparency and vulnerability.

Within a community, we build the relationships and the love that Christ meant for us to have for one another.

It if from a community that we launch out on the Great Commission.

A group of unique individuals transforming into a community of brothers and sisters is the sure witness of God’s power at work in us.