Those of you who read this blog back in February might remember something about me running a marathon. That was 5 months ago, so here’s an update: the race is still not until July 11th. It’s been a long time coming. But in the time I’ve been training, I’ve learned a lot, not only about how to be a better runner, but how some of those same lessons apply to my journey as a Christian.
I’d like to think the changes in my life over the past 5 months are a little more profound than burning so much energy that I eat like a teenager again and doubling our food bill. The preparation and training for this long distance race are similar to how we should all be practicing as Christians to meet our ultimate goal of crossing the finish line into heaven. So here’s a list of some training tips I’ve learned:
1. Verbalize your goal, out loud and by yourself. Then tell someone else, and then someone else. After a while, even the craziest sounding goal begins to seem reasonable.
2. Find people who understand your goals and will encourage you along the way.
3. Plan your life around what you need to do to meet your goal, not vice versa.
4. Accept the fact that there will be setbacks, and you probably will get hurt. See #2. And keep going as best you can.
5. Pace yourself. Burning out makes it 10 times harder to get going again.
6. How well you do is based entirely on your effort, commitment and perseverance, not somebody else’s.
7. If you want to get better, you’ve got to struggle up some steep hills.
8. You won’t get to the top of the hill by coasting down. See #7.
9. Don’t compare your results to the results of others. It’s your race. See #6.
10. Celebrate your accomplishments along the journey. Even if they seem minor, they are steps toward something major.
OK. Maybe my list seems obvious, slightly corny, or both. But I have come to believe that Roger Banister, the first person to run one mile in under 4-minutes, was on to something when he said “Running helps us do other things better.” Maybe running isn’t your thing, but we are all on a long journey. Even if you never plan to run a marathon, you are still in training for that journey, and need to “train yourself to be Godly” (1 Tim. 4:7).
