Jonese's Blog

I did something amazing Friday night.

I ran three miles non-stop.

I also did something which in the grand schemes of things is small.

I ran three miles out of thirteen miles I'll have to run for the ING Half Marathon in March.

Yea I'm one of those people who enjoy running. I used to run all the time in high school, mainly because I didn't have a car. My specialty though was the half mile, the 400, the mile and the 2-mile relay. I ran Cross Country as well and enjoyed it but my heart was never into long distances so I wasn't as good as my coach thought I could be.

But I rocked at the 400. My first time ever out of the blocks was 58.7 seconds. My best time I don't even remember but I know it was faster and it was because of the 400 that I got my letter in track.

But running a long distance is completely different.

When I was in Cross Country in High School (Go Broadneck Bruins! ) I never trained over the summer like so many of my friends. The coach would always warn us that the first day was not going to be easy. It was going to be hard and he expected us to train for it. Sure enough when that first day came around, the words out of his mouth always made me cringe.

"OK Boys and girls let's see how many of you have it in you to run 7 miles!"

We'd stretch and then off we'd go. 3.5 miles down the Bay Bridge Access Road and back again. The crazy thing is back then I'd never have any problems running it. I'd run all 7 miles and then go home and die. Only to return the next day and have to do hills at Anne Arundel Community College. By the end of the week I was dead and could barely move.

By Monday I was ready to do it all over again and never had issues the rest of the season.

So when I decided to start training for the ING I figured I'd have pretty good stamina. The first time I went running I bailed out hard core. Each time there after I'd bail out again. Making it only a mile at most, maybe a mile and a half if I really stretched my imagination.

Earlier in the week was no different. I hopped up on the treadmill, pressed the 5k trainer button and off I went. First half mile was fine (that's 800 meters) and then after my third "lap" I bailed out. Slowed down and started to walk. I spent the next 20 or so minutes walking, jogging, and just generally feeling like an idiot.

I started to wonder if I could even do this. Were my ankles strong enough to handle this strain. Did I need to lose more weight to make it "easier". Was I just being a fool?

So I started taking steps to make it happen. I started telling everyone I was training for the ING. I heard all kinds of stories of people who did it and loved it. I forced myself to setup an actual workout schedule (run M-W-F and weights on Tue-Thurs). Then I remembered something a friend once told me when I first started running.

"When I started I couldn't even run a mile, but I pushed on and just made sure I ran farther each time I got out".

So Friday I showed up at LA Fitness around 6pm. I changed, stretched and headed towards my arch nemesis Mr. Treadmill. My goal was simple 1 Mile non-stop and then push myself to do another half mile for a total of 1.5 miles. I set my pace at 4 mph and away I went. Like before the first half mile went pretty good and the third lap (each mile is 4 laps) I was starting to "hurt" and all those thoughts bombarded my psyche. I felt myself favoring my right side, I felt like my left ankle was going to give out, my breathing sucked and my arms were going numb.

I had, had it.

I told myself to shut up. I put weight on my left ankle and forced my stride bigger. I speed up a bit and got my breathing under control.

Mile 1 done. I gave myself a pat on the back and then pushed on to do the next half mile.

1.5 miles done. I told myself I was half way to 3 miles might as well as keep going.

2 miles. I grin and give my self a couple of fist pumps and I start to count down the final 4 laps to mile 3.

I kick up the speed on the treadmill to 5mph (about a 12 - 13 min mile) and just power on through.

Mile 3 DONE! I threw my arms in the air like I had just crossed the finish line at the NY Marathon and shouted out a proverbial YES! The poor girl next too me was probably thinking she should have picked a different treadmill and the guy to my right shortly jumped off his.

I didn't care. I had done it. I had beat my thoughts, powered past the pain and found the proverbial runners high that I used to crave so many years ago.

Then I said a little prayer thanking God for helping me through it, and I was struck with a pretty big idea while on my cool down walk.

Trusting in God is a lot like my 3-mile run. We all know he has something awesome for us. We all know we have to work to get there, follow his ideas and be true to our emotions.

But how many of us bail out in the first mile? How may of us decide it's too hard? That there is too much pain? We feel like our legs will fall out from under us, or that our minds revolt against any forward progress?

If I told you how many times I have bailed out on life. Bailed out on his plan, or what I knew his plan was you'd probably stop reading. But I have, and I won't do it anymore. We all know God likes to make us wait, and that he rewards patience etc. We know that Gods timing is everything and it's important to listen to him to hear his timing.

Galatians 6:9 - "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

So nowadays when God reveals something to me and then either I screw it up, or it doesn't happen in the timing I want, or things just go horribly wrong, I don't give up.

NO I GET EXCITED!

So should you! Just like in my run when I hit that point where it would be easier to just drop out versus continuing on and I pressed on. Once I blasted through that wall I was stronger both mentally and physically.

God wants us to keep pushing on. He doesn't want us to give up no matter how horrible things might appear to be. God knows what he has planned for you and me. He knows the joys, the pleasures, the wonders of our futures. But before we can get there we have to bust through some walls.

Ephesians 2:10 – "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."

So if your patience is thin then stretch it. If you will to continue on is short then make it longer. If your heart is empty then start to fill it up.

God is ready for us to do great things, are you?