"You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
Psalm 16:11
I ran 20 miles today. It was everything but joyful.
As I was out there riding along on the struggle bus I had a lot of time to think.
20 miles...4+ hours = lots of time to think
The run started out great. Thankfully. It was a perfect sunny fall day. I anticipated sweating but not down to my shoes. I was feeling great. By mile 5 however, things started to get tough and I started to mentally freak out about how much time and how many miles I had left to go. My right arch and ankle was also starting to flare up -- last year's injury rearing its head.
With all of that going on and the miles prematurely getting slower and slower I was hit with the thought of God's graciousness.
Just out of the blue. Wham. God is so good.
I was reminded of how much I have to be thankful for. I think of grace as giving someone something good that they don't deserve. This is seriously how God deals with me day in and day out. The verse above came to mind and wouldn't go away. Out on my run today, I was filled with gratitude. For everything. Not just running.
In the end, it was a hard run but I'm thankful for the experience. After all, that's what training is all about -- to toughen me up for the real thing. Boom.
I'm also thankful I got a great shot of these two feathery buddies while out on my run today.
It's fall folks!
What about you?
How is your fall running going?
I have a friend who writes a list of people to pray for on her arm before her races. It gives her something to think about other than the miles and the time.
ReplyDeleteI love those moments when you're hit with a realization out of the blue. I sometimes call those "Jesus tingles." I don't know if that's blasphemous, but that's the best way I can describe them.
"Jesus tingles" I like it! Thanks for the comment. :) Prayer is a great way to pass the time.
DeleteHappy running!
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