Learning in Training #6

I'm currently completing my seventh week of training for the Haiti Half {now Haiti 5K}, and this week we're in right now is my worst one to date. It's terrible in EVERY POSSIBLE WAY, and I'll tell you more about that next week.

But today I wanted to tell you about LAST week...week six. I'm proud of myself for pushing through six straight weeks of physical training, because this is SO not my thing. Six straight weeks of eating or writing or sleeping would be very much my thing. Six straight weeks of running? Not so much. I've been at it long enough now to confirm it's probably never going to be a true love of mine, and I am okay with that. I don't have to be in love with every trendy thing that comes along.

Having said that, I'm excited that I'm completing this discipline, I'm excited that I don't hate my body quite as much as I did before I started, and I'm excited that this new season of life has given me time to even consider training for something like this.

When the week began, I had gotten mixed up in my memory of the training calendar, and I thought this was a week when I had to run five, three, five miles, so when we actually set out on the first run of the week and I knew I "only" had four miles in front of me, I thought it was going to be the best run EVER. After all, it was suddenly a mile shorter!

But my entire body felt like lead, and I wondered if my truly horrid diet in preceding days was coming back to haunt me. The weather was pleasant...there was a nice breeze...and I survived the run, even though I was disappointed it wasn't as amazing as I planned. And of course, the next day, I knocked out the best run of the training so far. That is one good thing about bad running days: they're usually followed by really good running days! The third day started well, and about two miles into the thing, my stomach cramped up and I felt SO SICK. I am, as previously stated, NOT a real runner, so running sick is not my gig. I pushed through - but whooooeeeeeeee!!!! And the last day was a great run, but it was deceivingly hot and humid and by the end, I had overheated to the point where my KNEES were sweating. It scared me to be so hot and not be sure if I would get cooled down.

In all the running, I held on to a familiar verse...one you probably know by heart:

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Philippians 4:13

I really concentrated on that underlined phrase. Usually when I say that verse or when I hear others talking about it, the emphasis is on the first part: "I can do all things." But the power is hidden in the second part: through Christ. When my body feels like lead, I can still run through Christ's strength. When my stomach cramps up with half a journey in front of me, I can push forward through Christ's strength. When I worry about making it back home because my body pours sweat and my mind is foggy from heat, I can get there through Christ's strength.

I prayed it for the people of Haiti, too. That when they tried to make their way from home to whatever medical facility they sought, they would be able to get there through Christ's strength, no matter how sick or worried they felt. That the money raised in this race would bring hope to those who benefit from it...who feel depleted by illness and suddenly learn that a solution lies ahead. That through Christ, some runners and non-runners from Indiana supplied some money and prayed some prayers that change their forever.

Through Christ. 

Other posts on this topic:
The Haiti Half
Learning in Training #1
Learning in Training #2
Learning in Training #3
Learning in Training #4
Learning in Training #5