On September 24th, I participated in my first 5k race. 10 weeks prior, I joined NCRC - North Carolina Roadrunner's Club (http://www.ncroadrunners.org) to prepare. These women are fantastic! The encouragement & support was beyond anything I could have anticipated. I've connected with & built lasting relationships as a result.
Although a former athlete, it had been a long while since I had actually run. Participating in aerobic classes, hitting the elliptical & treadmill at the gym and even running behind a very active 3 year old does not compare to running outside on a trail in 95 degree (or more) heat. The training was rough but I tried to make it to as many practice runs as possible.
Race day arrived... thankfully fall had also arrived & the heat was gone. It was actually a little chilly & rainy. In route, I started to skip out & go shopping instead. Even as I drove into the parking lot, I almost convinced myself to turn around because I hadn't yet paid or registered for the event. But then I remembered this run was for a great cause (against domestic violence) & thought about all the reasons I needed to be here and needed to support this cause. Not only that, I had made a committment to myself & needed to follow through.
I went inside, paid my registration fee, got my number, took pics with the group and when it was time to line up and run, I did :) Throughout the run, there were volunteers guiding us in the right direction, handing us water & saying, "great job ladies" or "just a little further to go" and "you can do it". It felt so good to hear those words. All the discouragement felt earlier in the morning had disappeared. I was energized and optimistic... felt like I could run any marathon; felt like I could accomplish anything. I couldn't see the finish line but knowing it was there gave me hope. I wasn't concerned about who was going to beat me, I was simply concerned about making it to the end.
Finally turning the last corner and seeing the big FINISH sign made me feel so very proud. Despite the initial fear & hesitation, despite the pains in my legs, despite the fact that there were others who passed me, and despite the rain, despite the gasping for breaths... I made it. Crossed the finish line at 39 minutes & 31 seconds. It was an overwhelming feeling of pride, happiness, hope and so many other beautiful emotions.
I say all that to say, this is what happens in life. We face many obstacles and challenges when we set goals for ourselves. Sometimes in reaching for those goals, we get discouraged. We want to give up. We want to cave in. It's so much easier to walk away than to keep going. Fear gets the best of us, the rain deters us but we have to remember that "The race is not given to the swift" Ecclesiastes 9:11. God is there with us along the way, handing us water so to speak, encouraging us just like the volunteers saying "you can do it", "great job", "don't give up".
We may not always finish first but indeed we are all winners. Let us not get so caught up in the competitive nature of the race that we forget why we are running. The most important thing is to finish... and to finish strong!
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