so i've been running quite a bit lately. (read previous blog entry - the road) i am going through a program called "couch to 5K" - which aims to get a "couch potato" able to run a 5K in 9 weeks. what has been extremely helpful - to me - is that i have an app for my phone that tells me each day how much to run/how much to walk. a lovely lady - sounding much like laura croft, tomb raider - speaks instructions into my ear...and i follow. "begin your first run now. you will run for 3 minutes." "you may walk now. your next run will start in 2 minutes." stuff like that. she's not super encouraging, but her sweet voice & precise instructions keep me moving.
well, last week i completed my 5th week of the "C25K" program. somewhere between week 4 - 5, my runs were increasing to 5 & 8 minutes in length. i know that this is probably nothing to write home about for most, but for me, this was a pretty big deal. however, even as i was accomplishing & reaching these new milestones, i found that i could not call myself a "runner".
then last week i was finishing up the runs for week 5 and i was at our family's river house in north florida. i was a bit unsure about this run as i was starting later in the day, and it was pretty hot - florida hot. but i felt that i needed to accomplish this run as this was a monumental run. i knew that my british app lady was going to require me to run for 20 minutes - without any walking breaks! this was almost unthinkable...previously "impossible" in my own mind. but i put sneakers to the pavement & set out to run. it was difficult at times, but i did it and was pretty thrilled. and then, the voice, coming from my headphones - but sounding in my head..."now slow down to a walk and let yourself cool down. you've just finished 20 minutes of unbroken running, so you can definitely call yourself a runner now!" wait, what did she just say? i am a runner? and how did she know that i was struggling with this title?
so with tears streaming down my cheeks & sweat dripping from every inch of my person, i just praised GOD. HE knew that in this quest, i needed to be confirmed & encouraged. i love that GOD shows up in just the way i need HIM...in this case, in the voice in my head.
