Post-Race Reflection

Last weekend, I ran the St. Jude Half-Marathon in Memphis. I've been running pretty consistently since May, and in August, I decided to begin training for the 13.1. It's always easy for me to run over the summer - our schedule is more relaxed and I'm less busy - but in the semester is when I really need to run because it provides a great form of stress relief.

And I did it.

I ran the half-marathon, all 13.1 miles of it, with no walking, in 2 hours and 9 seconds (2:00:09). In case you're wondering, that averages out to running a mile every 9 minutes and 11 seconds.

I mostly enjoyed the experience, but one thing made it harder than I was expecting. There were a lot of people. My Uncle Eddie and I used to run 5Ks together and be amazed at all the people who would put themselves through that. Well, about 8000 people ran the half-marathon!! (That's no typo.) I expected to have a little bit more space while I was running in order to really settle in to my pace, but throughout most of the race, I was right beside other people.

This togetherness really had a mental effect on me because I kept thinking about trying to stay with them rather than focusing on my own pace. This resulted in me running a little too fast at the beginning and then falling a bit behind at the end. (My goal was 2 hours....but I only missed it by 9 seconds.)

Most of us go through life in the same way. We have our eyes so set on what others are doing or expect of us that we fail to find our true selves. This results in disappointment, heartache, dashed dreams, and empty promises. But we're not meant to live like that. God gave Adam a partner not to compete with or be compared with, but to live with in mutual submission and perfect love. Read the story again in Genesis 2, and see if you know what I mean.