Pace Yourself

May 1st is the first best day of my life. On this day, 12 years ago, the Lord brought Jeremy (Babe) and I together in marriage.

I am not big on flowers or froo froo things, so when Babe asked me what I would like for a gift, I said "I would like to run the Wichita 1/2 Marathon" ...and so I did.

Because I am into completing and not competing, I had planned on giving it my all and beating...myself. After all, I can be my best competition.

I woke up this morning at 5:30am and already heard the wind blowing. Ugh, Kansas and it's wind! Now, I really had some voices in my head. "Just quit now. How are you going to PR in this? Who is there to support you? Who cares?" and then I had to "shhh it."

I am going out to give it what I have. I am going out to run because I love it. I am going out to ENJOY what God has allowed me to do. I am going out to run and support others striving for the same goal. I am going to pace myself.

It started out great but ended after mile 8 when I began to feel that side stitch. It didn't fully hit but I did have to take some breaks and walk it out.

When I looked down at my watch and noticed the time, I realized I wouldn't PR and I got discouraged. I then tried to pick up the pace but it didn't work. I ended up having to stop again and rest. I was so thankful for water stops and supporters on the side. Wow, what would we do without those volunteers and encouragers?

My best 1/2 marathon was last April with a 1 hour 53 minute finish. Today it was 2 hours and 1 minute. I was fine with that!

After a good stretch from the awesome volunteers from Wellness Group, I took off to head home. After being a whiner when it comes to ice baths, I did what I knew works for me. My Nestles double chocolate milk, hot bath, cooling eye mask, and ending with a hoodie while watching "The Office" reruns. Of course I had to have a certain cuddler on my lap...Anabelle.

Now that is a way to end a great cold run!

While sitting here and thinking about how much running is like life, I came up with a few things.

Marriage is all about pacing yourself.

You have to fight the voices when you face each day with your spouse. You have to take on Gods image and thoughts of you, and them, when you are headed towards the finish line.Getting ahead of yourself only runs you down, so sometimes you have to take a rest...in Him. Allow others (volunteers) to uplift and nuture you in times of discouragement.

Because weather is unpredictable you have to be prepared to face whatever storms come your way.

There may be times when you have to speed it up some, we don't want to get lazy in this commitment. I mean, sometimes you just have to have faith in what God is directing you to do, even if it doesn't make sense. Being TOO comfortable can lead to laziness which can lead to falling behind.

Finally, your marriage is not like everyone elses. It's your own. Some things may work for you that don't work for others...like ice baths vs. hot baths.

It's not a competition, it's not a contest, it's not a matter of who is better...it's doing what God calls you to do and enjoying it!

Allow God to be your Pacer. Only HE knows what pace you need!