105 minutes

That's how long it took me to run the half marathon. A little slower than I had hoped, but considering my rather pathetic training schedule the month leading up to the race, it wasn't bad at all. The feeling at the finish was great. Knowing that I actually finished it despite not feeling the best throughout the race was very satisfying. I know I definitely gave it everything I have. I tried to pick up the pace the final two miles, but realized quickly that it wasn't going to happen... I'm looking forward to not running much this week, but at the same time I'm motivated to sign up for another race and prepare better for it. So I'm hoping to do another race by late summer or early fall.

One thing I like about races is that you can't cheat the course. I'm mean I guess you could, but it would have to be a pretty elaborate scheme... I like that once they blow the gun and you take off, you've got to get to the finish line somehow. Either you're in good shape and you're able to run hard and finish well, or else you have to slow down and walk. And that's ok too. The point is that somehow, someway you have to get to the end. On a normal run in preparation for a race it's easy to cheat and not run for as long as you had planned to. Any number of excuses will do. But on the day of the race you have to find a way to get there... And so whether it's 1 hour or 3 hours, you finish the task.

Lots of days I need that mindset that says: "Here's the road in front of you. You know where you need to go. You can't turn around. Make it happen." Too often I let myself off the hook and justify not carrying out plans that I have, or following through with ideas. But that's the way life works a lot of times I guess. There's not always someone looking over my shoulder reminding me (or forcing me) to do what I need to do. So on some level at least, it's up to me to make decisions that move me in the direction of where I think Christ is leading. I wish making excuses wasn't so easy...