Second marathon

This last weekend I ran my second marathon in Nashville. It was strange how much more nervous for this one I was than my first. However, I knew that the expectations I had for this one were higher since I had done this before. I had a goal time in mind (roughly) and knew that I wanted to be faster and better. I prepped hard for this one and did more speed work than I did for my last marathon.

First and foremost, I have to thank God for my ability to run and my running partner, Melissa. God has shown me lately what a gift is to run. Not in the spiritual gift, I am awesome at singing sort of gift, but in the blessings he bestows on me when I run. Sometimes I experience him in the quietness of short, small runs squeezed in between a busy day. Sometimes he is there encouraging me through those long, difficult runs when I really don't want to go any further. Either way, running has become a metaphor in so many senses throughout the last few months and only lately have I truly come to appreciate it fully.

If I was to focus on my time, the race did not go well. In fact, from that perspective, it went horribly. I felt nauseous from about the second or third mile and it was difficult to want to get any of the nutrition I needed for the rest of the race. I became extremely dehydrated, even though I drank at every water station, and became frustrated when my legs began to tingle. Melissa ended up not running with me because I was not doing well (which was totally fine and the way I preferred it...she still apologized a million times later). However, despite the nausea, extreme dehydration, and heat (it was around 90), I made it. Around the 14th mile, I began to feel comfortable running. God was truly there, because I was not physically doing well. I began to cry on my drive back from Nashville the next day when I realized that I would run 100 more marathons if it meant that I needed that kind of humility to experience God the way I did. It was amazing how much we were able to witness to people on the run. Melissa and I had shirts with our names on the front and Galatians 6:9 on the back. Melissa said this verse during our 23-mile run when I was really struggling to finish. As people ran by us, they asked us about the verse and thanked us. I would venture to guess no less than a dozen people asked me personally about the verse. I realized that if I am truly a vessel of God, then I did my job. My life is not about being the best or running the fastest, but shining like a light for God. If I truly did that on April 25, then I would say that this is my most successful race yet.