Running man....sort of

Two years ago my wife suggested, rather strongly, that I needed to begin some sort of exercise program.  I've never been a big fan of exercise.  I've tried several different methods; the exercise bike and treadmill have made wonderful clothes hangers and the gym membership was great, but I discovered that I actually had to go to make it work, who knew.

This time I would try something different, I would try boot camp.  I don't know what I was thinking when I signed up for a twice a week class at 5:00am.  But I have stuck with it.  I can say that I am in better physical shape, but I am still being pushed to the limit of exhaustion, but that is a good thing.  I have also discovered that 2 days per week was not enough exercise.

I give you this back story in order to talk about my new endeavor.  Sometime in late September/early October I received a call from my eldest brother (I have 3 older brothers).  He and brother number two have become RUNNING FANATICS.  They have run in the Chicago Marathon, the Boston Marathon, the Niagara Falls Marathon, plus a 50 k and numerous 5 and 10 k races.  They take their running very seriously.  He called to ask if I would be interested in running in the 2012 Marine Corp Marathon.  Did I mention that I have not been a runner.  He asked because he was a Marine and wants all four of us to run together.  I spent a considerable amount of time praying about this (also trying to convince myself that this was not a crazy idea).  To end the suspense, I said yes.  So I am going to run in the 2012 Marine Corp Marathon.

Wow...it is good to get that off my chest.  I really haven't told a lot of people about this endeavor.  I started training at the end of October 2011, by using a program called "Ease into a 5K".  Since I have never been a runner, I thought this was a good place to start.  I trained for 10 weeks and ran my first 5K on January 1, 2012.  My goal was to start, run (not walk) the entire course, and actually finish.  I am pleased to say that I achieved my goal and I did in my personal best time of 32:54.  Now I have moved on to train for a 10k, then I will train for a 1/2 marathon and then for the whole 26.2 miles.

So what does any of this have to do with our faith journey?  For me, the only way to become a runner was to just start running and to start small.  The only way to grow as a Christian, is to train and to do those practices that help you grow stronger in faith.  The journey of faith is not a sprint, it is a marathon.  And if you are going to run, then you have to train. 

This is what I like about the Methodist Movement, started by John Wesley, because he provided us with an exercise regiment to help strengthen our faith.  This will be the topic of my next entry, but for now, take that first step; say a prayer, read a scripture passage; worship regularly.  Let me know what has worked for you.