Embrace the challenge

My legs hate me again.

This morning on my long run, the route went through a neighborhood that included quite a few hills. In fact, it's our special DRP hill course out by the lake. I haven't run too many hills since coming back from my injury. I ran with my buddy Pfiffy, and we were going a pretty decent pace, so by the time I finished, my legs were practically dead. I'm not exaggerating, because that would be silly.

Even though the hills were quite the beating on my body, I'm really glad we ran them this morning. I see a lot of hills up in the area where I live, but, like I said, I've avoided them as much as possible lately. But I know that it's extremely beneficial to incorporate hill training in workouts, and it will definitely help better prepare me for when I run races that also contain slight (or major) inclines.

Plus, I actually love running hills. There is something about the challenge and pursuing it. There is something about striving to get to the top, even when it seems like the hill goes on forever and you will never quite get there. I embrace that.

Follow the right path.

It was actually quite refreshing to run the hill course today, because it was the first time I've ever done so with the sunlight out. When I've run there in the past, it's always been before sunrise, so I constantly had trouble navigating the course. Now, it's marked with white arrows drawn on the ground telling runners which way to turn (because there are A LOT of turns in these neighborhoods), but they are almost impossible to see in the dark, and you have to slow down a little sometimes just to make sure you're going in the right direction. Needless to say, I'm not a fan of that, so it was a relief to run this morning and actually be able to see. (You would think I would have the path memorized for the most part, but, unfortunately, you would be mistaken. I occasionally have trouble with directions.) But, you have to make sure you pay attention to those arrows, even in the light, because if you don't you will end up lost. It happened to me before, and it was somewhat frustrating for my friend Shaheen and I as we tried to find our way back to the original course.

This hill course is a lot like life. If we don't train our bodies and minds the proper way, we are not going to be prepared for things that come our way. If I don't regularly open my Bible, how will I be knowledgeable enough when trying to lead others to Christ and tell them about His Word? If I don't practice what I believe and try to model Christ to others, how will I show love to them when they need it most? If I don't talk to God as much as I can and carry all my praises and hopes to Him, how can I have faith enough to believe in all He has promised?

Conditioning is so important.

Also, God is there to guide our paths, and we need to make sure we are following the right arrows drawn for us and that we are actually able to see them. Sometimes, you might even have to slow down a little to see them. After all, getting lost and trying to find your way is only going to end in frustration and anxiety.

My legs may not be thrilled with me right now, but they will thank me later.

You may not see significance in some of the things you do for Christ or understand why certain things are happening or not happening in your life right now, but you will thank Him later.