So my marathon was Sunday. Great experience. I need to sit down and journal the experience. For now, I have 10 marathon lessons that I learned…
- Repect the marathon. There is a huge difference between 20 miles and 26.2 miles. The typical marathon training schedule peaks at 20 miles, and that led me to conclude that there is something magical about hitting 20 and you’d reach this stage of auto-pilot for the final 10k. False. Respect the distance. 26.2 is a bear up until the finish line.
- The marathon experience is unparalleled by any other race experience. Now, I can’t at all claim to be a road race expert, but I have run a variety of events. I’ve run muddy offroad races and packed 10ks. But, the marathon experience is unlike anything you’ll experience in a road race…the perks…the medals…the pacers…it’s worth running a marathon (or a half) just for that reason.
- Walking is permitted in marathoning. I’ve always been a bit of a running purist, believing that when it comes to road races, walking is quitting. I’ll admit, I walked during my marathon. I walked a good bit over the final leg of my race…and my time was a respectable 4:14. When it comes to a marathon, it doesn’t matter if you crawl across the finish line, it is an accomplishment and something to be proud of. Now, I’m not getting carried away, I refuse to walk next time.
- You’ll see Jesus around mile 16. At least in the Little Rock marathon. In Boston, it’s probably about three fourths of the way up Heartbreak Hill.
- You need to do everything in your power to stay calm and relaxed the first couple of miles. My 10k split was 48:20. My half-marathon split was about 1:47. That means that I ran 8 minute miles for the first half of my marathon. That was way too fast. The sad thing is that I knew I was running too fast and I didn’t care. It got caught up in the moment…the crowd…the band…the adrenaline. I paid the price when I bonked around mile 19.
- Plan beforehand how you’ll handle food on the course. Everyone tells you to figure out chews and gels and sports drinks, but what do you do with the orange slices and bananas that start appearing at the hydration stops on the back-half of the race? I wasn’t expecting this, and when the cramps came, I found myself wishing I had scarfed down the first banana I saw.
- The mental battle is as much about how much you have left to run as it is how you’re currently feeling. It’s interesting, when I finally lost the mental battle and starting walking, it wasn’t because I absolutely couldn’t run any further. It was because I was afraid of how much I had left. grrr.
- Wear your name. One fun thing about a marathon is that many allow you to personalize your running bib. So my first name was printed right above my race number. Spectators catch on quickly and get a kick out of yelling your name as you run by. That, my friend, will put a smile on your face precisely when you need it.
- Know the course. Participation in the Little Rock Marathon training group enabled me to run a lot of the marathon course during my training. That was way more helpful than I thought it would be. From now on, I will do what I can to have prior experience running a race course beforehand.
- Don’t taper too much. My training got thrown off a bit when a pretty bad coughing fit hit me about a month ago…right in the midst of my peak training. This caused me to miss some key runs. As the race day approached, I was scared to overtrain. I definitely felt the negative effects on race day of not having run a major long run in four weeks. That was a mistake. Here is a great article addressing how to taper well.
My lessons are learned. I’ll be ready for the 2011 Mardi Gras Marathon!
Right now our explore core group (those exploring becoming part of our initial core group for the new church) is reading a workbook called Sent: Living the Missional Nature of the Church, by Ed Stetzer.
Here is a great quote from the second chapter on being an ambassador…
I have often wondered why Jesus would choose such a flawed, messed-up group to represent Him to the world. You would think the opposite would be true. After all, in an earthly political system, a king, president, or ruler carefully chooses an ambassador based on character and loyalty. The person in charge would want to make sure any representative would offer an accurate picture of the ruler, acting always in accordance with the ruler’s wishes…
But perhaps part of why Christ chose the church to represent Him is because we are flawed. As messed-up people, we are uniquely equipped to testify to the mercy, grace, and love of God. As we struggle through the same pains, temptations, and hardships as those around us, we have the ability to remind them there is hope and purpose in life.
Right now, we are really grappling with what is looks like to become Ambassadors of Reconciliation to New Orleans. This is what it’s all about…
It’s finally here.
The Little Rock Marathon is Sunday.
I’m stoked.
I ran Cross Country in high school, in more recent spurts here and there, but honestly haven’t run consistently since my Freshman year of college [1995].
So in January of last year, knowing I was about to launch into church planting and be in Little Rock for 10 months, I decided NOW was the time.
Now is the time to run a marathon.
It’s funny. We have these “bucket lists,” right? We say things like, “man, wouldn’t it be cool to do _________? I need to do that sometime. That would be awesome.”
Mostly we say it to ourselves. It’s like we are scared to even say it out loud because we know that we’ll never do it.
What is stopping us?
26 miles just sounds impossible.
How about 1 mile…tomorrow?
As I reflect back over the past 14 months or so, it’s really hasn’t been as difficult as I thought it would be to get here. It’s sounds so cliche, but it’s really just a matter of running one mile at a time.
The lives we live…is this the way it’s supposed to be?
I read through that ancient story that opens the pages of Genesis. The universe is a blank canvas and God creatively fills it…stars…planets…sun…moon..oceans…plants…animals.
Then he creates us…in his image.
We were given all of that…and this is how we live?
So go run a mile today. It won’t be long before your running marathons.
But don’t stop there.
Oh, I got one more on my list. I’ll say this one out loud.
“Man, wouldn’t it be cool to transform a city? We need to do that sometime. That would be awesome.“
Tomorrow we can start by planting a church.
One of the subjects that our coaches here at Fellowship Associates have drilled into us is the idea of “self-awareness.”
A team cannot operate effectively unless each of it’s members are self-aware. Self-awareness means that you know your strengths and weaknesses and you aren’t insecure about them.
That is easier said than done.
A great tool to help each of us along the journey towards self-awareness is the book Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Pete Scazzero.
Scazzero includes this helpful self-awareness scale
0……………….25……………….50……………….75……………….100
0-25
- Can’t distinguish between fact and feeling
- Emotionally needy and highly reactive to others
- Much of life energy spent in winning the approval of others
- Little energy for goal-directed activities
- Can’t say, “I think…I believe…”
- Little emotional separation from families
- Dependent marital relationships
- Do very poorly in transitions, crises, and life adjustments
- Unable to see where they end and others begin
25-50
- Some ability to distinguish between fact and feeling
- Most of self is a “false self” and reflected from others
- When anxiety is low, they function relatively well
- Quick to imitate others and change themselves to gain acceptance from others
- Often talk one set of principles/beliefs, yet do another
- Self-esteem soars with compliments or is crushed by criticism
- Become anxious (i.e. highly reactive and “freaking out”) when a relationship system falls apart or becomes unbalanced
- Often make poor decisions due to their inability to think clearly under stress
- Seek power, honor, knowledge, and love from others to clothe their false selves
50-75
- Aware of the thinking and feeling functions that work as a team
- Reasonable level of “true self”
- Can follow life goals that are determined from within
- Can state beliefs calmly without putting others down
- Marriage is a functioning partnership where intimacy can be enjoyed without losing the self
- Can allow children to progress through developmental phases into adult autonomy
- Function well–alone or with others
- Able to cope with crises without falling apart
- Stay in relational connection with others without insisting they see the world the same
75-100 (Few people function at this level)
- Is principle oriented and goal directed–secure in who they are, unaffected by criticism or praise
- Is able to leave family of origins and become an inner-directed, separate adult
- Sure of their beliefs but not dogmatic or closed in their thinking
- Can hear and evaluate beliefs of others, discarding old beliefs in favor of new ones
- Can listen without reacting and communicate without antagonizing others
- Can respect others without having to change them
- Aware of dependence on others and responsibility for others
- Free to enjoy life and play
- Able to maintain a non-anxious presence in the midst of stress and pressure
- Able to take responsibility for their own destiny and life.
So…where do you think you fall on this scale?
Remember, the opposite of self-awareness would be self-deception…so it would be easy to read over this list and not be honest with yourself about where you really are…
