Going the distance??

It's no secret to anybody that knows me (or follows this blog) that I like to run. I know I have some of my best time with God during my runs as my IPOD plays Christian music and I find myself praying.

Sometimes, though, those prayers are more like, "God, please help me not to die. Please help me finish!" (I prayed that prayer quite a bit during my 25K run a few weeks ago!)

That prayer of desperation has reminded me lately of the verses in the last part of Isaiah 40:

28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

31 but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

As a youth (I'm still in my 20s, so I'm claiming myself as a youth!), I often find myself tired and weary. Not just when running long distances, but also with parenting my children, loving my husband, and serving my God. The Lord gives me the amount of strength I need for each moment. I will admit that, during my race, I DID grow weary...but I know that God Himself gave me the strength to finish.

On a different aspect of running...I am debating whether or not I want to train for a marathon in the fall. *Technically*, to train for a marathon, you "only" need to be able to run 20 miles (the first 20 miles are physical; the last 6.2 miles are mental). My 25K was 15.5 miles, so it's only another 4.5 miles of training. If I opt to not do a marathon, my goal is to run a half marathon in under 2 hours (I did it un 2:04:47 last time).

Who knows what will happen. Either way, I know I never run alone :-)