Running Out Of Excuses

So for the last week I have been wrestling with a challenge tossed out at me by my buddy John. He was kicking around the idea of running a marathon and asked who wanted to join him. I was one of many that shot back a silly remark laughing at the suggestion and giving every excuse for the reasons that I don’t run, but in the back of my mind I was envious that John would challenge himself and run a billion miles like that.

I have always said that I’m not a runner. Honestly I hate the feeling of running and don’t know how people motivate themselves to run 2 or 3 miles at a time let alone 26.4 miles. And as I contemplate running a marathon that distance just seems insurmountable.

So why would I even give it a second thought? Maybe because John has this magnetic personality that makes you want to follow him (even if it’s off a cliff.) Or maybe it’s because deep inside I want to know what I am made of.

There is a steady theme developing in 2010 for me. So far it’s been a year that has pushed me outside my comfort zone. For example, I look at our financial situation and it seems so bleak. Unless we hit the lottery, killing our debt looks like it will be a very long process that requires planning and discipline to overcome.

As we join an amazing team to plant Missio church, we know it will be a long hall that will take a ton of sacrifice, blood, sweat, and tears to see the vision come to fruition.

Caring for my diabetes is a life long challenge that I have to learn to take seriously daily, and not when I feel sick or after I binge on Lisa’s baking adventures.

The past three months has shown me that if I want to see change in my life then I need to begin setting goals and consistently work to see these goals get accomplished.

One thing after another has challenged me to look at how I operate and function in life. Over the past three months I have organized started to organize my calendar, finances, and daily tasks. It’s still not pretty by any means, but it is coming together slowly.

If you know me at all, I have never been a goal setter. I am horrible at mapping out a plan and sticking with it. My typical action plan is to jump into things head first, flail around for a while until I figure out what I’m supposed to do and then some how get it done. In some ways this crazy method has worked for me, but it’s not ideal and some times people get hurt by all my flailing.

Running a marathon requires more discipline and training then a head first dive. It requires a lot of intentionality, just like the areas I have been challenged with the last three months. I can’t shake the idea of running this race because it feels like this is the lesson God is trying to teach me this year. I need to be slow and steady, I need to be intentional and push for the long haul.

I don’t find the physical demands to be the scariest part of this challenge. It really comes down to my mental toughness. Can I overcome my own thoughts? Do I believe that I can do this? Is my desire to start and finish this process, stronger then the desire to let myself off the hook? How in the world will I do this if I haven’t even ran a mile in the last 4 years?

These questions will be answered this year, because today I begin my quest to run The Portland Marathon!

As I write I’m already struggling with the thought of announcing this to the world. I don’t want to fail and I don’t want to look bad, but I guess that’s part of taking risk and doing something that really is bigger then yourself.

The big day is:

10/10/10

Who’s with me?

Raising Daddy Tip of The Day

Bananas are the exact opposite of prunes!

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