1000 Mile Mark Reached On Labor Day

I just passed the 1000 mile mark with my running. It felt great to cross an imaginary line on Labor Day, alongside a set of railroad tracks on a back road in Shoals Indiana. It happened at around 8:45 am, under blues skies, a gentle breeze and 70 degrees. I do not write this to boast but rather to celebrate a gift God gave me this past year- an intense desire to run.

I call it a gift because it's the only reason I could accomplish what seemed so far fetched 11 months ago. It kept calling me out of bed on cold winter mornings. It lifted me over hills through hot muggy days. It motivated me to run when I felt aches and pains. It nudged me to toe up at the starting line of 5,7 and 10 k races. It prepared me to reach new personal bests from time to time.

Running has been a source of inner healing and renewal during difficult times. Many decisions and creative thoughts have come during those daily runs. I have learned to appreciate God's creative work with each season. I've learned to love the rain, taste a refreshing snowflake and welcome the shade spot along the path.

I now respect those I once thought crazy because I'd see them plodding in familiar places with such regularity. I have found new friends because I was willing to lace up a pair of running shoes and head for a race. I have discovered more can be accomplished than I imagined possible. I have learned to better with disappointments on and off the road, as they are inevitable at times.

Today I felt the joy of a long anticipated reward. No one was around at the moment I past the 1/2 mile utility pole on Ironton Road so as I crossed that point, I imagined a tape was stretched out, as I broke though. As I raised my hands in triumph, I felt release from my shoulders, realizing that entered a new realm in my running world.

This blog will probably mean very little to anyone who sees this post but it's my way of celebrating a personal victory that took slightly less than 11 months to reach. Hopefully it will give you insight into why love running.

I am thankful for the finest encouragement of my wife Kelly and to all my friends who believed I could do this and more. Most of all I thank God for the gift, not to be the fastest but to have this great desire to run.

I have set a goal for the coming 12 months- from October 2007-08- I aim to run 1500 miles and my first ever marathon. In the meantime, I am thinking about my first mini-marathon which will take place this Saturday in Bloomington Indiana.