I'M ADDICTED!!

I had three reasons NOT to participate in the Los Angeles Marathon this year. One, the organizers moved it to May 25th! How inconsiderate! The weather will be much warmer than in March when the event is usually held, which can be very hazardous to the participants. Two, the tendonitis in my left foot will not allow me to run. I would have to power walk the entire event. I really miss running. Though I have not run the entire 26.2 miles yet, each time I’ve completed the event I’ve run for a longer distance and I was looking forward to running even more miles before starting to walk, this time around. Though I am beginning to enjoy power walking and its benefits, would I have the same thrilling experience if I walk the entire route, I wondered? Three, I HATED the route last year! It was awful!! We could see the finishing point then the route would take us South!!! It was so discouraging mentally! And to my knowledge I don’t think they are going to change the route this year. All good reasons, right? NOT!! I’m addicted! I don’t even know why I THOUGHT I would not participate! I’m addicted! You know how addictions are, right? You can’t always explain them. You don’t always understand them. You just do them. For me, from the marathon it’s the camaraderie…..!....the adrenalin!..... the crowds cheering you on..!... Striving for a personal best!...AND OF COURSE, THE MEDAL!!!!!! Yep! I’m addicted! By God’s grace I’ll once again be one of 20,000! My adrenalin is starting to pump at just the thought of it!! So what are some of your addictions? Certainly, when we hear the word ‘addiction’ we don’t think of anything positive or fairly harmless like the addiction I just described. Often an addiction is something that can cause us harm and that we need to be rid of. As you move forward in your health you may have discovered an addiction that you want out of your life. For example, another addiction of mine is night time snacking. Even though I now snack on healthy foods, it’s still an addiction that I’d like to be rid of. I don’t want to give it up all together but I need help in this area. Let’s join forces. Let’s pray for each other that we will have the strength and desire to stop our unhealthy addictions. Remember, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. (Phil 4:13)

P.S Don’t think I have decided to walk the Marathon without any effort up until now or a plan to train from here out. NOT! Since I haven’t been able to run, I’ve been walking about 15-20 miles per week. And in the last couple of months, since I knew I was contemplating doing the Marathon, I walked to my Weight Watchers meeting several times which is just shy of 10 miles total, to see how my feet would feel after such a walk. So! Now the real training begins! I’ve got a good 7 weeks. So I will add additional miles during the week and 10-12 miles at one time on Saturdays until the event. If God be for me, who can be against me! (from Romans 8:31)

Never Alone

The words of the chorus of a beautiful hymn called ‘Never Alone’ are, “No, never alone, no never alone. He promised never to leave me, never leave me alone.” Believe it or not, it has been my experience that even at our work-out venues not only will the Lord be with us, but he’ll send someone to be there with us to remind us that we are not alone; we are in this together; I’m getting fit with you; you can do this! When I power walk in the mornings I usually look like ‘who shot John and why’. I usually have on a big bright yellowish, orangish jacket (my Overcomers jacket), an off white winter hat like a skull-cap, green winter gloves, wearing my glasses (I don’t sleep in my contact lenses.), swinging a small golf club as my rod and staff to comfort me, stepping fast and strong as if I am in a parade with my baton like I did when I was a child. It is an interesting sight to say the least. But just the other day I had the nerve to see a woman who was going in the opposite direction, say to me, ‘You go to West Angeles, don’t you?’ IT WAS 5:15AM! A few days later a group of runners ran past me and as we said ‘Good morning’ to each other, I looked at one of the women and she was a parent from my son’s school! IT WAS 5:15AM! And, just a few weeks ago a co-worker came to me asking for some exercise tips. She said she had gotten into a slump and she knew I would be able to help her. I gave her some suggestions and she came back to me the following week excited because she said early morning work outs are working out great just as I suggested. She said she started going to the gym at 4am (4 am was her choice, not mine) and to her surprise she was not the only one there! When I first started running at the track (Boy, I miss running!!), my husband used to be concerned because I was going so early, but I quickly found out that it was a group of the same people at the track there at the same time every day and they were not just ‘there’ they were there for each other. Eventually, you start acknowledging each other, and noticing when one misses a day, and encouraging each other. A great camaraderie can be experienced when people gather together to be fit. So, don’t be fooled. Don’t be deceived. Don’t convince yourself that you will be the only one somewhere. Go on! Get out there! Remember, He promised that you would never be alone.