CLIMBING THE MOUNTAIN

When I became a running coach four years ago, I learned a valuable tool for teaching runners who were just getting started to train for their first race. It goes by different names, but in most coaching circles, it goes by the name Couch to 5k. The idea is that you take someone who is at a very low activity level, and gradually build them up until they are, in theory, able to complete the entire distance, or as much of it as possible, while running or jogging.

As a coach, I've spent a lot of time coaching this method to others, but very little time using it myself. My running goals have always been to run fast, competitive times and push myself as hard and as fast as I can. 

Cue the unexpected twists in the Lord's plan for our lives.

In the process of trying to diagnose the source of chest and heart problems, my doctors have, for the most part, nixed my running for the last four months. Two weeks ago, they performed a heart catheterization which resulted in very minimal activity over the span of the last three weeks or so. 

To say the least, the process has left me in a place I am not accustomed to as a distance runner - essentially back at square one. My doctors have told me I should be able to run over the long-term, but that I have to ease my way back into it, so as to not strain the heart too much - keep going but don't overdo it.

Enter the "Practice What You Preach" message.

Staci and I have registered to participate in a 7k race on September 1, ten weeks from now, with my twin sister in Denver. My goal is simply to be able to complete the whole race running without a jog.

Which means I now, starting from square one, find myself training with the same couch to 5k method I have taught so many times in the past.

And in the past, this might have bothered me. 

But this is where the mystery of the Lord's plan is so amazing. The last four months have given me a vastly different perspective on what is important, and what is not. I have re-learned the value of treasuring each day - even each moment - making the most of each "today" and not spend so much time worrying about tomorrow in the process.

A crucial part of this, at least for me, has been learning how to appreciate, and to celebrate the small daily victories, and the little bits of daily progress that might not seem like much to others, but which feel like climbing an insurmountable mountain to a desperate and longing heart. A running friend in Tennessee who has overcome these long odds time and again has been an integral part in God teaching me this lesson.

When you've faced a long period of trail and testing, and you stand at the base of the mountain looking up as what seems like overwhelming odds, the journey to the top of it never happens quickly. Instead, it's one step at a time, straining, scratching, and clawing, celebrating the plateaus and never getting too discouraged when the foot slips and you slide a little bit back down.

The journey back up the mountain is always fraught with adversity. There will be pain, there will be obstacles, there will be boulders in the way. But it is vital to remember, you are not alone. Walking right alongside you is One who has climbed the mountain, and done it carrying a cross. And what He suffered and overcame at the top of that mountain assures us of victory, no matter struggles our own journey might present us along the way. His name is Jesus, and He is the reason for our hope when we face the "unconquerable" roads.

And this is where I start over today.

One step at a time, cherishing the victories no matter how small.

Treasuring each step wherever that step may lead me.

And making each day count - making my story count - for something far greater than myself, living each day to shine the spotlight on my Savior and my Savior alone.

Let the journey back begin.