#5kMay2019 Day 11 (BLOG)

Sometimes the hardest step is the first one out the door. That was certainly my story today. After yesterday’s epic 18 miles of mini-loops, my legs were pretty sore this morning. If not for the accountability of this “5k Every Day in the Month of May” Challenge, I probably would have just skipped the run today.

Thankfully, my sweet daughter, Piper, was willing to run with me. That made my typical Triangle Route more exciting and enjoyable than normal.

She was awesome! We ran the full 5k in 29 minutes and 40 seconds, which was an average pace of 9:32 per mile. It was also a PR for Piper! (Last year we ran a 5k together in 30 minutes and 5 seconds, so she SMASHED her previous personal record!)

I tried to be super sensitive to her by letting her set the pace. I kept asking, “Are we going too fast for you?” or “Do you need to slow down?”

She said she was fine, so I believed her.

She seemed excited to finish with a PR! Good for her! I was just excited to finish the 5k!

Actually, my legs were tired for the first half mile, but I felt fine after that. I don’t think I could have run my own PR today, but I think I could have easily held an 8 minute pace. We’ll find out tomorrow… maybe. Piper already asked if she could run with me again tomorrow. I guess I didn’t push her too hard, after all.

Speaking of pushing, I am always amazed by the faith and the fortitude of the woman who pushed her way through the crowd to get to Jesus in Mark 5.

…a great crowd followed [Jesus] and thronged about him. And there was a woman who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and who had suffered much under many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was no better but rather grew worse. She had heard the reports about Jesus and came up behind him in the crowd and touched his garment. For she said, “If I touch even his garments, I will be made well.” And immediately the flow of blood dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of her disease.

(Mark 5:24–29, ESV)

It is one thing to be able to push through the discomfort of sore, tired legs, and accomplish our goal of running at least a 5k every day in the month of May 2019. I think that level of fortitude is certainly of value!

It is a completely different thing, and of way MORE value to be willing to push through whatever it takes to get to Jesus! The good news for us, of course, is that Jesus has made Himself completely available to us at any moment of any day! He is right here with us, at every moment, waiting for us to reach out to Him.