I know. A silly question but over the years I have heard the following comment so many times it makes me cringe. "I'm not a runner." Okay, there are so many variations but it can come from those who truly do not lace up and run at all and that is fine but what makes me cringe is when it comes from someone who has just run.
There seems to be this stigma attached that you have to run at x-pace or for x-long to consider yourself a runner. Some feel they aren't a runner because they don't race. I am not here to criticize anyone because trust me, I was there. I was a runner for many years before I called myself a runner. I don't know when the light bulb switched in my head that yes, I am a runner. On that note, I get equally irked when dear hubby says he is going out for a jog. When I say, nope, you are running he replies, nope, I'm not running today, I'm jogging. In his mind he has a connection between pace and at some point his "run" is fast enough to be called a run. The thing is, he is a fastie so his "jog" is someone else's speed work and they are both runs. Why differentiate the two?
I try not to sweat the small stuff in life and I do know there are more important things going on in the world versus whether something is a jog or a run. I am on the verge of something really big and it is making me nervous, excited, scared, and a whole other host of emotions. Perhaps today's post is my way of distracting myself from the BIG to focus on something else but there is also a desire to lift people up.
If you lace up and head out to put one foot in front of the other at a pace faster for you, you are a runner. I don't even care if you do run/walk breaks, you are a runner. Don't let someone else's pace or distance make you think less of yourself. Running is beautiful in that you just need to compete against yourself (and please be kind to yourself and realize, as you get older your pace may change).
I participate in races but even then, I am competing against myself. I am no Meb and am not running to win the race but I am running to win my race and my prize is different. It isn't the first place ribbon (although it is nice when I place in my age division and I thank God for those moments) but the greater prize is knowing I did my best, I overcame my self doubts, I tackled a new distance or a new event that scared me. I didn't give up. Race medals don't last forever. Trust me, I have many corroding in my room. But the prize of running for a purpose, a cause, God, never corrodes.
Are you a runner?
Daily Gratitude: I am thankful for the healing opportunities in my life.
Daily Bible Verse: Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. ~ 1 Corinthians 9:24
