I Keep Learning

I thought I was hungry, so I took a bowl of beans and rice out of the fridge to heat up.  As I walked to the microwave I took a bite of ham that was sitting on top of the rice.  I immediately knew that what I was feeling was not physical hunger so I put the bowl back in the fridge and am eating nothing. 

I don’t need it.  I thought I did in order to keep working this evening and to fuel my run in the morning, but I guess I don’t.  God is still teaching me how to deny myself. 

I think my lack of progress in increasing my running time is directly related to my weight loss being at a standstill.  If I could lose another good amount of weight, I might get faster.  Over the last couple weeks I noticed that the Olympic runners were almost all super thin.  Don’t get the wrong idea!  I’m not going to starve myself or take any supplements nor am I saying anyone should do that to get a certain look.  It’s just an observation I had.  I hope their leanness is a result of good nutrition and training.  I’m not training for the Olympics.  Maybe realizing that bite of ham was not what I needed is God telling me to trust Him with fueling my body.  Maybe I don’t need to eat as much as I think I do.  Maybe I’ll eat a little bit after I wake up and before I run in the morning.  Maybe not.  We’ll see.  I just know I don’t need anything tonight, and I realized it before I ate the entire bowl of beans and rice. 

I am a runner. I am a distance runner. I endure.

I watched the Olympic men's marathon Sunday morning. Even though they were running about the same pace as the sprinters, they kept it up for more than two hours, not just for a few seconds or a few minutes. And their feet definitely didn't seem to move as fast or as high as the sprinters. I can't figure that out.

Anyway, even though I liked watching the shorter races, I absolutely identified with the marathoners this morning. I don't know if I'll ever run one myself, but it's certainly a possibility. I'll be 43 next month and I'm obese, but I'm running and I enjoy it. That's the important thing. I'm slowly increasing the distance I run and improving my pace at the same time I increase the distance. I am a runner. I am a distance runner. I endure.