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Beauty on the Backroads

Stories of grace for life's unexpected turns

Archives for November 1, 2010

Going the extra mile

November 1, 2010

Week 7, Day 2. Another 2.5 miles today. Different route. No stroller (grandparents, yay!). An unbelieveable, for us, time. 27:38 — 6 minutes faster than our first 2.5 miles and nearly the same time as our first 2 miles. No wonder I thought I was dying. OK, so maybe it wasn’t that bad, but it certainly didn’t come easy. As I was running, I thought about Jesus’ words about going the extra mile. A friend told me the first mile is the hardest, and I find that true sometimes, but these last couple of runs, I’ve found the second mile more difficult. Like, after the first mile, I feel like I’ve already accomplished enough but, wait, I still have another mile to go. Maybe that’s why Jesus said if someone wants you to go one mile, go another mile after that. I fairly often take the easy way when it comes to helping people or serving, so these 2.5 mile runs are challenging me in other areas of life to keep going until the work is finished, not just until I feel like I’ve done enough or until I get tired. I had to talk my feet into continuing to run today. Sometimes I have to talk my soul into caring or my hands into helping.

In other news, we’re officially signed up for the Annual Give Thanks for Lebanon 5K on Nov. 20. Eek! They have our money. No turning back now.

On Thursday we return to the route we ran a week earlier for 2.25 miles, so we’ll see if the time is accurate. Even though it’s not really about the time, it’s fun to see progression.

Filed Under: Our first 5K Tagged With: 5K, couch to 5K, fitness, Give Thanks for Lebanon, going the extra mile, running

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Photo by Rachel Lynn Photography

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Hi. I’m Lisa, and I’m glad you’re here. If we were meeting in real life, I’d offer you something to eat or drink while we sat on the porch letting the conversation wander as it does. That’s a little bit what this space is like. We talk about books and family and travel and food and running, whatever I might encounter in world. I’m looking for the beauty in the midst of it all, even the tough stuff. (You’ll find a lot of that here, too.) Thanks for stopping by. Stay as long as you like.

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