Last December I made the commitment to give running a shot. I downloaded the Couch to 5K app on my phone, asked my good friend, Becca to run with me and off we went. What I wasn't anticipating was how unprepared I really was. Two weeks in, I developed a serious case of knee tendinitis in BOTH knees. If you've ever experienced anything like this, it's painful as hell! The cause: BAD SHOES. I didn't take into account that my cool New Balance kicks that I had worn forever (because I liked the way they looked) may not be the best option for actual running. So, I had to hang up my running shoes for a few weeks, let my body heal, and start over. In January, I went to a great running store in Monroe called Fit Right Active. They put me in a pair of running shoes, got me on a treadmill, and watched me run for 60 seconds. What I learned was that when I run, my feet pronate. Now I could get into the technicality of what that means, but basically it's just how my feet hit the ground when I run. From this observation, they were able to offer me four brands of shoes that would work best for me. I chose Asics and they have yet to let me down. Although I'm still a newbie in the running world, I can now say with pride that I can run one mile without stopping. Now, I look like a geriatric when I'm running, and I want to quit pretty much the whole time, but I can do it. The beginning of May, I participated in my first 5K here in Columbia with my friend, Jamison and finished in under 45 minutes. I wish I could say I've developed this great love of running, but I really haven't. I keep running though because I know it's good for me to be active and because at some point I would like to be able to run an entire 5K, preferably before I turn 36.

As much as I hate to physically run, I've noticed that when it comes to my spiritual and emotional life, I'm an avid runner. When things get hard, I want to run. I don't want to sit in my pain or deal with what's going on around me. It just seems so much easier to run away, to distract myself with something else until it fades away. Of course, this logic doesn't work. We can't run from our problems entirely. We can try to leave them behind for a little while, but they're still waiting for us when we return. God's been working on my heart lately when it comes to running. I'm uncomfortable in my pain. I want it to go away. I want Him to move in a different direction that brings me peace and comfort and essentially give me what I WANT. Unfortunately, what we want isn't always what's best for us. We can never see this when we're in the midst of hard times. We see what's right in front of us, God sees the whole picture. So today, I'm sitting in my pain with a band of amazing people praying me through it. I will be running (or flying) to Austin next weekend to spend some time with my best friend, April, but what I'm hoping is that it will offer me some time to reflect and gain some perspective so that when I return to Columbia, I can face my pain head on and trust that God knows what he's doing.