Day 11...

Can I get a high-five??

Today was a tough 10-mile tempo run on the treadmill, and it was awesome! Being Thursday and already living a week's worth of 5:00 wake-up calls, I was predictably a little sluggish getting started, but that's what warm-ups are for, right?

We got right after it today. I think I worked things up to a sub-7 for the last two miles, which was awesome. I ended up with a time of 1:12:31, which equalled out to a 7:15 average. Rock on!! :)

It was funny. I usually do this. I will play games with myself mentally while I'm doing treadmill runs, and I'll tempt myself to make it easier. "It's just the second week of training, you don't have to push it that hard." "You've already done three inclined intervals, you don't have to do more than that." "This pace is good enough. Just put it in cruise control and finish it out."

It's so funny the little temptations that come in while I'm on there. And the buttons are right there. So easy to knock it down a notch.

But that's not why I'm on there. And if I'm going to run a 10-mile tempo run, I'm going to give it my best. Not because I have anything to prove, but because I am doing this for a God who has given me the strength to be able to do it. There's no WAY I'm going to waste the endurance and speed He's given me.

So, I finish doing all 8 planned inclines. I push the tempo up as the miles go up, just like I'd planned. And you know what? I didn't die. haha! It wasn't even miserable. It was fun! :) And when I stepped off, I rested in knowing that I didn't cut any corners. THAT is a good feeling.

I don't know about you, but I have a real tough time mentally when I cut corners in any area of life. I know it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, it can REALLY help me in areas of excellence and integrity. On the other hand, it really challenges me regarding grace. Failing is SO hard for me, and it's something I'm trying to learn with the Lord. How to fail in a manner that receives His love and grace best. Because it's something I'm going to have to continue to deal with for life. Everyone messes up every day. We have to learn how to handle it in a manner that allows us to receive the forgiveness offered to us, learn from it, and move on.

Now, where I don't want to learn to fail is with willful slacking. That's the key I was working on this morning. When it's just laziness. There's no reason for learning how to fail well there. That's just disrespect to a generous God.

Thankfully, I don't have to deal with failure from a cheated effort today because, in His strength, I powered through for an awesome run. :) Thank You, Lord!! :) I pray that we all can power through areas of temptation today when we're thinking of cutting corners. DON'T do it! Think about how you'll feel afterward and consider how awesome it will be once you're on the other side of it. :)

Have a great Thursday, friends!
-Jill