Insert Running Cliché Here

There have been a few key moments in my life when I have made a conscious decision to run.  I ran in college to get in shape.  I ran the year before our first pregnancy because I needed to focus on something other than babies. 

Now I'm running for several reasons.  I run to have quiet time that is just mine.  I run because I have an awesome ponch leftover from two amazing babies.  I run because I need to pray and hear from God.  I run to distract myself from waiting for child number 3 to come home.

Running is part pain and part wonder.  I am continually amazed that my body can actually carry me at a good pace for 3 miles.  One day, about 6 years ago I ran 20 miles.  It took me 4 hours to run that far, but I did it.  We have amazing bodies!  Today, when I am not in my physical prime I can haul myself 3 miles down the road and I'm thrilled about that.  Maybe one day I'll be able to actually finish that marathon I trained for in 2007 (darn sciatica ruined it that year), but for now I am happy to do my 3 miles.

While I run I spend a lot of time in prayer.  The past week I have NEEDED this.  I have been praying for two young boys that have cancer.  Last Thursdays, one of those boys, my friend Xander went to be with Jesus.  It has been an incredibly hard thing to pray about...asking for healing, and ultimately seeing it in his going to Heaven; now I pray for his family to learn life without him.  I pray for marriages in trouble, for my boys to be Godly men, for our baby to come home soon.  So much to lift up while I pound the pavement. 

On August 18 I got to drive to Wenatchee, WA to do a colour run with some of my family.  I was the only brown haired person in the family there (those Bakers are all so blonde!!), but I gladly represented! 

We had such a good time.  Had I known it was so kid friendly, I probably would have brought the boys!

The final colour throw, at the end of the 5k.

Looking a little Lebron-esque!

Doesn't that look fun?!?

I would definitely do this kind of run again!  It was so fun and really seemed to fly by as I was anticipating the next colour station.  Most of the coloured cornstarch came off, save for the areas where it got wet--I had blue armpits for a couple of days!  Believe it or not, my shirt came completely clean!

Though I'm not able to run in races often, I'll keep running through the winter (thank goodness we have nice neighbours with a treadmill).  I'll keep running to pray.  I'll keep running until my baby comes home.  Maybe I'll keep running until my ponch is gone, but I'm not sure it will ever go away (boo)!  For now I'll just treat life like a marathon, not a sprint--and keep on running. 

 

Update:  I was reading the September issue of Real Simple Magazine (love that magazine!) and read an article titled, "5 Ways to Cope with Uncertainty".  One of the experts who gave advice is Susan Ogden, a director at an adoption agency in the US.  She wrote,

 

"No one likes to wait.  And waiting for a momentous life change is more challenging still.  I work with prospective parents waiting to adopt, and while they are in limbo, I tell them to live their lives as fully as possible.  During a rocky and uncertain time, people need to have something concrete to look forward to: Take that long-awaited backpacking trip.  Go to a spa or a sports match with your friends.  Instead of fretting about what may be ahead, do something that makes you happy and is just for you.  People don't want to look back, say, 15 years later and remember how they sat around worrying."

 

See?  So, I run...