Rebel With a Plan!

It's old news by now, but I recently signed up to run my first half-marathon (the Good Life Halfsy).  I'm excited because I rarely sign up for these things.

Now that I'm all signed up and the event is nearing, the chatter and e-mails are increasing as well.  Apparently, it's time to start training.  I knew this was part of it.  I've blogged several times about how foolish it is believe we can go from 0 to Marathon in a couple weeks.

I will be training and getting ready for the event, but when it comes to training, my rebel side starts to kick in.  I don't "do" the plans, I'm not a gym junkie, and I don't spend money on expensive clothing, shoes, watches, special food, equipment, personal trainers, or other such "necessities."  Some of them may be very helpful, but my rebel heart tells me it's mostly for profit and little for performance.  I still seem to do quite well in my climbing, running, and racing endeavors without all the stuff and on my own program.

Yet, the other day as a Halfsy e-mail came in, my interest was piqued by a recommended Halfsy Training Plan.  I figured I'd take a look at it just to see how close my "most excellent" Jason-designed training plan is to the promoted plan.  There were many similarities, but in truth, I picked up some really good insights on how far my runs should be.

Additionally, and this is the kicker, I realized what an event like this has to offer that appeals to us so much:  the "big mission and community" aspect of it.  The first training run was set for yesterday (Sunday the 16th), and it was going to be a big event with vendors, sponsors, and activities.  Additionally, just reading through the plan made me feel like I am part of a big group and that we're all going to be striving for this together.  I printed off the plan and proceeded to run a 9 mile course the next day, as sort of recommended by the plan (I'm a bit ahead).

As I was running that 9-miler and thinking about this whole event I am now part of, I realized what we are often missing in our faith lives:  a larger, more unifying mission and plan for our goals.  Good Life is so effective at what it does that I'm confident many Horizons people chose to go to the opening-day training event (Sunday at 9 a.m.) instead of worship yesterday.  I admire the work these organizations are doing, and I'm glad to learn from them at every step.  The church needs this as well!

So here's to the plan.  I'm now in prayer about how we might be able to create similar plans at Horizons and get on our mission together!

More to come!

Jason <><