Great Aloha Run 2010!!

This race was awesome!! Over 24,000 runners,walkers,joggers...and me! :) The biggest and longest run I have participated in so far and once again, crossing the Finish Line seems to erase from my memory all the exhaustion and pain I was feeling just moments before. Seeing friends and family thru out the race was an added bonus, finishing 8.6 miles in exactly 2hrs and holding hands with my cousins as we crossed the Finish Line is a memory I will forever treasure.
To be a small part of something so big gave me a sense of assurance that I was where I was supposed to be and doing what I was supposed to be doing. Receiving my race shirt at the end that says "Finisher" on the back, reminded me of 2 Timothy 4:7:"I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith."

This verse holds many meanings for me as it has come into my life at various times. Today it was comforting as I want most of all to finish strong in this race of life that we all participate in. Lord, as I show up and dance, let me glorify You!

Today's race was more about doing it with family...encouraging and supporting each other...not about improving my time...not this race, not today. I finished knowing I could have ran harder and finished sooner. The choice I made to walk with my cousins allowed us to make a memory together that benefits us all... for them it encouraged and built their confidence. For me, understanding that I could keep a strong pace on my own while sharing a moment with family that will last a lifetime. It was a decision I made with counting the cost.....our lives and the trials we face were and are allowed to touch us because our Father already counted the cost. That knowledge should give us all the strength to daily, moment by moment, relinquish control once again.

I am happily exhausted! With ibuprofin near my bedside and a heating pad under my lower back, I will fall asleep beside my daughter and thank the Lord for His definition of beautiful.

Gotta Run!