A year and a half ago when I signed up for my first half-marathon, I did it in an attempt to challenge my body in new ways. In high school I was super fit, and I wanted to put as much effort into the edification of my body as I was putting into learning and the edification of my mind.
I sit here in a Starbucks in Nashville one day out from finishing my 2nd half marathon. I finished this one 4 minutes faster than my first, which is exciting to me. I don't run these things fast, which is hard to swallow because I like to do everything with excellence, but my pace is the best I can do right now in my life, and I aspire to eventually become must faster, but back to the point I'm trying to make......
In reflecting how I have developed as a person 2 half marathons later, sure, my body is stronger and fitter, but surprisingly my mind is what has developed the most. My journey in long distance running has revealed to me the power that my mind has to fuel my endurance, the ability for the mind to overcome any bodily pain or fatigue and tell your legs to keep moving. I used to have a frequent episodes of psychosomatic symptoms, mainly anxiety would manifest itself through chest tightness and pain, which has not happened since I started running long distances, I honestly think my mind has been conditioned to overcome my body in its most effective way yet.
Additionally, I think I'm more laid back of a person since I began running. There are plenty of confounding factors to this.... time, spiritual maturity etc but I just feel more "chilled out" as a person. If you know me well, you know that I am laid back about 90% of things in life. There are a handful of things that light my fire and I am all but laid back... but most of the time, against my first-born nature I really enjoy to go with the flow because I have learned that life is just much much more enjoyable this way, I think running as made me even more so this way.... again a certain mental endurance to overcome not only physical pain but emotional irrationality.
So there are my thoughts, ironically when making the decision to start running long distances I thought my body would be the main recipient of positive benefits, but I think my mind has won out on this... it has come out the strongest in this new endeavor.
To God be all Glory.
Thanks for reading.
