The best bill I've ever paid

I always like to weigh my options and sometimes this is more just to justify what I really want to do than it is to actually help make a decision. When I viewed running from a financial standpoint, I figured it was just about one of the most fiscally reasonable activities a person could do. I mean, after all, if I wanted to try swimming, I would have to learn how and probably join the Y or if I wanted to bicycle, I'd need a new bike and helmet. With running, I calculated the cost of shoes and I'd be good to go! Right? Well, almost!

What I really didn't expect to happen was our grocery bill was going to get the brunt of it! I have became an eating machine not unlike throwing wood into a chipper. In order for me to have the fuel I need to run 12, 13, 14, miles or more a week, plus cross train, I have to eat and I don't mean junk either. I crave real food!! The kind of food God intended for us to eat, not Tuna Helper. Plus, add Gatorade, nutrition bars, and gels to the list and you will spend more.

I also discovered that running shoes don't last for a year when you actually run in them. My trusty "Haines Her Way" socks couldn't cut the mustard either and were dropping off like flies. And this is for the ladies, I don't care if you look like a ten year old boy or Dolly Parton, the sports bra is your friend, but she's not cheap and will not live to see a birthday. The first time I slapped on a regular cotton t-shirt and returned with it ten pounds heavier from sweat, how quickly I realized the "tech" shirt is worth it's ever so light weight in gold.

So many things in life come with a price and possibly a sacrifice. I've came to look at my exercise expenses as an investment. I'm investing in the me I want to be. The me I've wanted to be all along and didn't realize it. I know way too many people who take far better care of their homes and cars than they do their bodies. I'm all for cleaning the gutters and waxing the ride, but I can trade my car or sell my house. However, I'm pretty much stuck with this body. When I spent ten weeks watching what lymphoma was doing to my darling hound, seeing day in and day out how awful this disease is and realizing how many people are facing that everyday, something happened to me. I started loving this ol' body God gave me, broken veins, stretch marks, scars and all. I only have the one and I asked God to forgive me for all the years I treated it like an afterthought and not taking care of it the way it deserved to be taken care of.

When I head out the door in my running shoes I couldn't care less that they were $100 or that my running socks were $10 and so on. Sadly, I've wasted far more money than that on nonsense. But, taking care of myself and treating what God gave me with respect is certainly not nonsense, so the pocketbook will get over it. Heading up the road, with one foot in front of the other, I enjoy what God has given me and that little bit of cash never crosses my mind.  

Thanksgiving and dirty running shoes

I almost don't recognize myself from the beginning of spring. Running has done a lot for me physically, I've gotten smaller and stronger, but probably the most marked improvement is mental. I used to hate the song that talked about "seeing clearly now, the rain has gone," I mean, who wants to see your obstacles anyway? But, that's exactly what running does for your mind. The only difference is, you feel like the obstacles, although in plain view, aren't that big of a deal anymore. Somehow, the more your body sweats, the less your mind does.

Over the summer as I trained with my Team in Training family, I learned every crumbly sidewalk, every hill that made my legs scream, and every water stop on our normal paths. I learned that God will bless your feet, ankles, knees, hips and He'll hold them all together on your nearly 40 year old body if you just ask. I learned that when you're grieving, running is a very productive way to get those feelings out and the tears mix right in with the sweat, so no one really notices. I learned there are too many things that go on everyday that we should be thankful for instead of taking for granted.

I heard Joel Osteen say that God sends us all kind of blessings, all kinds of opportunity in our lifetimes. In doing so, He often sends what we never expected and if we don't stay open and pay attention, we could miss out on something big He's trying to do in our lives. I never expected one of my biggest blessings so far, to be a little greyhound from Birmingham. Because of her, and I hate to say this, but also because of the cancer that took her, I realized a gift I didn't even know I had. She wasn't alone in bringing out the best in me. I have another blessing, her brother, asleep right now, on his featherbed, right beside a dirty pair of running shoes.