A beautiful view from an Alaskan tundra…circa 2016.
Hills and Mountains
Hills and mountains are comforting to my eyes.
I enjoy the background they provide when taking pictures with my Nikon.
They stir wonderment inside of me as I strive to envision the views from standing atop.
Reality
As a triathlete, I’ve become not so loving of hills. Whether pedaling on my bike or slapping my Saucony Hurricanes on the pavement, I dread the thought of hills.
When I signed up for 1/2 Ironman Muncie, I noticed in the course description that there would be “rolling hills” on the run. If you’ve ever done a triathlon, you know that “rolling hills” means periods of long and steep hills.
The Muncie Ironman course has a trade-off because the bike section is described as “flat and fast.”
Training Payoff
I’ve been incorporating hills into my run training to prepare myself for the “rolling hills” of Muncie.
Last week I began to receive the payoff for the ascents I’ve been adding to my run training. On a hilly course, my pace for a ten-mile run was one minute faster than it was a couple of months earlier when running on a flat course.
Kind of like recovery…
Early in my recovery, everything “seemed” so hard.
It was all new to me.
Sometimes it was tedious and painfully exhausting.
And then something “clicked,” and I figured it out and kept it figured out one day at a time.
Kind of like life…
We want to change, but the hill to achieve the change “seems” too steep.
The pain we associate with the climb “seems” too real.
Then we begin putting one foot in front of the other, one day at a time, and something “clicks.”
Questions
What hill(s) is God calling you to climb in your life?
What hill(s) must you climb to grow?
What hill(s) must you climb to help others grow?
Facts
Life is all about the climb.
When you stop climbing, you stop growing; when you stop growing, you stop living.
Keep climbing.
Keep living.
You are running out of time.
1 Peter 5:10, “And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”
P.E.A.C.E.
Jay@EagleLaunch.com
