Countdown to Cowtown

It's less than 12 hours till we run our 4th annual Cowtown Half Marathon.  This will be my first half marathon this running season (since I took some time off while I did the HCG diet) and Eristeo's third half marathon this season.  Needless to say, I'm a little like a child whose awaiting the next morning when she gets to head out to Disney World. 
I know that feeling of eager anticipation to get up at 4:00 am to go run 13 miles through Cowtown may be foreign and completely incomprehensible to most people, so I thought today we would blog about why we run.  Maybe, just maybe, it will make sense to those who don't run, but I imagine those who are runners will nod their heads in agreement as they read our reasons we run.  Regardless of whether you understand or not, here are a few of the many reasons for our, sometimes insane, addiction to running.

1. We can! - God has given us the health, endurance, and ability to run.  Why then, would we waste that God given ability by sitting around being couch potatoes?  Our bodies are God's temple that He has charged us to do our best with.  To us, running is part of doing the best for His temple.  "He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak...They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary..." Isaiah 40:29-31

2. We like to eat (and occasionally, drink)- It's not only the actual races that burn the calories that allow us to eat, but the many hours of sometimes grueling training to prepare for them that allows us to burn the calories needed to keep off excess weight when we occasionally indulge in the special treat or drink.  Being "recovering fat people", weight control is a constant battle, and those extra calories burned certainly help us out A LOT!

3. The accomplishment - The ease of sitting around on the couch at home is certainly tempting in the evenings after a long, stressful day at work.  But, the feeling you get when you don't give in to that temptation, and you get home, change into running clothes and pound the pavement for a few miles, is a better feeling than any couch potato night would ever feel like.  Knowing that you have gone out and done something for yourself and burned some calories, makes the reward of relaxing the rest of the night with a nice healthy dinner and maybe a glass of wine so awesome!  Of course, besides the almost daily reward of getting in the training runs, the accomplishment of crossing the finish line of a race, whether it be a 5k, 10k, half marathon, or marathon, is beyond description.  Knowing that you have worked diligently in training to accomplish the distance along with thousands of other crazy runners is one of the  most inspiring things in life for us.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." 2 Tim 4:7