It was so cool.
My sister asked me towards the end of 07 if I wanted to do it this year and I commited because I wanted to use it as an excuse to get into shape. Jacksonville's Gate River Run is the biggest 15K run in the country as over 10,000 people run in it each year. People come from all over the country and some even from other countries (mostly Ethiopians).
I started running January 1st.
At first I couldn't run a whole half of a mile. I grew up with asthma and even after God healed me, I never tried running long distances.
I would run part and walk part.
But through consistency and adding more distance each time I started running further and further distances. By the end of two months I ran 6 miles straight.
Saturday morning (03/08/08) we met at the Jaguar's Stadium at 7:30. It was cool out and very breezy. We crammed into the crowd to get ready for the starting gun shot.
When it went off the theme from that old movie where the guy runs came on.
[dun dun dun dun duuuuun dun, dun dun dun dun DUN...) ah, I forget!
Anywho, there was SO many people that we didn't get to the STARTING line until over 3 minutes into the race. It was awesome! Downtown Jacksonville was shut down, except for runners flooding the streets. I really wish I could've had a camera strapped to my head cause you had to be there to get how cool it was.
There were bands ever so often on the side of the road playing to pump you up.
The adrenaline from running with thousands of people was really helping. I had ran a straight 3 or 4 miles already crossing from downtown, over the Main Street Bridge (which was cool cause under your feet, you could see straight to the water!) and into San Marco and I thought "usually in my runs, I start getting tired by now". But I wasn't tired AT ALL at that point. (at that point)
As we went through San Marco there were people out in their yards sitting drinking coffee and cheering us on. We went down this street that was right between a line of houses and the river. YOU HAD TO BE THERE. The tied was up all the way and the wind was blowing so hard that the waves would crash against the the wall and mist all over us. I'm sure that was a high point for all the runners.
There was also water at about every mile point. Wendy's got a lot of publicity that day. (i high fived a Wendy's Frosty costume guy as we made our way out of San Marco) When we grabbed water it was REALLY hard to drink it without spilling it on the iPod. But I didn't want to stop to drink it because I wanted to be able to know that I jogged the whole way. Even when Mickey's shoes came untied I would jog in place until he got them tied. After sipping the water, we got to just throw our cups in the street. Except one time, I sipped too long and I realized I was in a part of a neighborhood where there were no cups in the street so I just hung onto it for a while.
Mickey and I joked later about how since we're runners now, we'll just drink a shake or something and just hurl it into the street.
I started getting tired after the 10K mark. I was wondering, "ok, where is the Hart Bridge!" Because this is the finale of the run and it's the hardest part. If I could just get to that bridge, I could put on the Killer's song "Sweet Talk" and kick it into Rocky mode. But when we turned the corner, we kept on going into the opposite direction of where the river was. Oh snap, I was getting a little concerned, "how long until the bridge", I asked a guy jogging up next to me. He gave an exaggerated "i dunno", as he jogged past me so care free. I started concentrating on my breathing technique (in slow through the nose, out slow through the mouth). I looked back up and the guy's jogging backwards talking to someone with a smile on his face.
Bless God.
Finally.... THE HART BRIDGE (said to be 2 miles uphill, though I haven't measured).
I start heading towards the start of the bridge and people are on the side of the road cheering us on. I can do it. I was saving this energy gel in my pocket for somewhere on the Hart Bridge. It would be my last jolt to get me to the finsh line.
It seemed like the top of the bridge got further and further away as I jogged up it. The wind was blowing SO hard. Ask ANYONE who did this year's River Run and I'm sure they'll have a story to tell you about going over this bridge. As I picked up my feet in stride, my legs would blow to the side in the wind. I heard of some who got blown into people next to them. I don't know of anyone who fell though.
This girl in front of me's hat blew off. I tried to grab it while I was moving, but I missed. As I pulled myself up, my back hurt. "oh no, I thought", but the pain went away real quick. I finally reached the top. I took out my gel and started slirping it down. It was disgusting. It tasted like orange toothpaste, but it got the job done. I think it was all mentally though, but I did feel energized as I made my way towards the finish line.
I ran into the stadium and through to the finish line. I couldn't believe I was about to do it. As I made my last few steps to the finish line, I threw one fist into the air.
I had done it. I ran 9.4.... wait, that doesn't sound right.
I ran n i n e point f o u r miles without stopping or walking. Wow.
It feels good. I'm currently looking for my next run, so I can keep this momentum going, but I do want to encourage you.
You can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who strengthens us.
I know plenty have reached that goal and further without leaning on God or giving Him the glory, but I can honestly say that for me personally, it was the self discipline and strength of mind that I've developed since becoming Born Again that got me to complete this goal.
Be encouraged, and since you can do ALL things through Christ Jesus who strengthens you....
why don't you go do something you thought you never could do before.
-Daniel
www.youtube.com/onewordtv
p.s. who wants to start running with me?
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