The Second Half

I ran my second half marathon this morning and lived to tell about it. We ran across Lake Washington on the 520 floating bridge while Mt. Rainier quietly presided over us. I'm not sure that any place beats a clear day in Seattle for beauty.

Five years ago, I never would have imagined that I would be physically capable of covering 13.1 miles on foot.  It was more of a psychological barrier than anything. Now, I run close to 13 once a week.  I never fathomed that one could enjoy running, that would do it voluntarily without being chased. I've come a long way, baby.

I am exceedingly grateful for the legs God has given me, the running friends he has supplied me with,  the sheer joy that comes when  you see the finish line, and the endless spiritual parallels I find between running and the journey Jesus has me on.

That said, I do have a teensy bit of complaining to do about the race.

1) It was hotter than hell (literally, I truly believe hell is not as hot as Seattle was today from 7-9 am.)

2) There were hills. Lots and lots of hills.

Because of 1 and 2, my time was slower than I wanted it to be. I'd be disappointed, but I'm still elated that I actually finished. Along the route, I contemplated faking an injury so the police officers and paramedics would drive me to the finish line. I also contemplated actually injuring myself to make my story more convincing. I imagined tripping, passing out, doing a flying leap in order to tear a hamstring or quad....anything to just be done. 

It was a hard race. 

But, I finished. And, here I am blogging about it. 

I'm left wondering what other psychological "ceilings" I place on my life. So often we tell ourselves, "I can't," "I could never," or "Not in a million years." 

What ceilings are you gonna bust through this summer?