Change of Direction

I like races with an out and back course. From the starting line, you run a route out up to the half-way mark, you turn around then run back the same route. In the very scenic Half Moon Bay Marathon by the Pacific Coast in California, the half-way turning point was marked by an ordinary orange cone. But that orange cone was one of the most beautiful and welcoming sight of the course. Half-way done and I'm on my way back home.

Most of my training runs are also out and back. From my house, I run out, turn around at my turning point, then back the same route. My routes have quite a few turns, but to me, the most exhilarating spot is when I reach that turning point to change direction back home.

A change of direction - isn't it something that we all want and need to do?

Today is Ash Wednesday and it marks the start of the Lenten Season.  For Christians all over the world, this is the time for retreat and repentance.  It's a time for a change of heart - a change of direction.

In observance of Lent, I will offer all my runs in prayer for all your special intentions. I will do a prayer run every day for the next 40 days until Holy Week through Easter Sunday. This is my own way of giving up something during Lent - to give up doing it myself, doing it my way; but instead letting God lead the way.

Like seeing that orange cone in the marathon, I welcome a change of direction in my life today.

Run, Pray, Love

Running and remembering my wife on Valentine's Day. She passed away 11 months ago after 11 years of fighting breast cancer. She was also a runner. She is the inspiration for Praying Runner. 

One day a few months before she died, she was looking for me when I came back from a run. I immediately went to her bedside. She smiled when she saw me and asked where I've been. I replied that I ran as I prayed for her. Then she said, the next time you run, "Pray for other people as well."

I always think about her every time I run. Especially in my races, I bring with me a pink rose in her memory. I also bring with me other people's prayer intentions to lift up to God in prayer as I run. This is my ministry, in her honor and memory, to run, pray, and love.

You can send me your prayer requests and intentions through this website or email me at prayingrunner@gmail.com. Also, I am running my next marathon on March 25th in Oakland, CA, in prayer, in honor of breast cancer survivors and also in memory of those who fought hard. I will be bringing with me 26 pink roses - one for each mile of the marathon - and one of them I will dedicate to a loved one of yours. You can send me her name (first name only or initials are okay; a picture if you want) and a bit of her story.

God speed!

"I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith."
(2 Timothy 4:7)

How It Feels

All runners experience one of those days. You know, when one routine run seems monumentally hard to complete. The reasons for the difficulty are varied, but sometimes, it's simply just one of those days.

I think my last two runs were one of those days. But it could be also because I was battling a bad cold. On t2 back to back days, I cut short my 10-mile runs to 3 miles - taking breaks in between, sweating hard after the first mile, and exhausted half-way through, unable to find a second wind, and feeling really weak. I really couldn't run through the tiredness which on good days I could mentally trick my body. But the last two days, my mind actually got the better of me to just stop or else.

Was it one of those days? Perhaps. Was I feeling sick? Yes. But the experience made me realize that this is how it feels - what my late wife felt when she was battling metastatic breast cancer. She would do her best to do walking workouts with me while praying the rosary. But every so often, she would complain of tiredness up to a point that she couldn't go on and would request to turn around and go back home. I still vividly remember the last time she went on the treadmill. She walked slow for about 10 minutes then she said she couldn't go any longer.

I bear her pain and the countless of people who are sick and suffering. I pray to be healthy and give thanks for my ability to run. May my runs be a humble offering of prayer that the sick may find consolation, peace, and healing in this time of suffering. To my wife, I love you and thank you for your courage to fight.

Whatever It Takes

You can do it!

One more mile to go!

Dig, dig, dig!

You hear all kinds of cheer and motivation from the crowd to help you get to the finish line with all that you've got.  But sometimes, because of exhaustion, your wit's end gets the better of you; and you think that all these people lining the finish line are being sarcastic. And you start to think - oh yah, why don't you try to run in my shoes!

Oh yes, I've felt the same thing in a lot of my races. I know what it feels to push it and dig deep to reach the finish line - whatever it takes!  The crowd's cheers may not be working for you at that moment; but I'm sure you are also finding a way to finish the race - whatever it takes! Ultimately, one thing, a combination of things, or all of it will bring you to a glorious finish.

Lately I went through a running slump, a praying slump, and a writing slump.  I am not short of the cheers and support by family and friends and readers but I was still having a hard time to get back up.  However, I think all the support and prayers are falling into place.  I resumed running my regular mileage; I'm able to revive my praying, and I'm back to writing posts - this is my first, after 29 days of no writing. 

Whatever it takes.  But what did it take to get me back?  Quite a few.  A few significant facebook posts from friends.  Friends who are running and praying for me.  My son.  And of course, remembering my wife - I believe she is inspiring me to keep on going, to persevere, and to continue with this ministry.

Running To Pray

A reason to run this New Year:  Praying.

There are many ways to define prayer, but my favorite one is from Thomas Merton, a contemporary Trappist monk. He said, “Prayer is the desire to pray.”

You could be walking, driving, cooking, or doing the laundry, and still have a desire to pray as you would when you are kneeling quietly in church in prayer. In the same manner, you could also run and pray at the same time.

Start by having a desire to pray. Yearn for God’s presence  - from the moment you tie your shoes.  Seek to be in communion with Him - as you meet the road or trail (or the treadmill). When you get distracted, this most likely will happen as you run, simply remember your intention every time.

Start with this way of praying when you run. It is called the “prayer of the heart.”

There are other ways to make your runs more prayerful and I will write about them in my succeeding posts. Let me know how this works for you as you start your running resolution.  Carry on and God speed!

Related Article:  3 Ways To A More Resolute Running