RUNNING GOALS

Goal setting helps motivate and move one toward an anticipated end. Without goals you never know when you have crossed the finish line. Can you image a football game where there are no goal lines? How would you ever know you scored or for that matter won? What would be the point of the game?

I have set weekly running goals to help motivate and move me toward a higher goal of completing the upcoming 15K Gate River Run. This will be my seventh race and I am shooting for my best race time. That is challenging me to lose about 25 pounds of which I have lost about 14 pounds or so. The more fat you carry the slower and harder the run. Fat doesn't run very good. Ha! I am increasing my running per week by a mile or so to build up to 15K.

I have set some time goals in my training. Earlier this week I ran a 3mi run in 27m. That is a good pace for me. I would like to run it in about 8 minutes per mile or 24m, but I don't know if I will get that fast or not. The 15K or 9.3 mile Gate River Run also crosses the St. Johns River twice. That is draining and demands some strength training. So I am doing sit-ups and pushups along with other strength training. Being stronger is a definite help in racing.

As I was completing a 3m run Thursday afternoon, I passed an older looking gentleman. I ran by him and then continued for 20 yards or so and then walked farther to cool down. Then I turned and headed back to my house and approached him. He stopped me and said keep doing that and you'll live to be a hundred.

"And how old are you," I asked.

He said, "92 years old."

Wow, he looked great and his words inspired me. I walked on and stopped at my house and as he was passing my house he turned and walked up into my drive. He said it again. "Keep doing that and you'll live to be 100."

Well, that inspired me again. I have asked the Lord for 85 good years, but now I think I'll ask for 100. Good living and clean living will help. Trusting in the Lord will help. Making good decisions will help. I don't know how long I'll live, but my goal is now to live to 100. That's a good, solid goal.

Goals are good in other parts of life. Paul had a goal of winning Christ. That was his prize. All of his effort turned toward Jesus. Everything else was counted as garbage. See Philippians 3.

So I am focused on running and winning. I am running my eternal race like Paul to win Christ. Everything else is secondary. Running toward heaven is all that matters.