Running with a Purpose

I'm going to tie a couple of things together....I use to run because I played soccer and ran track during high school and college. After I graduated college I kept on running but with no real purpose. To be honest, running without a purpose, is pretty, well, purposeless. It just gets to be a routine and not much fun.

So it was nice when I joined a couple of soccer teams in the area because running helped with my fitness. But it still hasn't been very rewarding. I don't know what took me so long but I finally realized it was time to run a race.

On September 27th, Lawndale Health Clinic, in Chicago is sponsoring their first 5k run/walk. Last week I was in the city taking a class on urban ministry. It was an incredible class. We visited all different types of churches, social programs, community developers, City Hall, Cook County Jail, the Chicago Judiciary System, and a lot of good places to eat! Our "home" base was Lawndale which is one of the most underdeveloped areas of Chicago. A church there (Lawndale Community) has revitalized this area by creating affordable housing, a public health clinic, a drug recovery house for men, and more.

So the last couple of years of running have a purpose now. They have prepped me for this race! My two mile time is less than 12 so I'm going to aim for 18 minutes. It's great to have a goal in mind which leads me to my brother-in-law. Starting yesterday (his birthday) he has begun a quest to complete 101 goals in 1001 days.

I'm the type of person who makes goals everyday. I don't consciously sit down and write them out but I love accomplishing and achieving. But you bring it to a whole new level when you make your goals public because that means there is accountability and more room for recognized failure. So props to Eric. I'm starting small by publishing this one goal in the next month. We'll see where it goes.