Peachtree!

I’ve completed the 2006 Peachtree Road Race and am wearing the coveted T-shirt today. It was so much fun…definitely one of the highlights of my life! I was amazed at how well organized the whole event was, especially considering that over 55,000 people participated. I met a wonderful young lady at the event. She had suffered a stroke a few months earlier and her friends challenged her to complete the event. We ran together a bit, but walked mostly and talked along the course. She inspired me greatly because it would have been so easy for her to use her health challenges as an excuse to give up, but she didn’t. It was wonderful to see her cross the finish line, even though it was apparent that the effort exhausted her. It made me even more determined to continue on my own path to better health. In fact, here is the biggest lesson I learned from training for the Peachtree: the best thing about the training process is the person you become in the attempt. I think that my spirit has been enlarged, my character has been strengthened, and my ability to persist in spite of challenges has increased. Best of all, I’ve gained an even greater appreciation for all that my body does for me. At times I’ve taken it for granted, but participating in the race really drove home that my body is a gift from God and I should continue treating it that way. I’m going to do it all again next year!