Hey, friends…breakin’ the rules a bit today and posting a video.

(Special thanks to my friend, Chris, for shooting this gem, a word I use loosely here.) 😉

Raceway Wood 5k Finish from Tobin Schroeder on Vimeo.

I’ve been a runner for several years…runner, as in I’d go out and run/walk/run some more, maybe a mile or two at a time.

About two years ago, determined to get that pesky baby weight off, I decided to really run…and started training and doing 5k’s and worked on slashing my time down. I’m still no star, but I can pull around a 28:00 5k, sometimes-a-little-faster-sometimes-not, and I’m happy with that. Running is something I enjoy, and it’s a good way to have a little me time before the crazy of a day begins.

I crank up my playlist of worship music, sing along, spend some time in prayer…and though the hardest thing is to take the first ten steps, I am always, always glad I took the time for it each morning.

This past Saturday I ran a 5k at a place in our community called Raceway Woods. It was actually a famous racetrack several decades ago, and this 5k was the first organized race event there since the late 60’s. A few friends and I signed up, and since I’ve been running and training (well, for the most part) this summer…heck, why not?

Let me tell you one thing, friends.

Ignorance is bliss.

Well, as much bliss as can be found in a place that has so many hills.

I look decently strong at the end of this video, but what you can’t see is all…and I do mean ALL…of the behind the scenes.

The race itself was SO. HARD.

I had no clue…zero…what I’d signed up for, other than 3.1 miles. Maybe that was why I actually showed up for the race. 😉

The first mile was a breeze because it was downhill. I pulled it in 8:18…and my quickest pace on a 5k is around a 8:45…needless to say, that was good motivation to keep my feet moving.

At the beginning of the second mile, there were a few smaller hills…nothing horrible, nothing I loved. Just kind of in-between.

And then, toward the end of the second mile, I encountered it, huffing and puffing what felt like my last-ever-earthly breaths.

It stared me down like Mt. Everest towers over an ant.

I. Couldn’t. Run. It.

In fact, I’m not exactly sure how I made it up that hill, but I eventually found the top of it. (I think it took a long time, though…and potentially for part of that mountain climb, I even slipped into a semi-delusional state.)

And while mile #3 was nowhere near as hilly, it was mostly gravel.

Gravel = just not as fast.

So you see me pushing with all I have at the finish, but really, I just want this race to be over.

Over.

Finished.

Finito. (Is that a word? It is now. ;))

Two days later, I’m still feeling it. It’s mostly good pain, but it’s pain.

And maybe it’s not so much the pain of the actual race but the fact that last week was so up and down, just like that 5k. I had some really amazing highs (hello, getting published!) and some heartbreaking lows (maybe later).

Maybe it’s a good metaphor for me…this race.

Maybe it’s the reminder my heart needs that I can’t always call the shots and run a smooth, perfectly flat (or even downhill!) course. There are going to be those twists and turns and climbs that make me come to the point where I just have to push on in a strength that’s not my own.

Maybe it’s a reminder, too, that sometimes the pain we feel is good, even if it still hurts…because it’s a reminder that He heals.

And, that He can still work in spite of the pain.

I’m still in processing mode, but I don’t think it’s an accident that I ran that race on this particular Saturday.

My time was slower…and it took me a day or so to be ok with it.

31:27.

Thirty-one minutes and twenty-seven seconds of sweat and tears. (No blood this time, thankfully.)

And a reminder that He’ll stick with me and help me finish strong, no matter what the course looks like.

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Happy Tuesday, y’all! As usual, I’m hanging out at Crystal’s place, joining some of my favorite bloggers for our weekly link up.

Social media and online relationships can make us feel like everyone else has it all together. We’re edited, proof-read, Pinterest-perfect versions of ourselves (or so some might think!) when – in reality? There is an unfinished pile of laundry around the corner. That cute toddler smiling for the camera just had a massive meltdown seconds ago. That yummy breakfast-for-dinner you just showed us on Instagram? It’s because the cat licked the chicken that was supposed to be for dinner.

“Behind the Scenes” is a fun link up where we show those photos – but tell the real story behind them. The sneak peek behind the scenes, a look past the edges of the photo to the real life behind it.

I hope you’ll take some time to hop over for some funny and sweet stories that are guaranteed to give you a deeper glimpse into the moments that make up our days. Thanks so much for stopping by, friends!