Finish Strong

Finish Strong

During any long-distance run, especially when we feel exhausted and in pain, one of the most important decisions we can make is to look forward, to think of what lies ahead—the finish. For some, that means winning a prize or achieving a personal record. For others, the prospect of seeing loved ones waiting for them and cheering them on is all they need. And for all, finishing well is a great achievement.

Seeing the finish isn’t easy when we’re miles away, in the personal fog of discouragement and doubt. When spectators are trying to encourage us by shouting, “Just a 10K more!” we think, Six miles to go? How can I possibly run six more miles! At the aid stations, we pour water on ourselves to somehow cool off; then we try to run again, limping down the course, and wonder how we can ever make it to the end. But we press on, the finish line drawing closer with each painful step.

Knowing that we have a finish and knowing what awaits us there should motivate us to run well and finish strong—in the race and in life. That certainly was Paul’s attitude:

I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Did you hear those verbs, those decision points? “Forget,” “look forward,” and “press on”—the past is behind us, over, done, forgiven. The end of the race lies ahead, and with it God’s heavenly prize.

The Runner

Florence Chadwick was a marathoner, but in swimming, not running. Born in San Diego on November 9, 1918, she began swimming competitively at the age of ten and competed in her first rough-water swim at eleven.

Florence is remembered for swimming across the English Channel from France to England in thirteen hours and twenty minutes, breaking the record. That was in 1950. A year later, she swam the Channel again, this time from England to France, setting another record at sixteen hours and twenty-two minutes.

In 1952, Florence became the first woman to attempt a twenty-six-mile swim from Catalina Island to the California coastline. About fifteen hours into the swim, as a thick fog settled over the ocean, Florence became disoriented and began to think she would not be able to finish her quest. After swimming for another hour, with the coastline still shrouded in fog, Florence asked to be pulled from the water. It was only after she was in the boat that she learned she was only a mile short of her destination.

Two months later, Florence tried again. The thick fog rolled in again, but this time she kept swimming and reached her goal. She said she made it because she kept a mental image of the finish—the shoreline—as she swam.

The Race

“Seeing the finish,” even in her mind, gave Florence the strength to keep going and to finish strong.

In another passage, Paul elaborates on how the present race can feel and what awaits us at the finish, what we can envision:

We know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.) (Romans 8:22-25)

We can identify with the “groaning” part. But we can also hope, knowing that a glorious future awaits us in new bodies that will never tire, reunited with our loved ones in the presence of our Lord and Savior.

The Result

Every day the finish line of life gets closer. Knowing that your race will soon end and that rest, reunions, and rejoicing await you should encourage and motivate you now, on every step of your race.

My Story

Miles two and three passed like a stroll through Grant Park. I didn’t even realize when I passed the seven-mile marker. At mile fifteen I smiled and waved at the cheering crowd. Nineteen, twenty, twenty-one. They all passed without much effort.

The crowds thinned after the drink station at the twenty-third mile, and I no longer had to fight to stay next to Tammy, my running partner.

All of a sudden, taking another step took focus. Focus on the goal and not focus on the unshakable desire to just stop. Stop running and walk.

When I gave in to that nagging voice telling me everything would feel better if I could just walk a few steps, I discovered the trick. A few walking steps didn’t satisfy that voice. Once my shuffling run became a walk, the voice in my head changed its mind and decided walking wasn’t enough; my body actually needed to just stop and lie down. I longed for that rest, even considered it for a few minutes, until the authority in Tammy’s voice cleared the mental fog lulling me to follow the soothing voice that would keep me from finishing my marathon goal.

Between breaths she sang about lifting up my eyes to the hills because God is where my strength comes from. I could feel determination set into my face again because I knew I couldn’t let my friend down either. With the gentle announcement that she was taking requests for the next song, my mental energy shifted from the ache in my weary legs to lyrics that might keep my energy moving forward to the finish line.

Less than an hour later, we bowed our heads to receive medals placed around our necks. As we gave each other high fives and hugged despite sticky, salty bodies, I thanked God for returning my focus to him and the prize of finishing the race strong.

Angie

Think It Through

1. What experiences of a long-distance race do you tend to forget? Which ones do you think you will always remember? What makes the difference?

2. Which parts of your past do you need to release and forget?

3. Which aspects of God’s finish line do you look forward to most?

4. What will you need in order to finish strong?

On Running

Seven Principles of Exercise—Part Two

4. THE PRINCIPLE OF PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD:

In order to continue improvement, you need to increase the difficulty of your workouts slowly so as not to plateau.

5. THE PRINCIPLE OF HARD/EASY:

On a day following a high-intensity workout, you might need an easy day of training.

6. THE PRINCIPLE OF PERIODIZATION:

This is the gradual cycling of the areas you want to develop (specificity), how hard you train (intensity), and how much you train (volume) to achieve peak levels of fitness for competition.

7. THE PRINCIPLE OF OVERTRAINING:

Overtraining is a condition in which an athlete’s adaptive mechanisms are stressed to the point of failure.