Ever feel like life has treated you like Rocky Balboa in the scene above? That’s how I felt Sunday evening and through some of Monday. However, it’s now Tuesday and time to get back up for one more round. One song that I tend to place in the middle of my playlists is called “Get Back Up Again” by tobyMac.

I love the message of this song. It reminds that me that we can always pick ourselves off the ground and get back up again…moving on towards our goals in life. As I mentioned yesterday, on Sunday, my pastor spoke on perseverance. The main passage he spoke on was James 1:2-5, which says, ” Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.  Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.” Now, I realize that some who may read this blog may have different faiths than myself. However, I thought that this message is something that could be applied to us runners as well. As we go through our training, there will be good weeks, bad weeks, amazing weeks, and weeks we wish we could forget. In the bad weeks, or bad training days, we need to remember that, through the bad days, we are building perseverance that will help us endure those many miles of a long distance race.

It’s not as simple as Barney Stinson makes it out to be. You need to train. You need those days where you fail. You need those days that are hard to finish. When the hardship comes, you need to endure and finish…even if it means finishing slower than you’d like. Those moments, when it’s hard, are where we build the mental strength to push on. We build the perseverance we will need to finish the race.

I’m in week 6 of 18 weeks of training to run 13.1 miles. So, this will likely not be the only week that things go wrong. Fortunately, there is always another day to rebound for the feelings of defeat. So, tonight, I will pick myself back up again and continue to move forward towards the goal of finishing the Disneyland Half Marathon in 2 hours 41 minutes or faster. I have written this post just as much for myself as for others.

“Why do you complain, Jacob?
    Why do you say, Israel,
“My way is hidden from the Lord;
    my cause is disregarded by my God”?
²⁸ Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
²⁹ He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
³⁰ Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
³¹ but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.”

-Isaiah 40:27-31

It’s time to soar on wings like eagles again! Happy running!