New Race.....New Place Part 3

January 8, 2015:  As I mentioned in the last post, the marathon I would be training for would be the Phoenix Marathon on February 28th.  Even though I had pretty much decided on this one, marathon training still did not sound overly fun.  This needed to change soon, because after my 47-mile week (around mid-to late November), I was only about 2 weeks away until the start of my "12-week" training cycle to prepare for Phoenix.  The two weeks that followed included a 52-mile week (with my slowest, but 6th straight Shinnston Turkey Trot 5K win (16:44), followed by a 61-mile week.
     Going into the upcoming 12-week training cycle, I certainly wasn't 'out-of-shape', but not as 'in-shape' as I have been heading into other marathon training cycles.  This has been evident by the fact that although I have built my mileage back into the 80 to 85 miles a week range, my runs have not been as fast as in recent training cycles; especially not as fast as the training leading up to the "Chicago Marathon That Wasn't."  
     This is okay though.  I have to go back to "His thoughts are higher than my thoughts, and His ways are higher than my ways."  God knows what He is doing, and he was NOT surprised by the injury that kept me out of Chicago.
     One thing I do know is this:  the journey to Phoenix, and the marathon itself is NOT about me.  It's about running and living my life for Him.  It's still about lifting Him up and sharing Jesus with others.  There is absolutely NOTHING that compares with knowing Jesus, and having a relationship with Him.  With Him there is ALWAYS HOPE.  There is ALWAYS something to look forward to (Jeremiah 29:11).  As long as we are still breathing, We ALWAYS have purpose through Him; and when we stop breathing, WITH JESUS, we have eternity with Him to look forward to.  
     Therefore, I want God to take these next 7 plus weeks, and do what only He can do with them.  Even though I may not be training as fast as I have been in the past, He can make up for it.  My mantra coming off of my injury comes from 1 Peter 5:10:  "And the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you, and make you strong, firm, and steadfast."  He has answered prayer #2.