Why do I run?

I am training for a triathlon...
sort of...

I was training for most of the spring to do a triathlon this summer. School got in the way. It was the final three weeks of the semester, really. It collided with the uptick in the training schedule that I was following and I had to make a choice-pass my classes or continue training. I chose to pass my classes and my training got pretty derailed. I think that this was for the best, and I have sort of a vague notion of doing a triathlon in the fall...God willing. I havent restarted my training schedule yet, and in the interim I'm just kind of catch as catch canning the four disciplines (yes four disciplines-running, biking, swimming, and strength training). Last night I decided to go for a post-work run, though I was lacking any semblance of motivation. As I hit a wall at a mile and a half, I started asking myself questions: Why do I run? What does this contibute to the glory of God? Isn't this just a vain attempt to fulfill some ideal?

Short answer: because I want to, it just does, well of course it is.

Longer more thoughtful answer that actually sustained me through my run (although at a bit slower pace): I run for a complex variety of reasons. I run to challenge my self - I've never been very good at it. I run while I can-before my hip decides to go all lego pieces again. I run becuase it makes me a better person, not just physically, but menatlly, emotionaly and even spiritually. On a good day, running becomes one long prayer set to the rhythem of my feet, singing the joy that I feel in the sinews of my body-the joy of my createdness. I run also for darker reasons. I run to match pain to pain, physical to emotional or mental or spiritual. I run to feel something. Is part of me chasing some ideal body image? yep. I've always wrestled with that (though not as much as some people think!) but it is much less my motavating factor now. I run because I want to for all of the above reasons. The same goes for bicycling. Swimming- well swimming is a different story. I, great oak boned lump that I am, havent reached this point in swimming yet. I take some enjoyment in swimming, but I cant let my mind wander because my form, the important part of swimming, isn't fully formed yet. I like my rotator cuffs and I want them to be around for a while, so i have to pay attention to my form.
Its funny. I tell people that Im training for a triathlon and I can see the Wide world of Sports clips running through their heads. The people staggering, crawling across the finish line in the Hawaiian heat. Yeah, thats not me, at least not yet. Maybe someday, by the grace of God. But first lets see how God feels about a nice short sprint.