Not A Sprint

As seen in the HEARTbeat and the Village Voice

“Not a Sprint”

            Either you’ve got it, or you don’t!  That’s something an athlete does not want to hear.  The truth of the matter is this:  either you have the right type of muscles, or you don’t!  Physiologists will tell you there are basically two types of muscles, fast twitch and slow twitch muscles.  Both types have the same function, to move the skeletal bones for motion, but react to movement in entirely different ways.

            Sprinters have fast twitch muscles; they react quickly.  Sprinters can burst out of the starting blocks in milliseconds.  Distance runners are different.  Their muscles react slower and have the capacity to do “work” for longer periods of time.  How do they do that?

            In my high school days, which was many decades ago (and many pounds ago), I was a state-class sprinter.  I ran the 100 yard and 220-yard dashes, as well as the relay team events.  I could barely make it to the finish line in the 220 event before I ran out of steam.  My muscles would ache from the rapid buildup of lactic acid.  Lactic acid is a product of oxygen being burned in the muscle.

            Distance runners are exactly the opposite.  They build up lactic acid in their muscles very slowly and can therefore dissipate it before it builds up to levels which diminish their performance.  I still watch marathoners in amazement and can’t believe how they can hold the pace they do for 26.2 miles!  It is a testament to their abilities, and to the fact that they have the right kind of muscles.

            Can a sprinter slowly train themselves to run distances?  The answer is yes.  Will they ever be at the same level as natural distance runners?  Probably not, but it can be done.  It would be easier for a sprinter to convert to distance races than a distance runner to convert to sprint races.

            We used to live in a slower pace world.  Now, it is said, we live in a “microwave society.”  We want things not quickly; we want them now!  We are plugged into the internet with our smartphones and news is pushed to us at an alarming rate.  We want results in our efforts and aren’t going to involve ourselves with things that take a long time.

            Is your Christian walk the same way?  You pray for someone or something, and want God to immediately respond with an audible ding like a microwave?  We have to admit, we are a less patient society, and if we are not careful, it can slip over into our spiritual lives.

            Hebrews 12:1b and following says, “..and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith..”  God the Son is the greatest distance runner of all time.  It took Him thousands of years to carry out the plan God the Father developed after the fall of man in the garden.  He knows something about patience!

            As Christians, we are not in a sprint, we are in a distance race.  Don’t build up “spiritual lactic acid” in your heart and grow weary.  Let God pace you through His plan, and we will make it through another day of this race just fine!