After two days of faithfully pounding the pavement toward the rapidly approaching 5K race I'll be running (and believe me, 2 days of running counts as faithful), my training calendar (compliments of Active.com) popped up this morning with "Cross Training." No listening to my whining thighs! Woo Hoo! Although still working out, I almost considered today a rest day.
As a newbie runner, I wanted to know why cross training is considered so important. I dashed over to everyone's favorite site to find out anything, About.com, and asked "Why should runners cross train?" Whamo! A very nice article, written by one Christine Luff (don't know her, but let's give credit where credit is due), listed several wonderful reasons why we should cross train:
> It helps balance muscle groups. (Ms. Luff particularly mentioned my favorites, the inner thighs; extra points for that!)
> It will help maintain or even improve cardiovascular fitness. (So, I'll be able to run longer, farther, faster....nanananananana, nanananananana, do I look like the Bionic Woman yet?)
> It reduces the likelihood of injury. (I'm a pain weenie - I like this.)
> It helps avoid exercise boredom. (Exercise is boring?)
> You might be able to continue exercising if you are injured in some way. (I saw this great tabletop pedaler thing at the drugstore the other day; if the thighs are out of commission, I guess I could tackle the upper arm flapping fat!)
So many reasons to cross train, so few days of the week!
So often, we Christians get stuck in a spiritual rut - church on Sunday, meet & greet, sing a hymn, a sermon, pass the offering plate, please. Even participating in Communion can become dry and habitual. Maybe we need to get into some spiritual cross training, mix things up a bit!
In the New Testament book of Acts, we read about the early Church's cross training program: "[The believers] would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need...they spent much time together in the temple, they broke bread at home...praising God and having the goodwill of all the people. And day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved" (Acts 2:45-47). They didn't just just do their duty by three points and a prayer! Their spiritual practice seemed to have three separate components:
> Personally giving of their own belongings to meet the needs of others (how different from our modern practice of writing a check!)
> Frequently meeting in the Temple - a seriously public place - to worship together (maybe it would be like having church at the mall food court!)
> If they didn't meet in the Temple, they got together in each other's homes for some additional grub - physical and spiritual (the origin of the potluck, maybe?)
And what was the result of all this spiritual cross training? First of all, they had the "goodwill of all the people." Not just other church members, not just other Jews, but all the people: Jews, Romans, nationals, foreigners, Christians, non-Christians, stuck-on-themselves religious leaders...all the people! Second of all, "day by day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved." The Body of Christ was buffing up!
So, where are we in the Church today? Do we hear the tell-tale nanananananana, nanananananana that always precedes any bionic body? Are we strong enough to withstand what might injure us? Do we heal faster from injury? Or are we bored and tired with our God routine? Do we have favor with all the people, and are those being saved being added to our number? Hard questions...even harder answers.
Tomorrow, I hit the road again; I'm upping my half-mile to a full mile. Just like I feel before any change, I'm a little apprehensive and part of me thinks it will be too hard. But I know that once I get going, I'll fall into the rhythm of it, and the cross training I get will give me the strength to keep going.
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