The way I see it there are three types of runners:
The Sprinter, The Marathoner, and The Reactionary.
The Sprinter prepares and gets what needs to be done in a very short amount of time. In short, they give it ALL that they have in the few moments they have that they need to perform. Sprinting is an important skill for many sports.
The Marathoner prepares, runs, and not only works towards building speed but more importantly stamina and longevity. The marathoner knows the race may be long so they run consistently and don't get as frustrated with off days because they have a longer goal in mind.
The Reactionary runner is a term I made up. When I think of this type of runner I picture all the individuals who tell me they'd only run if a lion was chasing them. Yep, the Reactionary runner acts only when necessary for survival.
Please forgive me for oversimplifying but when I consider life, I consider these three types of ways to live.
The Sprinter prepares for the bigger and key moments of life. My bet is they'd be the ones pulling planned all nighters before a big exam or presentation at work or perhaps even a week in advance.
The Marathoner knows a key to success is consistency. They would be the people studying throughout the semester or improving their skills at work consistently so that they can be ready for the big meetings or changes.
The Reactionary of course never (or rarely) prepares but instead panic or act only when needed. This is the individual though who despite knowing for months that their job would be having summer lay offs began looking for work a week after they were laid off and are now hungry.
Practically speaking, a person can choose appropriate sleep habits, sleep in spurts through the week, or sleep only when physically exhausted and drained. Spiritually, a person can pray to God when there is a crisis, seek God while preparing for a large event or situation (speaking engagement, helping out a group, wedding ceremony), or spend a lifetime searching and seeking His will.
Well, guess what - I am a mix (as I'm sure we all are) of these. I engage in life primarily by sprinting through what I need to get done and then returning to status quo or running around because the lion has been set loose upon me but as soon as I can stop my body collapses. I actually believe all three types to be useful for various times in our lives, but when I look at the way a marathoner trains and or performs I feel that is the wisest way to live. I don't know about you but I have had years of training in the art of sprinting and reacting, I want to focus now on how to run the race of life with endurance. Foremost, I want to keep close to God, to know Him and His ways beyond big moments and crises. Secondly, I suppose this means I should have regular sleeping habits and eat at least SOME nutritional foods (oh adulthood). While I'm working on that, I might as well train for a 5K. :) How about you, what is your primary mode of running?
