Runner's Water

Runner's Water

Drink Plenty of Water

I've heard it. I've read it. As long as I have been running,
it's always been the same message: "drink plenty of water."

All along most racecourses are water stations, and most runners
slow down to drink a cup of cool water. Keeping your water
level up is critical when you run.

If you get slightly dehydrated, you will not run well.
If you get moderately dehydrated, you will become disoriented.
If you get seriously dehydrated, you can die.
It's serious business.

The first year I ran I was inexperienced (also younger, slimmer,
stupider, etc.) I passed water stop after water stop,
occasionally drinking a swallow or two. I felt good, and I
wasn't going to waste precious seconds drinking water, even
though it was a hot, humid day.

Big mistake.

As I neared the final mile, I "hit the wall." My energy level
dropped to zero, I began having to walk some, and I realized I
would have to work hard just to finish. I did make it across
the line, but only with a tremendous headache and hardly enough
energy to walk. It was not much fun.

I learned an important lesson that year. Stopping for water
doesn't actually slow you down. In fact, you will run a better
race if you do drink water. The bottom line is that your body is
simply not designed to function without water.

In the same way, your spiritual stamina depends on stopping for
regular drinks of "spiritual water." The dilemma for busy
people is finding time to invest in reading the Word and
spending time in prayer. Like the runner intent on reaching the
finish line, we tend to put off those regular drinks of water
until we are totally parched.

But in the long run, you will run a better race if you will stop
for spiritual water. In fact, finishing the spiritual race at
all may depend on it. Runners who don't ever slow down to take
a drink often stumble off the course far short of the finish
line.

In this year's race, I saw a man become dehydrated just a mile
from the finish. Strangely, he didn't seem to recognize that
anything was wrong. He was swaying from side to side as he
walked, mumbling over and over, "I'm fine. I'm fine." He was so
disoriented that he didn't even recognize his own sick
condition.

If you let yourself become spiritually dehydrated, you may not
even be able to recognize it. Stop today to drink some cool
"Living Water." For serious runners, it's a must.

Jan Bagwell
God Bless