Saved By Grace - The Radical Runner

WARNING: Read this blog post at your own risk. This post contains EMOTIONAL contents.

Rarely do I put a disclaimer in my blog posts. But when I do, I make sure to give you something valuable in the end.

If this caused quite a stir, then read on…

You see, I love posting updates in my Facebook account and of course in this blog. When I say updates, that which I consider something valuable. Things worth documenting. I’m talking about my fitness journey.

I mentioned in my previous blog post “My Sweet Transition” about my latest open water triathlon.

I wish I could tell you how I cherished every moment in that race. How fulfilling it was to finish one of the hardest races I put myself into. Yes, I did receive a lot of commendations from friends and I thank them for that.

It pumps me up when people get inspired.

Most of my friends saw my photo of how I made it to the finish line. Some found it inspiring. While I found them to be very flattering, most of them don’t know that it was one of the hardest decisions I had to make in my whole life. And that’s what I’m sharing with you.

This is why we Tri

I’m a sports enthusiast. I love challenges especially when it has something to do with improving my health.

It was on July 3 of this year when I had my first open water triathlon. It was a gruelling 2-km open water swim, 60-km bike, and 15 km run. And you know what? I loved every bit of it.

I thank God, I crossed the finish line after a little over 6 hours.

Absolute, Total Surrender!

I’m sharing this story not to boast about my accomplishment. I’m sharing this not to brag of my achievement.

I’m sharing this to tell you how God once again did the impossible for me.

You see in order for me to cross the finish line, I first have to finish the swim leg. It is imperative that you finish swim (2km open water swim) then transition to the bike (60km) ride and then the run part (15 km) before you get to cross the finish line.

And this is how it looked like at the start.

That was my first experience in an open water. Yes, I had all the trainings in the pool. But swimming in the pool is much different with that in an open water.

Almost an hour before the gun time, the organizers allowed us to have our warm ups. Off I go!

But there was a problem…

Unlike in the pool where you could see the tiles deep down, this one’s different. I couldn’t afford to go any further because I was afraid of its depth. All I could see down under was pitch black. That made me panic.

I thought I might just give myself another try, and so I did. Again and again, and again, and again. The fear began to set in. My heart was pounding.

Now the Real Test Begins…

We then had to vacate the area for the start of the 1st wave. I was at wave 2.

I wasn’t sure if I could make it. I was about to quit then. It was already clear to me of my decision to back out.

What made it even harder for me, was when I heard the teasing voice of the announcer. “Wave 2, are you ready? 40 seconds left!”

And so the countdown began. My heart was literally pounding.

I wanted to just be with the spectators. That would have been the most comfortable thing to do.

But should I choose the comfortable or do what’s difficult? That wasn’t the main reason why I was there in the first place.

And that was when I made one of the hardest decisions in my life.

I thought of Him (not being cheesy here). It was as if God told me, “It’s okay, I got Your back”.

I made a total surrender.

As soon as I heard the countdown went down to the last second, I dove in. I took it one stroke at a time while deep inside I had this sweet conversation with Him.

Little by little I just felt calmness deep inside. I just found myself enjoying non-stop swim for about an hour. That’s when I received my breakthrough. I just found myself completing after an hour of swim. I then transitioned to the bike. Run. Oh and the sweetest part, the finish line!

The Best Proof of Love is Trust

Each person goes through life differently. My experience may not be the same with yours. But allow me to share this anyway.

You might be in the darkest area of your life right now. You’re like swimming in the challenges of life and you don’t see hope. You did everything, but it’s as if, nothing is happening. You’ve given it all but nothing seems to work. And you already feel like quitting.

Perhaps all that it takes is for you to trust Him.

Sure, we can have all the trainings. We can maximize our potentials. But at the end of the day, we’re still humans. We still have our limits. That’s when He comes to the rescue because He is God after all. He can do great things for you. For each one of us.

While it was me who made the decision to push harder, it was Him who carried me until the end.

And with that, I can honestly say, I was saved by grace!

See you at the finish line!

March Nacino

Founder, TheRadicalRunner.com

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March Nacino

March Nacino is known as “The Radical Runner” in the running community. He basically loves to join marathons. When he’s not training for his next big race, he works as a freelance Digital Marketing Specialist helping his clients with their Digital Marketing needs. Follow March at theradicalrunner.com.