I have run over 100 miles a week on 138 occasions. In 2011, I ran over 100 miles a week 29 times while averaging 100.2 miles over the course of the year. I had a high-mileage mark of 141 miles that year, which was followed by two 137-mile weeks, and then 107 miles for a recovery week. It is hard to believe I ever ran that much!
I started keeping a training diary when I was 14 years old. I had no idea I would still be recording mileage 35 years later. But here are a few of the more impressive (or as some would say, ridiculous) stats…
- 100+ mile weeks – 138
- 60+ mile weeks – 1,017
- Most consecutive weeks over 100 Miles – 12
- Most miles in a Year – 5,212
- Years over 3,000 Miles – 20
I have covered a lot of roads in my lifetime.
But in June of 1991, when I first started keeping a training log, I totaled 5 miles in my first week of training for cross country. I ran four times that week, with a “long run” of 2 miles! That summer, I put in 91 miles of training for my first high school cross country season. Not 91 miles in a week. Not 91 miles in a month. But 91 miles all summer!
I thought I was killing it.
As a new runner, I didn’t know much. I couldn’t handle a lot of training. And I needed to pace myself, learn the ropes, and become stronger and more educated in my new activity.
When it comes to our faith, the same concept is issued to new believers in Acts 15. Let me explain.
Many people look at Acts 15 and think it’s a commentary on “doing away with the Torah (law).” But that is far from the truth. The sect of the circumcision (Pharisees) had infiltrated the assembly of believers and had mandated circumcision for entryway into the faith. These weren’t believers following the law of Yahuah. They were following their own Pharisaical traditions and customs. You see this with the Greek wording used in the first verse with the phrase “practice (or custom) of Moses.”
éthos (from 1486 /éthō, “to be accustomed”) – an unwritten custom; behavior based on tradition (a habit) fixed by the religious social life of a nation.
Yahusha had warned the Pharisees about this himself, “But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as teachings the COMMANDS OF MEN.” – Matthew 15:9
This practice is still part of Judaism today. You follow a one or two year-long conversion process that culminates in circumcision, signifying your entryway into the faith. And it is not Biblical.
“For what does the Scripture say, Abraham believed Elohim, and it was reckoned to him for righteousness.” – Romans 4:3
We all come to the faith through the same starting point – belief.
We all need to start somewhere. And these gentiles were coming to the faith from pagan religions. They were turning their heart (through belief) towards the one true Most High but were still in disobedience because they did not know the faith. So, after meeting with the brothers, James uses the Scriptures to inform them where they need to start by abstaining from the following activities…
- Defilements of idols
- Whoring
- Strangled food
- Blood
These are not just four random suggestions. These four mandates are from the Torah. They make up the heart of the Torah (the Father’s instructions). Where are they found? Mostly in Leviticus, but also in Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These are four eternal and important instructions that all new believers must recognize and adhere to as they come into the faith. As gentiles, they weren’t expected to know all of Yah’s instructions. But they would learn them if they were diligent and stayed in the faith. How do we know this? The next verse tells us!
“For from ancient generations Moses has, in every city, those proclaiming him being read in the congregations every Sabbath.” – Acts 15:21
These new believers would have the opportunity to hear Moses (i.e. the Torah, or the Word) being proclaimed every Saturday when they met together. In doing this, they would eventually come to learn the full instructions of Elohim.
So how does this tie in with running 100-mile weeks?
I was not able to run 15-20 miles a day when I first became a runner. I would have quit right away if someone had told me that! I needed to get stronger and more educated in my training. In fact, I did not run over 100 miles in a week until I was 29 years old…15 years after I started the sport. Each year I grew in my knowledge. Each year I became stronger and able to handle more volume. I improved dramatically at first but had to remain diligent to continue that upward path.
As a believer in Yahusha, we are expected to do the same thing. We need to put away the idols of false worship, put away whoring (which includes more than just fleshly fornication), and cleanse our bodies with that which is set apart, according to the Word. These are important first steps as believers. But we also need to hear the Word of Yahuah being proclaimed every Sabbath so that we continue to grow and learn His instructions. The early believers did not have the Scriptures available to read themselves. You and I do. We should be reading and studying every day, getting stronger and more equipped as time goes by!
“Do we then nullify the Torah through the belief? Let it not be! On the contrary, we establish the Torah.” – Romans 3:31
Acts 15 (nor any of the Scriptures) do away with the Torah of Yahuah. There is one law for both the native born and for the sojourner (gentile). But we must have grace for those just coming into the faith.
As a coach, it would be foolish of me to think everyone could handle 100-mile weeks in their training. I’ve had several athletes get to that point, but only after years of diligent training. As believers, we should strive for that “100-mile faith” of wisdom, fear of Elohim, and obedience. Yet we probably start closer to a “5-mile faith” as new believers.
We are called to walk like the Messiah Yahusha. But most of us don’t know how to do that because we haven’t read our Bibles (particularly the Hebrew Scriptures we call the “Old Testament”). Yahusha knew them. In fact, He is the Word (Torah) made flesh. And just like an athlete systematically trains for success, so should we be training in His Word. To be more like Him!
“But whoever guards His Word, truly the love of Elohim has been perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. The one who says he stays in Him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked.” – 1 John 2:5-6
FAITH IN MOTION 