Just Breathe

I did it! I ran the entire 5 kilometers without stopping. The music was key and strategically placed. I started out with a slow "Band on the Run" (Wings) then ramped up a bit to "Born to Run" (Springsteen) and started to climb the hill with "Disco Inferno" ("Burn, Baby, Burn"), rounded the corner at the top (and half-way point) to "Gonna Fly Now" from Rocky, kept the pace the rest of the way down the hill to "Waterloo," (Abba) rounded the last corner for mile three to "Every Heartbeat" (Amy Grant) and just about died to "Valley Road" (Bruce Hornsby). If Art hadn't been there to say NOW for the last little bit and motion me to pass the two old geezers in front of me I really would have "Take(n) it Easy" to the Eagles at the end. So having my "coach" run with me helped too.

The best part about running this race? Finishing it...in other words, the end! I was glad to get it done. I still don't "enjoy" running. But I did enjoy the sense of accomplishment and for the first time in at least ten years being able to mingle after a race with having been a participant and not a spectator.

Another good thing was learning peoples' stories. The lady in line in front of us at the port-o-potty was from the town and organizes a kids race every year for the locals. She was also getting ready to send her son off to grad school in Wisconsin--"1000 miles away" and she wasn't looking forward to it. Also, there was a guy who ran barefoot! We talked to him after the race and he told us that about ten years ago he broke his neck and was told he couldn't run again. He runs barefoot because it's the only way he can do it without aches and pains in his joints. Recently, he ran a 35 mile race through lots of towns to raise awareness for the homeless. I think he ran it alone but he told us he had police or motorcycle escorts in front and back the whole way. His 38 year old daughter had run with him today...her first race.

Oh! And then there was Barney. We passed him as we were heading down the hill (Rocky stretch) and he was heading up. He was wearing a t-shirt with his name and the number "84" (his age) which looked like it had been re-written every year for a new race. The t-shirt also had "Running On Empty" printed on it. Indeed he was NOT!

Stories are good. My favorite sermons include stories. Not the made up kind or the ones that have been emailed around, but real, personal stories about life and faith. How God has been working in the storyteller's life. How they've stumbled and recovered. Or haven't recovered. I like asking people, "What's your story?" And they always have one. And sometimes they're even willing to share it.