This morning on my run it was windy. As I was running I had my conversation with God; thinking about the wind and how it is when you are running into it, the resistance is real. There was a time it would make me angry! "Ah, why’s it got to be so windy, tossing me around all crazy like?" But recently my son went to New York City and he spoke about how he embraced the wind in the city; this inspired me.
So, back to my windy run. I recalled how the day before my partner posted up a verbal goal, let’s run to the bridge. He knows I love that phrase for so many reasons, “let’s run to the bridge”. I used to live in San Francisco, my mentor is a runner and she would challenge me each time we’d run together. She would say, “let’s run to the bridge, and see what the waves have to tell us today”. But, that’s a glorious story for another day. Today is about wind, not waves! Okay, I’m back on track, I hope you are still with me. So, “let’s run to the bridge” is presented and I take off. I don’t race, I just pace. I love getting lost in the rhythm. With the wind as my companion, I thought about how when the wind is in my face, coming straight at me, I can tilt my head just slightly forward, and it gives me an edge allowing the wind to vortex around me and even though it slows my stride down a bit - it makes me stronger. I approached the curve on the path, and the wind caught me sideways, so I leaned a little into it, and I felt the wobble, engaged my core, and let the wind strengthen me again, but this time in my lateral motion. Just when I needed it, the wind stopped. I felt my breath calm down, and I allowed it to be in step with my Hokas, breathing in and out with each step, watching the road ahead but still allowing the breath to be all I needed.
My legs got lighter, my brow softened, my shoulders felt easy, my hands mellow, and I just ran in the stillness listening to the beat of my feet. I love running.
Then the thought popped in my head the hill is right around the corner. I allowed dread to fill me, I felt weak, and I heard God say, "you don’t have to run up the hill. This is your run, this is your life, you choose what you do. This is not a race, this is your life." I turned the corner and had the hill in my sight. I chose a marker, ran through it, and allowed my pace to slow just at the base of the hill. I turned my stride into a slow hike. Feeling parts of my body that had to strengthen in ways my run didn’t require, it dawned on me. Sometimes when the hills of life are hard it’s best to take them slower so you can really focus, work the muscles and get stronger in different ways.
Running for my life has become my favorite gateway to wisdom and today the wind was my guide. I learned that resistance makes me stronger. To enjoy my stride and catch my breath when it’s calm. To stop striving on the hills, but instead, take it slower, focus on the task at hand and purposely climb that hill to refine unused muscles. With this approach, I am more well-rounded, and I also have the freedom to run my run the way I want to, especially when I'm doing it in partnership with God.
Comentarios