This weekend the plan was to keep it simple. After a long week of work and many weekends of epic runs and adventures the goal was simple, do some relaxing. But as the world always does it seems to throw a twist and turn in the road when you least expect.
Running in and of itself has always been a form of escape for myself. A way to clear my head and refresh my mood and energy. Trail running offers that and more. The opportunity to get in a great workout, clear my head, and ultimately relax as my body gets into a rhythmic stride where I feel as if i am no longer consciously moving my legs, but rather they seem to just swing forward as excited as I am to see whats around the next bend. This weekend Linds and I were going to keep it simple. We started out Saturday with an hour on the Mountains To Sea Trail. Getting an early start we ran as most of the country slept. It is a good feeling being out on the trail in the woods all by yourself. With Linds up front setting the pace and Kirra running around as if she owned the place, I found instant relief from a long busy week. With Christmas fast approaching, the world seems to focus on one thing, shopping, money this and money that. Sales are down, Sales are up. Its an emotional roller coaster trying to live in this world. Out on the trail things are different. The biggest hill could be ahead of you, trees could be blocking the path, but no matter what I always seem to have fun. The diversity and surprises the trail and woods offer are more than welcomed. These are the intricacies that make the journey worth taking.
After our brief but more than needed trot through the woods, we headed to north Asheville. Linds had training and i would drop her off and return to the trail for more relaxation. On the way there we were greeted by yet another of lifes great surpises. Unlike the trail these surprises aren't always welcomed. Today's great gift was a rock or a bolt, either or doesn't really matter, what does it the fact it smacked our windshield hard enough to break it! Yes, what a day it was now. No one was hurt, nothing bad really happened but it was enough to send me into a spiral of worldly chaos. I started thinking about the $500 it costs to replace and why the heck it had to happen, but a great lesson was due to be learned. Life isn't about broken windshields, life isn't about how much money is in the bank, life isn't about a lot of things we seems to get caught up in! This lesson of course didn't sit in right away.
I dropped Linds of at training, not in a good mood of course, and on I drove back to the trail. Today's first lesson came at the hands, or should I say the hills, of Kitsuma. Kirra and I went out for another run. I seemed to run the entire way out and most of the way back before it truly set in how truly UNimportant a broken windshield is. I glanced through the trees and saw yet another gorgeous view. I could see north, south and east and what I saw was truly humbling. There are things greater, much greater than me feeling sorry for myself and that dumb windshield. I had the world, the wild, and the trail at my feet. In that moment I realized how chaotic life can be when you get caught up in worldly things. Yes, we need jobs to make money and money to life, so they saw, but life today was free and what a blessing it was. I returned from the trail refreshed and calmed.
The second lesson came when I pulled in and saw my gorgeous bride. I am truly a blessed man. Not only do I have a truly wonderful and amazing wife, but she is crazy and, thank God brave enough, to travel this road of life with me. I not only get to enjoy the beauty and mystery of the woods and trail but i get to do it with the most amazing and inspiring woman i have ever met. I am a blessed man.
Sunday we decided to take another 'easy' trot through the woods. Today was the third lesson. A trail on a map can, may and will look much easier than when you run it. Today's run would be Turkey Pen Gap trail from the trail head to Black Mountain. A mere 5.5 miles each way showed the map. What I failed to spend time looking at was the contour and the many, many close elevation lines stacked on after the other. The trail was great. Back to the trail where surprised though painful at times always return the favor. Though the parking lot was filled, everyone else seemed to know how tiring this trail was and chose other routes. But yet again, we had the trail, the woods, and what feels like the world to ourselves. In this third run of the weekend I couldn't help but recap the previous two lessons. Life can be chaotic. Without a doubt life never goes the way you want it to. It is easy to get caught up in the plethora of things that do not matter. But in the woods, on the trail, it is easy to remember how simple life truly is and what a majestic world we truly have. There are things bigger than ourselves out there and how selfish of us to ever forget this. The other thing i thought about and what seems to always occupy most of my thoughts if how amazing my wife is. Again, strong enough, brave enough, and just as wild as me she chose to follow me on yet another journey through the woods. With her on my mind, our hearts beating as one, and the trail, woods and world at our feet, what a wonderful journey its going to be....
No comments:
Post a Comment