26 January, 2009

Running On Ice.


Friends, let me share with you one of the most grandiose things I have experienced. Running on ice. Sounds crazy right? If you are a runner...try it you will find that you are quite wrong.
I wondered myself until I began my run this evening...The temp 21 F. The wind...5 mph, gusts of 20+. And me...CRAZY. Yes crazy, but crazy with eight friendly 1/2" sheet-metal screws evenly dispersed in the bottom each of my NewBalance running shoes. As I set out in the dark of this Oklahoma ice storm I moved slow...testing this makeshift "iceshoe". Breath seen leaving my mouth...sweat freezing on my eyelashes and eyebrows. As I continue on I move faster becoming ever more confident of this strangely stable footing. One mile, then two...endorphins begin to kick in and I know I could go another five or six even with the added stress of being a bit tense. I feel GOOD.
Silence...but the click of my screws and the gusts through the ice covered branches. Then in the distance the sounds of automobiles, man-made beasts meant to go long distances and haul large loads...yet tonight I hear them, rubber on ice for a half minute or more. Unable to gain traction they try again... Fifty yards in front of me at an intersection vehicles "coast and go" to keep from losing the traction they tried so long to gain. Even so I turn the corner and am able to run at their bumper for another fifty yards or so. Then...forty minutes after it begun my run comes to an end, but only after it has given me this amazing feeling.

Amazing feeling?
As I run in this race.
One that is impossible on my own.
I out pace machines made to perform.
I run this race. Finish. Finish Strong.
Not on my own but only with a SOLID FOUNDATION.

The race tonight...running on Ice. But I also run a race that you run as well...this race. LIFE. It too is just as impossible on our own. In a time where many have machine and program, plans and schemes, to run this race in better time, in a better way. They say they make it worth it...this life. "Go Faster", "Make More", "Loose Weight", "Be a New You A Better You"... they boast.
OUT-PACE THEM, FINISH, FINISH STRONG.
Tonight my foundation = screws.
Forever my foundation = Christ. Christ alone.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post! I'm a runner also, and I look forward to reading more of your blog. I'm following you now. Thanks for sharing this on Authentic Blogger!