A dear friend of mine sent this to me, "Shawn". I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. It is very spiritual.
The Runner
The runner stands alone,
facing the task that lay ahead.
Unaware of the possibilities of difficulty, hardship or victories to come.
He only knows he must run.
The opposition will do anything to impede the runner.
Even before the start he is assaulted, knocked down, unable to begin on his own strength.
The enemy is merciless,
hating the runner and defying the rules.
Alone, the runner seems defeated before he starts.
A Helper sees the runner, unable to bear the assault alone.
He lifts the runner to his feet.
The runner, off balance, begins.
The Goal, unseen, calls.
The direction of the goal need not be shown,
the runner knows it intuitively.
As the opposition bears down, always near, the Helper defends.
Sometimes tripping the opponent a split second before a powerful blow.
Sometimes pushing the runner at just the right time to remain upright or miss a devastating hit.
Unknown to the runner, a great multitude watches with great interest.
The runner cannot see or hear them.
The consuming task of the race and distraction of the opposition occupies all his energy and thought.
His Father watches also.
He brought the son to compete.
He knows victory is certain.
The witnesses anticipate the thrill of the assured victory.
Still pursued but not overcome, due to the skill of the Helper, the runner approaches the Goal.
Spiteful and furious the enemy descends upon the runner.
If not for the Helper, he would fall short.
Exhausted, the runner collapses across the goal.
The witnesses and the Father burst into applause.
The enemy has failed.
The runner victorious, and overcome with gratitude knows victory was impossible without the Helper's care and the Father's call to run.
The runner stands alone,
facing the task that lay ahead.
Unaware of the possibilities of difficulty, hardship or victories to come.
He only knows he must run.
The opposition will do anything to impede the runner.
Even before the start he is assaulted, knocked down, unable to begin on his own strength.
The enemy is merciless,
hating the runner and defying the rules.
Alone, the runner seems defeated before he starts.
A Helper sees the runner, unable to bear the assault alone.
He lifts the runner to his feet.
The runner, off balance, begins.
The Goal, unseen, calls.
The direction of the goal need not be shown,
the runner knows it intuitively.
As the opposition bears down, always near, the Helper defends.
Sometimes tripping the opponent a split second before a powerful blow.
Sometimes pushing the runner at just the right time to remain upright or miss a devastating hit.
Unknown to the runner, a great multitude watches with great interest.
The runner cannot see or hear them.
The consuming task of the race and distraction of the opposition occupies all his energy and thought.
His Father watches also.
He brought the son to compete.
He knows victory is certain.
The witnesses anticipate the thrill of the assured victory.
Still pursued but not overcome, due to the skill of the Helper, the runner approaches the Goal.
Spiteful and furious the enemy descends upon the runner.
If not for the Helper, he would fall short.
Exhausted, the runner collapses across the goal.
The witnesses and the Father burst into applause.
The enemy has failed.
The runner victorious, and overcome with gratitude knows victory was impossible without the Helper's care and the Father's call to run.
THE RUNDOWN:
I really missed running the Boston Marathon today. I qualified by 5 minutes ar last years Boston Marathon. There was a little hole in my heart today wishing I was on Hopkington all laced up.
The conditions were quite warm today. They put out alerts a few days ago. They actually were allowing you to defer your Registration due to the heat.
As I ran my 7.02 miles today I recollected my experience. What a powerful experience it was. I was "entertaining Angels unaware".
My immediate goal was to try and run the pace that I would have to run to qualify for Boston. That qualifying time is 3:40 for women 35-39. That is a pace of 8:23!!
SO I wanted to run that pace. I was still sore from yesterdays run but was going for it. This was my way of memorializing Boston 2011. My first mile was a warm up and I knew I had to bring it on to finish with that goal. The wind was wild today with gusts up to 27 miles an hour. There was dust and debris swirling around me.
My mind was stronger than the last few days. But my body was sore. I reminded myself of the pain. I reminded myself of those hills and that wind I encountered last year running Boston. I was challenged again today by the wind and I embraced it as an invitation down memory lane.
As I felt the heavy lungs and sore hips I accepted my discomfort as a reminder of the VICTORY. Victory comes with hard work and pain. Victory comes through obstacles and challenges. I needed this run to remind me of that. My body was in distress and I was so thankful for the perseverance to not quit. I was so grateful that I had the strength to not only quit but also had enough in the tank to run FASTER! I finished my 7 miles with a 7:47 pace! I know that did not come from me..Thank you Lord!!
"We must all suffer one of two things: the pain of discipline or the pain of regret or disappointment."
Anita
Amen Anita !!
ReplyDeleteI needed this. I am scheduled for a half at the end of next month and am far from being ready. I had almost decided to call it a no-go. I have let too many things come in between me and my training. Most importantly the daily, never ending ache of an old injury. But, I think I prefer the pain of injury to the pain of disappointment in myself. My time is short but I may be able to dig deep enough to pull it off. Thanks for the reminder of where to go for the strength I need.
KG