"But I'm Still out There"

My goal was to be running by 9:00 a.m. I was on the road at 9:05. Not bad. I didn't take any pictures this Thanksgiving day run because, due to the weather forecast, my phone was wrapped in plastic and safely stored inside my hydration pack.

With 23 miles on my legs already this week, I didn't feel too fresh as I started my journey towards Hillbilly Heaven. Would I even be able to run the whole thing? Would I make it up the big hill? If I pulled the hill, would have to walk in from there? Only time, effort, and sweat could answer these questions. And they did.

I made my way over the bridge at the end of Poplar Street, out Grenada Blvd, up Bowie Lane, and across 82 onto Humphrey Highway. This is where the real run begins. Traffic was heavy close to town. As I got farther and farther out, the traffic thinned as did my energy.

Nevertheless, I shuffled on and as I drew close to the big hill, I wondered could I pull it. The last time I made this run, the answer was no. Now, I was more fit, or at least I thought I was. 

I got to the bottom and kept my old-man shuffle going until I made it to Galey Road. Then I shuffled some more although I was weezing like a drunken sailer after a bar fight. I shuffled until I was half way up. Then I took aim at the power lines. Two sets of power lines cross the higway after which the pitch levels just enough to give one some hope. I made it to the power lines. I made it to the old pavment (the hill has recently been repaved). At this point I knew I was going to make it all the way up, and I did.

Now the question was could I make it on in for our thanksgiving lunch without walking. When I was a young man weighing 135 pounds and running 40 miles per week, I never had anything left at the top of that hill. But this time I didn't either, only I just kept going. 

To make a short story long, I shuffled all the way in for 14.16 miles. After getting there I came in from some fresh ribbing from some fat family members. 

"You don't really run. You just trot"

"But I'm still out there."

"It's good that you are, but you used to run."

We all used to do something better than we do it now. Maybe we don't even do it at all now. I am slow. I'm not young. I don't look good running, anymore. But I'm still out there. Sometimes that's the best we can hope for. I am thankful for that. And on my journey, I thanked God for it over and over and over. I do it again: thank you God for the health and the mindset and the opportunity to still be out there, even as if in the words of my sweet wife, "You look like a little old man out there."