To Run or Not To Run ….
Today is the Jingle Bell Run … a 5k that draws a lot of people. It’s a fund raiser for arthritis and so people can sign up individually or form a team. I signed up with about 10 running friends on a team that expected 50 people and now it has 138. So it’s a fun community event.
I was looking forward to it … the last race of 2010.
But was is the key word … now at 8AM, I am not so excited anymore.
It is raining. Heavy. Pouring. Straight. Down. Miserable.
The race is at 1PM. I’m almost ready to bail …
Then I remember something I’ve learned over the past few years. It’s the idea that when our five senses are fully engaged in an experience it is more meaningful to us.
Donald Miller wrote about this idea in A Million Miles In A Thousand Years. He says when we stretch ourselves to live a better story, by doing things outside our comfort zone, the details of the experience engrain themselves in our psyche. Those are often the events that make our life more meaningful and provide the memories we talk about for years.
Don Miller talks about hiking an endless number of miles on the Inca Trail in Peru … the training for it was endless and the hike was torturous at times, but he is thrilled that he did it.
So will running a 5K (3.1 miles) in the rain today be a good memory even if the experience is cold, wet and miserable or should I stay home and curl up with a good book? I have a stack of books waiting for me.
I could live vicariously through others …
Tune in tomorrow to see what happens … because now at 8:15AM I am no closer to figuring out what I will do. The rain is still heavy and it’s not supposed to quit until tonight sometime.
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