Good News, Bad News

Which do you want first?  I always take the bad news first.  That way, you always end on a high note!  So, the bad news is I was almost killed on the Silver Comet Trail.  The good news is I’m still alive.  Well, almost may be a stretch.  I had a goal in mind, as I’m training for my first ½ Mary at the beginning of the year.  I was at the 10 mile week.  I had to get it done.  So, what do I do?  I head to a very popular trail here in my parts.  At 5pm. In the fall.  To do a 10 mile run.  Even if I were a super sprinter (which I clearly am not), it would have been dark before my 10 miles were up.  Ok, this trail is long and beautiful and sunny in the day.  At night, it’s like the road to death.  Like I imagine if I ever went to space and saw a black hole, this is what it would look like.  I couldn’t see my hands in front of my face.  Literally.  Since I’m black, that’s an even harder feat, seeing as how there’s absolutely no contrast.  It was so dark that my phone flashlight was of no help for me.  All I could keep thinking was, “My husband is going to kill me.  My husband is going to kill me.”  Over and over and over.  If, that is, I make it out of here alive.  Now I know I’m the dramatic type, but for real; I was scared.  The news reports of people being attacked on this trail kept ringing in my ears, so much that I started getting a headache.  I was running fast!!!  Like a 10 minute mile!  For some of you, that’s not fast.  So, I say pooh to you.  But, for all of you non-runners, or just trying to make it runners like me, I WAS BOOKING IT!  Not to mention, I was like on mile 7 or 8 at this point.  I called a friend to get to the ranger station: no answer on three different numbers.  I was looking for a side street, a way out…nothing.  I just remember a mile back, seeing the last streak of city life fading behind me.  I kept thinking, “Should I turn back?”  “Hell no!  Losers don’t quit!  You can make it back to the trailhead!” That was before I imagined a bear charging at me from the woods, or Freddy K. slashing me with those metal nails.  (That would have been extra awful: those nails are probably filthy, and aside from being killed, I would have ended up with a pretty bad infection).  No bueno for an open casket.  

Ok, so I finally found a path that lead to a “main” street, I call the hubs (who isn’t as mad as I thought he’d be), use my handy dandy Find My Friends feature, and voila!  I’m safe.  And, guess what else!?  I got to my 10 miles!!!!  This is where you stand up and cheer.  So, let me tell you what’s wrong with this story, if you haven’t figured it out yet.  THAT WAS STUPID!  Really dumb.  But, I wanted those 10 miles so badly, I was literally ready to risk my life for them.  Luckily, I ended up ok.  But how often do we push so hard, we hurt instead of help?  How often does God send us liferafts, and we swim past them?  Listen, I’m all about not giving up (obviously), but sometimes, you gotta know when to say when.  Maybe you don’t give up on the war—actually never give up on the war.  Always play for the big prize.  But sometimes, we need to give up on the battle, which you should choose carefully.  Patience really is a virtue, Daniel San.  The battles we fight unnecessarily sometimes end up costing us the war, instead of winning it for us.  

Talk soon. Be sure to follow me on the socials @michelletaylorwillis.com