Christmas Eve Run

I wasn't sure who would be running this morning.  It is Saturday, but it is also Christmas Eve with all of its time constraints:  obligations of family, holiday dinners, and candlelit services in churches.  But Bob and Skip were there, and after we warmed up a bit, Vicki and Jeff arrived.  The temperature was remarkably warm, perhaps the warmest Christmas Eve in recent memory.  We had run a mile and a half when we heard Fred coming up behind us, and then we passed Sam and Derek, too, all of us out for a Saturday run despite the steadily worsening drizzle.  Fred and I ended up running the longest - eight miles for him, nine for me - probably because we had fewer obligations than the rest.  I ended up running the last mile by myself, calling out "Merry Christmas" to the dog-walkers and shoppers on Main Street.

It was a good time to remember once again how much I enjoy the company of friends on the road.  I ran two runs entirely be myself, both of them 5-K time trials, on Monday and Thursday this week, and like most hard workouts I did not want any company.  Solo runs are a time for reflection and prayer, a time for practicing how to focus, a time for looking around and seeing the ever-changing world around us.  But it is a good thing to have friends, too, and to be enjoying together the gifts of running and health and fitness. 

We talked about upcoming races, books we wanted to read, vacations we were going to take; and we talked about larger plans too:  Skip moving to Tryon next month, Fred moving to another house.  It is the season for summing up what we have accomplished during another year - and in my case in particular moving forward after loss, accepting with gratitude the gradual recovery from injury - and for looking ahead with eager anticipation to the next one.  That's the phrase Fred told me his Preacher had been using in his Advent season devotional.  And my run today was a kind of devotional, as if often is.  The long road winds around and around the curves in the road ahead of us and we cannot see very far down it at all.  But it is true comfort and joy to be sharing that road with friends.