Headwinds

I headed out this morning at 5:45 am for my 16 km med-long run. We've suddenly found ourselves in the midst of a sharav (heatwave) with temp's expected today of 30c. While Israel is generally quite hot, and we do adjust to the average temp's of 29 - 35c that we see much of the year, the first few hot days always come at a bit of a 'surprise' and we need to adjust for them. You must dress appropriately and drink, drink, drink a ton of water. Moreover, a sharav is often times accompanied by strong desert winds that work extra hard to blow into every nook and cranny so that there is no refuge from the heat.

So while my run started out with a gradual decline in elevation with a nice bit of tailwind nipping me from behind - what goes around certainly comes around, and on the return loop, I was faced with a steady climb and headwinds!!

Talk about frustrated! Those darn headwinds were a challenge, and the more I struggled and wrestled with them - the worse it seemed to get. How can I beat these winds? - I certainly couldn't seem to outrun them (and I tried), and no matter how much I screamed to the heavens, they just didn't abate.

It wasn't until I put my head down slightly and ran into the winds that I was finally able to conquer them. Because I was running on the side of the highway, it was important to lift my head every dozen or so steps (lest I become road splatter!) - but then I would lower it again, and work my run. After several kilometers, the winds abated, and my course took a slight turn, so that the winds were no longer fighting me and my forward momentum. Relief...

So I thought about it, that headwind, and how could I apply it to the rest of my life... I think that when we are faced with a monumental problem, and we react to it by running around it, struggling physically with it, and even screaming and blaming everyone else for it, those steps just aren't going to solve it. In order to resolve it - we must deal with it head on. And then, take a break now and again by lifting your sights and getting your bearings... and perservere until the problem will fizzle out on its own, or your life's course changes a degree or two, and that problem won't seem so monumental.

The run was harder than usual because of the winds, but I made it - and the struggle now seems so small in my minds eye.

Only 4 more runs until the Jerusalem HM.