While I Was On The Road

Written By Kyrah Ayers

For the past month I’ve been working on Eastern Standard Time zone while visiting family between Georgia and South Carolina. The last time I saw most of these family members was almost a decade ago. The long overdue time spent with loved ones has been amazing and as it comes to a close, a part of me is saddened.

In mid June, my seven year old son and I came down to Georgia where my mother lives. During the first two weeks my son rode bikes, went to the aquarium, made friends, played in the rain, went to the zoo, helped with yardwork and most importantly spent time with his Grandmother.

During week three, we travelled to South Carolina to see my sister, niece, cousins, aunts, uncles and most importantly, my ninety five year old grandmother. The last time I saw her was when my wife and I came to my grandfather’s funeral eight years ago. It was great spending time with her and I’m thankful that she was able to meet and spend time with my son.

In between all of the fun, I’ve been putting in some serious miles. While the travel has added some hurdles, I’m thankful to have been able to continue on the journey while seeing new sights along the way. This past week I ran a total of 67 miles. It started with an 18 mile run through Mt. Pleasant, SC (where I got lost) and ended with a 20 mile run along the Rockdale River Path Trail, the Arabia Mountain Path Trail and the South River Path Trail between Lorraine Park in Conyers, GA and Martin Luther King High School in Stonecrest, GA. It was a long and relatively “slow” run.

During the night before my first 20 miler of this training cycle, the weather in Conyers, GA was unpredictable. The hour by hour forecast varied from thunderstorms to no rain at all, 90 degree heat to a “cool” 70 degrees depending on the cloud covering and wind. When I went to bed the night before, scattered thunderstorms were predicted for the morning which means no running for me. As I awoke and checked the forecast again, the thunderstorms had disappeared and scattered showers were all that was predicted so I went for it.

After arriving at the starting point and performing my usual pre-run rituals, I took off on the adventure prepared for whatever may come. Within minutes, the clouds began to pour. Storms in the south can sometimes come and go rather quickly. I heard no thunder and saw no lighting so I powered on. As I sloshed through the foresty path and across bridge after bridge, I questioned my decision several times, but within four miles, the rain reduced to a light and bearable mist acting more as a cooling system than a deterrent. At about mile seven I ventured off my usual path that heads towards Stonecrest Mall. I figured it was my last long run of the trip. I might as well decorate it with some unfamiliar scenery. I was grateful for this decision. Although new paths are less predictable, they can breathe new adventure into the mundane (#lifelesson). This trail had been my home away while in Georgia. I had begun to know how many miles it was to unique trees, broken branches, lakes, street crossings and even some regular visitors from the animal kingdom including a family of rabbits who always showed up around mile four, a pair of deer who regularly found a reason to cross the path around mile six right before I passed, a flurry of daring squirrels who liked to show off their extreme jumping skills and some trickster spiders who apparently enjoyed making webs across the running path just to watch humans flail their arms trying to fight seemingly imaginary demons.

I believe life is beautifully orchestrated. When you slow down and pay attention to it, life has a way of putting exactly what and who’s needed exactly where and when they’re supposed to be. We often rush and struggle to impose our own agendas while the grander scheme of things is effortlessly working in our favor the whole time waiting for us to notice it or quite frankly, to get out of its way.

What I learned most during this trip is how important it is to appreciate the moment you’re in. Slowing down enough to notice the small nuances of the present. While trying to constantly plan and calculate towards results we often become shortsighted and blind to the bigger picture that we’re experiencing.

In the first six months of this year, I’ve ran more than I have in any previous calendar year. I’m thankful that I’ve been able to do so without injury (knocks on wood). I’d attribute part of this to the form work that I’ve been doing that helped make my running more economically efficient. The other part would be the fact that it truly hasn’t felt like I’ve been running. In the past year, I’ve emotionally been going through a lot and have been practicing meditation regularly. Due to time restraints and household logistics, I don’t always have a quiet place to sit quietly and meditate so I’ve opted to incorporate them into my runs. I recently taught a workshop on how to incorporate meditation into your runs. It truly is a healing process that has helped me and I encourage every runner to research the physical and mental benefits of it.

In the next few days, I’ll be heading back to California for the final 45 days of training before the Santa Rosa Marathon. This trip has gifted me the opportunity to acclimate to running long distance in the heat which was one of my primary concerns for my upcoming race. It’s also allowed me to get grounded internally. The south has always been a place that calms my spirit, slows down my busy mind and the reuniting with family has filled me with the love that I needed more than I knew.

The last piece of the tool bag I’ll be adding to get this Boston Qualifying time is to reintroduce speedwork back into the mix to regain my turnover during long distance running. Always excited to rev the engine to see how she sounds.

The journey is the reward and I’m enjoying every step along the path. Even when I was lost in Mt. Pleasant asking locals for directions. I’m still laughing at myself about when I was moving some fallen branches off of the path and almost jumped out of my skin because I thought I saw a snake. Even when I was running in downpouring rain, I slowed down and reflected on each and every step. Every run in Georgia, along the Rockdale River Path Trail, I would count how many bridges I crossed along the way. On most days I lost count before 15 so let’s just say there’s a lot. It was more of a distraction exercise anyway. I bring it up because wooden bridges when wet can be extremely slippery. Slowing down and maintaining your footing trumps any speed record you’re aiming for. So many lessons I received during this trip were signs to just slow down and appreciate the moment. In my last two runs turtles have been appearing for me. Just sitting there in plain site waiting on me to see them.

Even though I had aspirations to write daily during my trip, I forfeited those hours to watch game shows with my grandmother or to spend time with my cousins, have great conversations with my elders or to just sit and listen to the sound of thunder. Everything happens for a reason.

Special thanks to:

The Santa Rosa Marathon will be here before you know it. Looking forward to every aspect of it. I feel more ready than I ever have been. Make sure you’re subscribed to our mailing list to stay updated on the results.

Thanks for reading!

Kyrah Ayers https://ActivelyPursuingGoals.com
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