9/21/2015
I stared at my long lonely road. I knew I was heading into the most rural of the rural. Perhaps I should have taken out my ipod and let the music distract my mind but I didn’t. I had only taken the device out of hibernation on a handful of days over the course of this journey. Even if the day started to drag, I figured it was best to stay present. I needed to soak in the experience completely unfiltered.
My thoughts wandered all over the place as I continued my steps to the ultimate destination. I thought much about how this soul searching adventure had taken me to sights I never imagined. At times I thought about the things that I had lost in life. I thought about good friends which were no longer with me and it led me to think about my most valued commodity; time. I evaluated the wear and tear on my body. My focus managed to stay sharp for most of this journey but I had to credit the conventions of society for trying to derail this steady locomotive. I hadn’t flinched in the face of obstacles. Crystal and I absorbed each blow and continued moving forward.
With so much time to run through a lot of nothing, my mind wandered the corners of my psyche. I explored concerns about the toll this trip has taken on my finances and Crystals. We had failed to raise a decent amount of funds to sustain our organization. It was one of the factors that had led us to rush towards the finish. Despite the drain, we continued on. Fear really is our worst enemy. I told myself that I had to go all the way with this journey. I had to see it to the end. I reminded myself of all we had accomplished and all the amazing people we met along the way. They were priceless gems that no amount of money could purchase.
Each day the sun disappeared and gave way to millions of sparkling diamonds in the sky. At every meal I watched our food supply shrink. I was accustomed to consuming seven to eight thousand calories of food each day to keep my energy supply steady. I started to cut down the intake a little bit to keep from running out of things to eat. Each day I had put nearly thirty miles of dirt under my feet. I must have crossed over the Yellowstone River a dozen times. On every bridge I stopped to listen to the trickling water. The scent of the air was like pure oxygen. It was good for my mind. I thought, “What’s the worst that can happen?” My mind played out scenarios like a game of chess. Various possibilities and outcomes danced in my head. I concluded that life was too short to stress about things I couldn’t control. All I could do was continue stepping. The importance of making my time count was my top priority.
The days bled into one another and I found that I had made short work of the distance to Billings. I didn’t even know the day or the date. There were only twenty-four miles to run on the last steps back into civilization. At the end of this segment, Chipotle awaited as well as the Holiday Inn Grand. I could taste the sweet black beans, saucy tofu, and tangy salsa in my mouth. I envisioned the comfort of a hot bath and the sweet taste of a cold drink. What I envisioned ultimately became a reality. Funny, lots of things on this trip had come to fruition. As I rested, I envisioned what I wanted to accomplish on the final stage of the run. We had put smiles on the faces of many children on this planet. I came to the conclusion that I would do even more.
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