Day 2

I realize that my loyal followers are thinking..."Meghan, umm, it is Day 3." And yes, in the blog-a-thon it is indeed Day 3. But, I do have other things going on in my life, believe it or not.

Long before I was a runner, I was a biker. True story. And today should be a "Day 2" on the annual Challenge biking trip. For those out of the loop, Challenge had a long history in the college ministry at First Baptist Church. For nearly 30 years, as soon as spring finals ended, a large group of college students loaded up and headed out to challenge themselves physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. They would bike around 200 miles over the span of 4 days across great parts of our country AND they would do ministry along the way. This is the first time in 10 years that I haven't been on the trip or praying for those on the trip. With Clint's transition to Florida State, and the insurance nightmare that a trip of this nature presents, there is no Challenge this year. And it is not likely that there will be one in the future.

As I write, I am flooded with memories from these trips (after all, I did go on 7 of them! yikes- that is like 1400 miles! But let the record show....that is more than Brian Williams.) The relationships that I built with others, the ways that I learned to push myself, to provide encouragement (when everything in me resisted), and the life lessons that I was taught allow me to safely say that I learned MORE on those trips than from anything else I have done. Using the right gears makes ALL the difference. And that is one of the best analogies that I have for life.

So you ask, what's the big deal with Day 2? Day 2 was historically the MOST challenging day for me. My muscles would be sore from the 8 hours of biking the day before, I was tired from sleeping on the floor of a church...and the end was not yet in sight. On Day 2, quitting was still an option in my mind. Probably because I have yet to feel completely invested in the task. And that theme comes up so much in my life. When I am into a project enough to realize how much work it will involve or how much it is paining me... and I can't see the end... I am often very tempted with quitting. Then I remember that it is just a Day 2. Soon it will be Day 3 and then Day 4. By Day 4, I will be so invested, that a small part of me won't want it to end.

This trip taught me not to take the little things for granted, to be grateful for a 30 second shower in Niagara temperature water, to yearn for a turkey sandwich that may or may not have fallen on asphalt, to appreciate that Stu knows every word to "Copacabana", and to understand the value in yelling "Car Back!" for the trillionth time. On these trips I have eaten both the worst meal of my life (burnt beef stew) and the best meal of my life (Amish Buffet), I have been in awe of Charles Lawson, I accepted the fact that I would have to "chase a rabbit", I developed a love for the Barbie lip gloss/ sunscreen stick and I have been grateful that we didn't actually have to rename Hwy 20 and I-75 "The Stuart Pearce Memorial Interchange".

Perfect timing... Clint literally just called me. (Those who know Clint are laughing at my use of the word literally.) Well, a small part of me wanted to cry when he started shouting over the phone. "Where's the tail gunner Group1?! Tail gunner Group 1?!" It appears that I am not the only nostalgic one. I'm just glad that he didn't shout, "If you're not clapping, you're running!"

This little photo was taken at Stone Mountain in 2004? And I learned a valuable lesson on that particular trip- milk before biking is BAD! And what goes up... doesn't always come down.

To this day, I am friends with many of these women, wait....ALL of these women. And we are proud to be rocking sweat dried to our faces, spandex biking shorts, and helmet hair. You can't see it, but on my shirt is a duct tape label with the word "Diva". I can't imagine why?

Challenge, we love you and you will be missed....