I pondered whether I wanted to get out of bed and go for a run, or take the dogs on their long walk/jog. With all the barking and spinning around we decided to take the dogs on their long walk. It’s super dark at 5am and all we have are our flashlights that barely shine on the sidewalk. It’s eerily spooky that time of day as we move through what I call the forest, feeling the rhythm of our feet syncing with the heartbeat of the earth. A fantastic feeling of being grounded.
As I jogged in front of Kevin with our Australian Shepard and my music blasting in my ears I heard my name shouted. My heart fluttered as I turned around to make sure no one was on the ground or injured. When I heard Kevin say, “Quick, come here! Check this out.” I flashed the flashlight on this huge spider web stretched between the trees. At the center, a spider stuck in its own creation. I’m not sure how I didn’t plow right through it.
In that moment of the peacefulness of the morning I stopped dead in my tracks. Not because the web was directly in our path, but because there was something about it that captured us—something that spoke to the essence of running and, to life itself.
This isn’t the first time we’ve broken a trail before. After all this is the time of year we find all sorts of spider webs and creatures milling about that early in the morning. But this spider web was different. We can tell he/she worked all night creating this cozy home. It was delicate, intricate, and yet so easily breakable. Just like the mental and emotional webs we weave when running through the tougher parts of life(especially as a couple)—when we feel stuck in a situation we created, unsure how to move forward or if moving forward will tear apart something beautiful.
As runners and couples , we constantly face webs—some of them physical, like the ones we dodge on the road, and others that exist only in our minds. It’s the challenge of finding our pace, overcoming fatigue, and breaking mental barriers. But just like that spider, even when we feel stuck, there’s always a way out. Sometimes, we have to stop, assess, and carefully untangle ourselves from what holds us back.
Today, we gently moved aside the web, letting the spider continue its journey. And we continued ours, weaving new paths, breaking new trails, and reminding ourselves that no matter how intricate or daunting the web, we can always find a way through.
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