Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holidays. Up here in Michigan, it’s been pretty cold. We’ve had some snow, but not all that bad. It’s a little more than three months before I run in the Boston Marathon. Trying to train for it in this weather will be a challenge. The roads have been pretty slippery so I haven’t been out doing much running lately. I hate running indoors on a treadmill, so I don’t really get too much running in right now. I just bought some traction gizmos to put on the bottom of my running shoes. They’re called YakTrax Pros. Supposedly, they’ll keep me from slipping on hard-packed snow surfaces. I may end up having to use them pretty soon if the weather doesn’t change. We’ll see how that works out.
I’ve recently been reading a book called, “26 Miles to Boston.” It’s about the Boston Marathon – surprise! The gentleman that wrote it goes over the history of the marathon. The reason why I like the book is because he gives a blow-by-blow account for each mile of the race. He ran the race back in 1996 and discusses all the things that a runner might be interested in as he runs the course. There’s a chapter for each mile. He tells you the general slope, the points of interest along the way and anything else of value. The course runs through eight different towns and he describes the roads, the crowds, the town, etc. It’s been pretty interesting, thus far. I’m on the chapter for mile 13 right now. This is the portion of the course that takes you through Wellesley College, the women’s liberal arts college. From the description, it sounds like the ladies there really whoop it up for the runners. It’s also the halfway point in the marathon, so I guess it’s a little boost for the runner.
At this point, you might be asking yourself, why the heck did I title this blog posting, “Forgive Me When I Whine?” Well, while I was reading the book, the author mentioned how a long-distance runner has a lot of time to contemplate things. He said during the long stretches when things got tough, he would sometimes think of his favorite poem, “Forgive Me.” He wrote down a portion of it in his book. I did a little digging on the Internet and found out that it’s actually the lyrics to a song by an Islamic singer named Ahmed Bukhatir. It kind of puts things in perspective when you complain about things not going well at the time. Be thankful for all the good things that are going on in your life.
So, if you hear me complaining, forgive me when I whine.
Lyrics: Forgive Me…
Today, upon a bus,
I saw a girl with golden hair.
And wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a crutch.
But as she passed, she smiled.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine. When I whine.
I have two legs the world is mine.
I stopped to buy some candy.
The lad who sold it had such charm.
I talked with him, he seemed so glad.
If I were late, it’d do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
“I thank you, you’ve been so kind.
You see,” he said, “I’m blind.”
Oh God, forgive me when I whine. When I whine.
I have two eyes the world is mine.
I saw a child with eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play.
He did not know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
“Why don’t you join the others, dear?”
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew. He couldn’t hear.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine. When I whine.
I have two ears the world is mine.
With feet to take me where I’d go.
With eyes to see the sunset’s glow.
With ears to hear what I’d know.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine. When I whine.
I am blessed indeed, the world is mine.
