There's something about big events in a person's life that, once they've come to completion, creates a sort of void. Like the works of any masterful orchestra and it's conductor, the music plays...a few woodwinds and strings whimsically sway you...the brass teases...the percussion lightly hints at what may come...then the build up to the climax-where-every-instrument-is-being-utilized-and-your-whole-being-is-engulfed-in-the-enormity-of-it-all-until-you JUST.CAN'T. STAND IT....
and then it halts...like you just ran into a brick wall.
You might hear a few flutes, bells, and chimes but for the most part, you're left longing. Longing for the next climactic event and the energy, attention and thrills that come with it. The unknowns, the variables, the learning opportunities...endless physical, mental and emotional stimulation...
I think I have just described the inner workings of an adventure junkie.
Now, I'm not a junkie, this is for sure. But reviewing in my mind the Portland Marathon and all the training, learning and sometimes suffering I experienced made me realize that once it was over...it was over. That's it. No encore.
Huh. Bummer.
Nobody really cares about the after-effects of a marathon. The blisters, the exhaustion, the weakened immune system that has kept you under the weather for forever... But the many conversations I've had about training, learning and the new experiences are like the orchestra...the stimulation. The marathon was the climax, and the week after was the abrupt halt or proverbial brick wall...which now leaves me longing.
So..."Now what?", is the question I wrestle with. What's the next big thing? Do I go bigger? Do I go smaller (distance-wise) but more often? Do I try something different? Something not even to do with any form of exercise? Something like school or a mission trip or...or...
Time to find an answer to that question!
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