It seems like I've run in all kinds of weather this winter--rain (lots, and lots of rain), snow, cold, and ice. That's one thing about running is when you're out there, you're out there in the middle of what ever the weather throws at you.

Sometimes it gets pretty old. Last week I just said, "bag it" and went down to the gym for a work out. I kind of felt guilty afterwards. Kind of like I cheated. I think maybe that's another quirky thing about running--part of the experience of running is about being in the weather... good or bad. There's no way to escape it. And there's a part of me that doesn't want to escape it.

Oh, certainly sometimes it sucks. Sometimes I think it would be better to be inside, on a treadmill or a bike or something. But then again, when it's over... when I look back... I think if I had gone inside I would have missed something. Even those times when I grumble because my feet are soaked and may fingers are cold, there's something special about being outside... running.

I think a lot of life is like that. I'm certain a lot of religion is like that--hiding instead of engaging. But really, if anything, religion should not be an escape from the world. It should be a means to engage the world around us more fully. To often, though, I think it's more like going to the gym for a more comfortable workout instead of heading off into the rain for a run.

Kind of sad, but I have a funny feeling that we're missing a lot by doing that. Maybe I need to head out for more runs even when there is snow on the ground. Maybe I need to figure a way to make my religion more of a way to engage the world I live in than a means to escape it.