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Reflections
on Jogging
I hate jogging. I admit it. Yet, I serve with the Marines, for whom jogging is a way of life. Regardless of where Marines go around the world, they take their running shoes and they construct their pull-up bars. First thing I saw when I arrived at Camp Commando here in Kuwait was pull-up bars and Marines jogging. I knew right then I was in the right place. No, no. Make that the wrong place! I jog several days a week, desperately wanting to enjoy the experience. But I’d be lying if I said I did. I mean, look. I start out on my run trying not to twist an ankle on the irregular surface of this desert land, while at the same time tippy-toeing around and over graveled areas that appear out of nowhere. Add to this the sand mixed with a fine talc-like powder that floats up with the slightest stirring, and your breathing is immediately impaired. Real trouble comes when a Humvee drives by, or worse yet, one of the new 7-ton trucks the Marine Corps has acquired. Plus, it’s really hot here, even in the late afternoon. Sweat pours down my face, finding its way into my eyes, and man, does that ever sting! Then there are those friends of mine who spiritualize jogging. They say inane things like, “I feel so much closer to God when I’m running.” Please! Or they’ll say, “When I’m jogging I spend that time talking to God.” Well let me tell you, when I jog, I’m talking to God too. My prayer goes something like this, “Please God, don’t let me die out here!” Adding insult to injury, we military folk have a Commander in Chief, President G.W. Bush, who is a jogger. He’s about a year or so older than me, yet he runs a seven-minute mile, covering a three mile course in twenty-one minutes. One of the ways Marines are evaluated physically is by how quickly they run a three-mile course. Even when I was a young enlisted Marine, my best time for the three-mile run was twenty-one minutes and twenty seconds. My president beats that at age fifty-six! Life just isn’t fair sometimes. I also have a chaplain friend who is a tri-athlete and a marathon runner. This means he’s not entirely well. He thinks it’s fun to abuse his body. He said to me just this week, “It’s my hobby. Some people rebuild cars. I run.” He lives in Hawaii where the annual Triathlon is held which he has participated in three times. He really likes it! So why do I jog? Several reasons, actually. First, I jog because I’m still in the military and we are tested twice a year in physical fitness. Second, I love to eat. Jogging allows me to feel less guilty about enjoying my wife’s cooking (when I’m home). Third, living to a ripe old age (which is anything older than what you are now) is my goal. Longevity! That’s what I’m talking about. Make no mistake. I’m going to heaven when I die because I gave my life to Jesus. I’m just not in any particular hurry to accelerate the certainty of that eventuality. So, I’ll keep jogging, but I don’t have to like it. And if when I pass through those pearly gates I see pull-up bars and a jogging track, I guess I’ll just have to learn to live with it ... for eternity! |
