1339 Miles & 317 Speaking Spots Later

Yesterday afternoon, I arrived back to Sioux City: both the starting and ending point of this yearlong journey.

343 days ago.  Start of the AMS journey in Sioux City City.  

343 days have passed.  The equivalent of 8,232 hours, 493,920 minutes or 29,635,200 seconds.
What

Speaking to youth in Ames Iowa.  1 of 311 speaking spots during the year.

Many miles covered by foot and many words spoken by mouth.

Running to Orange City in January 2011 in a blizzard. 1 of 40 long running days during the year.

I am overwhelmed as I attempt reflection on the past year of my life.

Where do I begin?  

How does one share with others the journey they have been on?  

It's as if I'm experiencing culture shock.

Over the next few months I hope to spend time reflecting and sharing my thoughts from the road:

• What I learned
• How I changed, and how I remained the same
• Who I met
• Why I did what I did
• Where I went and what I discovered

Some of the people on the journey

The Seasons Are a Changin'

Bob Dylan sings, "The times they are a changing."  

This is a post of the possible changes and "What's next?" for the AMS journey.

Winter

Running in a Iowa winter blizzard (Kingsley to Orange City)

Protecting my face from the elements

 Spring

Running from Webster City to Ames in Spring.  Flowers on the side of the road.

Yes, those are IronMan sunglasses.  

Summer

Running to Waterloo Iowa.  Super hot summer in Iowa.  Had to stay in Independence a night due to extreme heat.  

This particular summer running day, I consumed eight 24-ounce waters, six 32-ounce Gatorades, a camel back, and additional fluids.  The summer was very hot & humid.  The toughest run was Iowa City to Grinnell.

Which brings us to Fall AKA Autumn... the changing of the seasons.

• Trees shed their leaflets.  
• Days get shorter. 
• It gets colder.
• Sweaters come out of the closets (unless you live in Florida).
• Pumpkins are carved & turned into delicious pies.  
• Coffee shops put out their seasonal nutmeg spiced latte.  

Life is like the seasons.  Change happens and we transition, good for us.  Often times difficult and tough, but ultimately good.  Each person or group of people need challenge, risk, meaning and purpose.  If we aren't finding that in what we are currently pursuing, we feel stagnant or bored, not alive, and we long for the next season, the next change, where we are challenged and hopefully come alive.  

I write this blog post, cause the Awake My Sole journey has experienced the four seasons of Iowa: Winter, Spring, Summer & Fall.  

The AMS dream began in 2007 amidst conversation in a office entry way.  It's now three months till the running portion of the AMS journey ENDS. Many have asked, "What's the next season of the AMS journey?"  

We're not sure yet.  We're in a waiting period, seeking discernment inspired by the Creator and wisdom from others.  

Some of ideas include:

• Get someone else to RUN/Speak the AMS route.
• Write something about the AMS journey.
• Have a summer relay run across the state of Iowa to help raise $$$ to build water wells.
• Continue the journey, maybe across another state.  
• Continue to speak.    
• End the AMS journey.  Wrap it up, let it be what is was.
• Start a mentoring program for younger boys, combing running/mentoring together
• Have an Awake My Sole speaking tour with multiple runners.
• Your idea: ___________________________.    

Keep AMS in your thoughts and prayers as we discern what's next.  

Here are some Autumn pics... Enjoy!!!