August 21, 2009 10:58 PM

Tonight during my run, the sky unexpectedly erupted and a violent rainstorm with thunder and lightning came down. I had been happily running with a sense of companionship listening to the 8/12/09 podcast of Zen and the Art of Triathlon (which was the most engaging of all the episodes I have heard for years!)... I consider riding out the storm under a tree...and then a big bolt of lightning comes down and so I decide to try and make it to a shed where there is a roof. I run as fast as I can and stand under a small roof. I see a man and two children running with newspaper over their heads in the distance. I hear a boy yelling : "stay off the cement, daddy!" No other people are around. I move inside the shed to wait for the storm to end before I continue to where I parked. I have this profound sense of being alone within the rage of nature. I feel disconnected from everyone and everything. It seems that everything has come to a silent stop even in the midst of this raging storm. I stand as far inside as I can away from the splashing downpour when I feel a spider web against my face. I look up and see a huge spider above my head with his legs moving furiously in the air. This freaks me out and I move as far away from it as possible and endure the rain hitting my legs. The thunder and lightning are intense and not showing any signs of stopping. I am in the center of the storm. After 45 minutes, it seems that the worst has moved away and the rain is now moderate so I decide to brave it and I tuck my iPod into my running shorts and make a mad run for it as fast as I possibly can. By the time I reach the parking area, I am breathing hard and completely sopping wet and all I can think about is getting inside the vehicle and making sure my iPod still works and hoping I don't get sick from the cold rain and hot sweat chills.

The sound of silence in the storm is still here.