Stubborn

    There is a downside of living a life full of new and grand adventures. Downside? Truth. Careening through life from one adventure to the next, or working out to prepare myself for more epic adventures, or starting a new job that is an adventure unto itself, leaves very little time for the mundane tasks that keep life flowing smoothly. This last week had the feel of an epic endurance race, with the added stress of starting a new, fabulous job. Between spending my workaday life in the glorious back rooms of a vast Harley dealership, stopping on my way home to swim my usual miles, an evening or two at the fire station, and trying to prepare delicious, vegetarian meals, I have barely enough time to sleep. I think that is the way of adventuring, so much fun to be had, so many important tasks to complete, so much, so much, so much. I am stealing time from sleep just in order to hash out a few meager words to let the world know I am still alive and coherent. Or semi-coherent. Definitely alive! Yesterday, what for most would have been a day of well-deserved rest, I woke at 5:30am, yes, on purpose. Woke in the predawn of a glorious Spring day to drive an hour out into the wilds of Washington County to spend my morning running around a lake. A 10.5 mile race around Hagg Lake. The furthest I have ever run. And I did run. I ran all but maybe 200 yards. Not fast, but in a respectable Hour and 51 minutes to place third in my age group. Not too shabby for someone who even just a year ago did not consider herself to be a runner. It was very nearly the one year anniversary of my knee surgery. Maybe some would not consider a run to be an adventure, but to me it is a stepping stone to an epic adventure. I needed to reassure myself that I am not an absolute lunatic for thinking I can do a half-Ironman at the end of the summer. The run has been my concern, and I know that I still have an enormous amount of training ahead of me, but yesterday made me realize deep down in my very core that yes, I am a runner. I was only a few miles shy of a half marathon yesterday, and if that had been the distance, I know I could have run it. Yes, I am a little sore today. Hell, who am I kidding? My quads are pretty sore, but no worse than after a hard workout. In two weeks I have my first trail run with obstacles, 5 miles, again, in the wilds of Washington County. I am excited.
    Yes, I am rambling on about running because it has made me realize that there is nothing I can't do if I decide I really want to do it. I have made epic changes in my life, my body, my mind, my heart, and my soul. I have worked hard, and worked out hard, to make these changes. I have set my sights on goals, and am reaching them, one by one. I am learning the lessons of faith in myself, persistence paying off, hard work, and the value of a stubborn nature. Maybe that is what is at the core of it all, I am too stubborn to give up, to stubborn to give in. And mostly, when I am told I can't, I am too stubborn to not want to prove them wrong. The world is wide open to me, because I have decided to make it so.