Slowly re-entering the world of racing, in a slow turtle-like pace, I completed my second 10K of this season this past weekend. Beautiful homes and picturesque water views were eye candy the entire course. Stunning!
Runners and walkers of all ages, all sizes, all athletic abilities shared one common goal: to finish their race. Ceremonial motivational signs like “you all look like Kenyans to me” or “worst parade ever” dotted the course, along with the token “free beer” stand in front of a local’s home. All offering a moment’s distraction from the sometimes mundane experience of running a road race. While all of the above have been at dozens of races I’ve done in the past (with the exception of the physical landscape, it was among the best I’ve seen)……simply the best motivational symbol I saw was a woman, a mom, someone similar to my age, wearing a simple shirt with this slogan on it……
Forward is a Pace.
Best. Shirt. Ever.
While many of us slower runners dream of one day being fast, or faster, or perhaps not so pathetically slow…..isn’t that really the point? To keep moving forward, whether one is on a race course or in life…isn’t that the point? To keep moving forward……..
- How often in life do we get overwhelmed and stuck in place?
- How often do we compare ourselves to others and when feeling “less than”, cease trying?
- How often do we give up on starting something new, for fear of failure?
Regardless of the journey, running or in life (sometimes these may co-exist, in my life they often do), there is power in remembering to just keep moving forward….or as Dory suggests…
Often, it isn’t in destination that we grow or learn, but rather the experience or the journey. When we are faced with challenges, how do we adapt? How do we find the strength within to keep going? Few things in life have so clearly shown this lesson as running has for me. With injury, with pain, with frustration, with disappointment….somewhere I have found the strength to keep moving forward. While there isn’t prize money or a medal awaiting me (ok, well there typically is a “finishers” medal for everyone who finishes a race), the real prize is knowing that no matter what….I didn’t give up. I kept moving forward.
I remember the first time I ran a half marathon, my boys were 4 & 8 years old. My younger son asked me if I won the race. I said no. Puzzled, he asked me why I had a medal around my neck. Smiling, I explained all finishers of the race received a medal.
A few days later, my older son asked me why I would run a race knowing I’d never win.
I sat for a few moments and thought to myself (really….really….thought to myself why did I do it? ha.) and the answer I gave them was something like this…..
Winning had nothing to do with it for me. I ran because I could run. I ran because knowing I could finish something that was really hard helped me with more than just my running…… it helped me to know no matter what I faced in life, I could find the strength to keep moving forward.
Ok, ok, ok….they were young and I’m sure most of what I said went right over their heads, but when you have a therapist as a mom, you seldom get an easy, simple response. Occupational/familial hazard.
8 years later, my understanding of why I run races, often with some sort of injury or pain, has much more to do with my ability to channel my inner strength into a goal I want out of than my actual pace or speed for which I will achieve it. Running or in life. In my mind, I know where I am going, it just might take me a little time to get there….PACE is irrelative.
So if I’m slow, and I finish, it is better than Did Not Finish, and that’s better than Did Not Start! (Running lingo….)
So no matter what you are facing this week….my simple thoughts emulate the immoral words of Dory….”just keep swimming” or just keep moving forward….no matter your Pace……
Peace….and Happy Running……or Walking…..or Crawling Forward……
peaceinthejourney 