The Business of Keepin' On

“Endurance.”  In my trusty laptop thesaurus, there are a lot of synonyms. 

“Forbearance.”  SAT word.  “Grit.”  Yeah, I like that one.  “Patience.”  It’s a virtue, they say.

“Keepin’ On.”  That’s basically what it is.  Knowing it hurts, knowing it will, knowing it’s crap, and knowing you have to…so you do.

In life, there are times you don’t want to have to draw that sword.  I’d rather not have to go through this; I don’t want to have to push through that.  Can’t it just be easy this one time? 

Nope; it doesn’t work that way.  Life is hard.  We all have our stuff, but we keep rolling.  That’s probably how I wound up putting “marathoner” on my resume.

Endurance training = life training.  Keepin’ on.

It seems like I’ve always leaned that way.  I ran track for a couple of years as a kid, but no one every accused me of being fast.  The sprints were not my cup of tea.  The hurdles didn’t work for me, and the field events – javelins and shot puts and discuses (discussii, discussions?) – just weren’t up my alley.

So I ran the mile.  As a kid, it was still an endurance event.  For us grown folks, milers sure seem like sprinters.  But as a kid, I was one of the few that would try to hang in there and do the event that most didn’t want to do…‘cause it hurt.

Back then, I did longer stuff with my dad.  Five-milers after work, the eight-mile Turkey Trot in Dallas on Thanksgiving – those were fun.  I didn’t win those, either, but I finished ‘em all.

Did my first marathon back in 1995 in Dallas.  It hurt.  It was freezing cold and all the spilled water at the aid stations froze solid on the street.  Tiptoeing through that was fun.  Twelve years later, I ran the 2007 New York City Marathon. 

For the record, they stll hurt. I’m doing it again in 2008. 

Keepin’ on.

Comments

[Christine]

Yes, life is hard and we all have "stuff" to deal with in one way, or another. But this "stuff" can either break us down, or make us stronger.

I believe this "stuff" gives us more endurance and helps us to grow as human beings - physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually.

The flipside is that if we don't move on, we get stuck, and miss all the "good stuff" in life, like family, friends, chocolate, music, pizza, sunny days, chocolate, walks along the sandy beach, chocolate. Well, I think you get it!

Excellent blog.

Here's to "Keepin' on!"

[Lea]

YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME! GLAD YOU SURVIVED IT ALL.