Patience Pride & Pain

Over the years I have run a lot of races, literally and metaphorically. In both instances you can feel like you're beat around and kicked around. I think it takes a balance of patience, pride, and pain to move through gracefully. Now just because I'm writing about this, don't draw any conclusions that I'm about to give some secret insight on how to get it done. I'm not. What I am going to tell you is whether you're running a race, tackling a triathlon, or facing life head on, God gives you the grace, and through that grace you can find patience, set aside your pride, and endure your pain.

I remember my first marathon. Fourteen years ago I stepped to the starting line and began a journey of self-discovery that continues today. In those 26 miles I was prideful, and had to swallow my pride. I became angry with pain, and then realize pain was part of the process. I lost my patience and gained it back again. But if there's any coaching advice in this entry it's this. Stick it out. Don't give up. Push through. What lies right before you could be the best path you've ever been on. It's gonna get hard, you're gonna get frustrated, and you might even decide that quitting is a better option. But remember this...having patience, swallowing your pride, and enduring some pain is the mark of a true veteran. As a runner, a triathlete, or in life.

So don't ask me, because I still become prideful, I still lose my patience, and I still endure pain. All I know however is if I keep training and don't quit, someday it all comes together and I run that perfect race. On that day we realize that the effort, the cost, the gain, and the loss was worth it. You'll cross the finish line..slowly turn, look back and smile. Because your heart will say "See, it was worth it."