Coming this week is a Thanksgiving Turkey Trot in Hailey, Idaho. I will be running this race. I was thinking during my run this morning how it would be nice to just run the 5k with a relaxed training pace. I chuckled a little at the thought. I knew then as I know now that I will run that race as hard and as fast as my body and mind are capable of. Of course, I am not training or making any special preparations. I am, as they say, running right through the race (meaning I am not altering my training plan...I have an 11 mile run the day before the scheduled race). Still, the pain and fear that comes from being at the edge of existence will be there.
It goes without saying, but the act of confronting our limitations and potential does not take place exclusively in running or racing. A good friend of mine has recently had to undergo surgery and have a pace maker placed in his chest. While this is a source of significant discomfort, as soon as he was able (and got his doctor's approval) he started to run again. Just running a couple of miles at a given time brings him right up to his limits. It is inspiring to see his courage and diligence manifest in such efforts.
Bottom line is that if we never reach our limits we never really live and never truly know the extent of who we are and what we are capable of in the face of such challenges. So it goes for the unconquerable runner to periodically push right up against these limits, to bleed a little.
