The Fighter in Me

"The most important thing is not to win but to take part, just as in life the most important thing is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well." -The Olympic Creed

    This week, training has been rough. I mean throw the covers back over my head and sleep some more rough. Last week I shared about mind over matter. This week, the matter won a couple of days. Life demanded a bit more of me and I was worn out. Thus, sleep won out a few days. But I have not, nor will I , let that knock me down and quit.
  Running has taught me to fight. I don't mean put up my fists and fight; I don't even mean shout at another person and have an argument fight. I mean it has taught me to push through and stop saying "I can't."
    Though I grew up on a farm and have that stubborn strong girl in me, I frequently found myself at one point not too long ago saying "I can't."
  I let what others say to me too often define my own mindset. I allowed myself to quit when I should have kept going. I fell into the trap of lies said to me and often times gave up.
   Running became so many metaphors to me when I started (and then finished my first race in 2009), and to this day it remains a metaphor to me on many playing levels . This week, I have remembered the fighter in me. And running has helped push that trait through.
 
  Running taught me that I Can do what I put my mind to.
       Running taught me I am bigger than words said to me.
           Running taught me it's not about winning, it's about taking part and pushing through.
 Running taught me (as stated above) that it's not about the triumph, but the struggle.
     Running helped me believe in me.
  Running taught me to fight for what I love.

And I can take all those lessons and apply them to all areas of my life.
   I can push through days when I feel like falling apart and in the end, I am stronger for it.
       I can push through words said to me and conquer them and be a better person for it.
   I don't have to win, to be in the limelight, or to have any awards; I am accomplishing a great feat and it doesn't matter who sees it or knows it-I know the struggles I conquered along the way and it is a huge victory for me even if I come in "last place."
      Life is hard. It's full of curve balls and unknowns to navigate. Yet, those struggles are what build me, part of what grow me and make me who I am. I don't like them and I don't have to like them; I just have to recognize the struggles for what they are and grow.
     I can do more than I ever thought possible.
 Fighting for my family, my marriage, my beliefs in Christ- It's worth it. Keep fighting.

If you aren't a runner, you may not understand that running has taught me all of this. But it has, and it has helped bring the fighter out in me. And for that reason, even when there are days I decide to sleep that extra hour, I am still a fighter, and the next day (like today, when it is -1 out as alarm goes off) I will conquer the bold task(s) in front of me. Whether that means getting up and running or if it means pushing through a long day at work, or if it means fighting for my family values. I am a fighter.
 One day at a time.