Twenty-Eight Days to the Finish Line

I learned something new aobut perseverance yesterday. About a mile into a 10-mile run, I ran across a stretch of sidewalk covered with those ping-pong ball sized brown spiky seed pods that fall from sweetgum trees, and I rolled my ankle.

My palms hit first and then my right knee, followed by my right hip and shoulder.  I lay on the sidewalk for three or four minutes assessing the damage. I wasn’t in pain so I figured I hadn’t done any permanent damage, but I did rip a hole in my cold-weather insulated tights. I think my knee-high compression socks and thick tights protected me somewhat. I found the courage to stand and see if I had an injury that would keep me from running. I seemed fine, so I kept on and made good time. 

By the 5-mile mark, I began to feel some pain in my ankle, knee, and shoulder and considered calling it quits but I couldn’t. I had a schedule to keep after all.  The second 5-miles was not any fun at all. I walked all the hills, feeling the pain more in my ankle than my knee, but I still couldn’t quit.  I kept thinking about the Run the Bluegrass course and knew it would take far more from me than completing this second 5- miles.

I struggled on and while my time was seven minutes slower than when I ran 10-miles two weeks ago, I was pleased to have completed the run.   I’m sore as all-get-out today and I’m taking the stairs very slowly, but I have the satisfaction of knowing I didn’t quit yesterday.  I ran with pain and discomfort and finished the run. That was something I needed to know I could do. 

I'm discovering that now that I’ve made the decision to self-publish THE RUBY BROOCH, things that I feared before like running with pain and putting my story out to the world are no longer things to fear but blessings to embrace. My comfort zone’s boundary has been extended. How awesome is that?  

Happy writing and running, Kathy