Thank You For The Pain. It Made Me Raise My Game.

     Six Years. I am well into my sixth year of running. Working out. Trying to stay fit, eat clean and live a healthy lifestyle. It has been six years of struggles, triumphs and plateaus. Although I have adopted this lifestyle permanently, it still is a deliberate effort on my part to make it happen on a daily basis.
     There are many facts I have found to be consistent over time. One that stands out is that there are constantly people and things that will hinder my progress and try to sabatage my goals. Some of them are avoidable. Others...not so much. However, I have also found that when I fight, when I rise above those obstacles, I am better off. Not only in the physical sense, but mentally as well. I develop a toughness...a strength...an endurance that enables me to get up. Every single time I'm knocked down. Sometimes, it takes me a little bit longer to get up. But, man, I will rise. I will get up. Every time.
     Running. Fitness. Strength Training. Lifting. Working out. Cross training. Clean living. I don't care what you call it. It works for me. It's not been a fluke. I've worked long and I've worked hard to get wear I am. Down 128 pounds and 10 sizes. That took work. It takes work. I've kept it off.
     I am running in my 5th half marathon this spring for a charity I love, Genre's Kids With Cancer Fund. I ran my first full marathon a little over 2 years ago, the Marine Corps Marathon. I was hoping to run Pittsburgh's full marathon this year, but due to circumstances beyond my control, I made the decision to drop down to the half a couple of weeks ago. Tough to swallow, but my attention was needed elsewhere. I will hopefully still run the full in the City of Bridges one day.
     I live this lifestyle because I have never felt better my entire life. I simply feel better. However, I run, lift and train for many other reasons as well. This week was a challenging week at school. I broke up a fight between 2 students. Pretty intense and fierce. As soon as it went down, I moved as fast as I could. That morning I woke up with a migraine. Ten minutes before the fight went down, I fell on the stairs...HARD...on my knee and leg...and was sitting at my desk reviewing a lesson... nursing the pain from my knee and leg. Not only did I race to the altercation and break up the fight, I physically restrained the one boy until backup arrived. He was taller than me and weighed more than I do. Muscles? Yeah. Bigger than mine. And let's talk about his adrenaline. Fortunately, it only lasted a few minutes, even though it seemed like forever. And, fortunately, I have a good relationship with him and he responded well to me. The whole time I was trying break up the fight, and then restrain him, I kept thinking, "Crap! I haven't lifted in 2 weeks. I'm so weak. I'm not on top of my game." That may seem silly or funny, but really? It's not. In today's world, whether it be in the schools or work place or the mall or anywhere else...you need to be on top of your game.
     I love what I do. I love who I am. I fall down. I get up. I am a work in progress. I have said it a thousand times before. The older I get, the more I realize how screwed up I am. But, also, the older I get, the more and more I realize who I am. What I want and what I don't want. Life is a process and full of challenges. You have to look life square in the eye and move through it. Sometimes a day at a time. Sometimes a moment at a time. No one said life was going to be easy. It's not.
     Last night, as I was running, I was thinking about how grateful I was for The Run. It has afforded me the opportunity to Think. To Breathe. To Hope. To Dream. To challenge myself in ways I never thought possible. To achieve goals I never thought were attainable. To Live. To Raise My Game.