At work things have become very busy lately and we are down three key staff members. Much of the workload falls to our Res Life Supervisory Team--and a good deal falls to me. I have been asked if I'm going to get tired, warn out, or burned out. My answer is always, "no." My "no" is generally met with the shaking of the head and some disbelief. But...I know I won't get tired. I know it as sure as I know we need oxygen to breathe. My capacity to handle fatigue is tested daily when I run and I have learned so much about handling fatigue through running.
In April of 2006 I ran in the Big Sur Marathon (that's me in the red hat). This was my comeback marathon after being out of running for about three years. Big Sur is beautiful, but also extremely hilly. Extremely. It generally chews people up and spits them out. At mile 23 of Big Sur I was hurting!!! My quads felt like someone was slamming bricks on them and I just wanted to quit. I stopped for a second, regained my composure, and devised a plan of walking and running to the finish so I could make it. And...that got me through mile 23, and then I was able to run all of mile 24, 25, and 26. I mention Mile 23 because that was my wall in the race and I had to figure out how to get around it. Sure, it would not have mattered in the scheme of life if I hitched a ride back to the finish, but I was not about to do that. Similarly, if I hit a wall at work, and hit them I have and will, I'll find a way around it or a way through it. I do it every day when I run. Consequently, I'm ready to do it everyday in my work. And...at Big Sur I gave my absolute best effort on the course and finished in 3:08--qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which is tough to do on the Big Sur Race Course. Have a great day. Get out there, go for a run, and practice breaking through walls. If you practice everyday, you'll never run out of steam (NOTE: you have to allow yourself an appropriate amount of rest, patience, and common sense as well). Happy running to you...
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