Overcoming Adversity

I'm 36 years old, and I'm fitter than I've ever been.   It feels great to be fit and injury free.  Running is funny:  sometimes it feels like all it does is beat you up.   Plantar Fasciitis(luckily only a three week malady for me), Achilles Tendinitis(chronic through my last year at UAA and the three years thereafter, Runner's Knee (aKa Patellar Tendinitis... pops up every 10 months or so), Peroneal Muscle Pain.... been there, done that, each and every one.     Torn soleus muscle:  that really sucked.  Remind me not to race in a Speedo and spikes (after not having worn spikes for years.... thanks Matt).

That being said, if it were easy, everyone would do it.  Overcoming adversity is what makes the juice you get out of the lemon all the more sweeter.  On a macro-scale, reading about Meb Keflezigi's return from injury to win the 2009 New York Marathon is extremely heartlifting:  Before winning New York, his last quality marathon was the 2006 Boston Marathon(a span of 3 1/2 years).

http://www.runtoovercome.com/

On a micro-scale watching Heather Dorniden's 600M incredible victory in the 2008 Big 10 Indoor Championships so neatly encapsulates Winston Churchill's quotation:

"Never, never, never give up."

Running itself, going from stillness to motion, is a minor act of overcoming the tendency or inclination of stopping or resting when tired.   It's how far you go in overcoming the urge to give in, how hard you work in spite of all the obstacles that makes the destination and journey that much more enriching.  How far do you want to go?