12561

“Strength and growth come only through continuous effort and struggle.” – Napoleon Hill

“Consult not your fears but your hopes and your dreams. Think not about your frustrations, but about your unfulfilled potential. Concern yourself not with what you tried and failed in, but with what it is still possible for you to do.” – Pope John XXIII

My race packet for the Twin Cities Marathon came in the mail yesterday – 12561 – my race number. Reality – three weeks away from the marathon. Numbers start running through my head…

• 18 weeks of training
• 3 pairs of shoes
• 523 miles to get to the 26.2 miles start line
• 60 hour work weeks
• 95 degree runs
• 48 years old
• 20 miler this weekend – the last long run before “game” day

If I would have added those numbers up before I started, I may not have started. The bottom line – I’ve gotten from week 1 to week 18, one run, one mile at a time. Running when I didn’t feel like it. Starting at 5:30 am on Saturday mornings.

We achieve our “marathons” in life one day at a time, doing the work, staying the course with discipline, visualizing the finish line, carried through by prayers and the support of friends and family. It all adds up. And when we not only to dare to dream big, but we dare to do the work over and over again, we’ve won the race before we started. I won’t be the fastest, but I’m going the distance. 12561 – there’s a lot behind that number.