Nevertheless, it's not so much the race I want to talk about, but rather the support I received during the race that I want to focus on. You know when you've got a friend you absolutely love, and think they're absolutely incredible; then one day they take their incredibility to a whole nother level and you're like "whoa! how in the world are we friends?" because at that moment they seem to be somewhat out of your league....? Well that's what I experienced during this race and I couldn't be more grateful to have this friend in my life. Let me tell you why...
It just so happens that I found out about the race while I was on Christmas/New Years holiday (worst time to agree to take part in something that strenuous). I agreed to participate in the race and then questioned my own sanity after that. I started training but to be completely honest I had no idea what I was doing (I had never had to train for something like that before), but I did what I thought would work best, apparently... it wasn't even close to enough. Come race day, I chickened out and decided to do the 5km instead, but even that idea was short lived due to timing and traffic issues, so
the 10km it was.
There were 5 of us who were friends, participating in the race; 2 regularly runners, 1 who exercises daily, another who is just always fit (I never got that) and then... me, all talk and hardly any action (hehehe). Anyway... We all began together, but soon the expert 3 disappeared and it was just me and my randomly fit friend running together. Now let's just be honest, no matter how fit or unfit you are, when you run a race with a friend who's fitter, you wanna make sure that you never look like you're tired or dying... EVER!!!! Apparently though, my fate was completely different for this race because after about 1km, I cramped up like crazy and literally could not run anymore. Nevertheless, I was not going to be defeated, so I kept pushing; up the hills, down the hills, through the fatigue, through the pain, through the negative thoughts - I just kept pushing, until I finally got to the finish line. And even though I couldn't feel my legs; I technically wasn't breathing anymore and I was in a lot of pain, it was all worth.
Sounds a bit crazy I know, I practically tortured and then killed myself, and now I'm saying it was all worth it, what is wrong with me??? I tell you what, the knowledge of getting a medal at the end was enough to get me going; but to be completely honest, the support I received all throughout the race was what actually got me through to the end (enter my incredible friend). It's so easy to say that I pushed through the pain. Its so easy to say that I pushed
through the fatigue, that I was motivated to keep going because of the medal I would receive; but we all know that wasn't the entire story (well now you know). I could take all the credit for my finishing the race or I could prove the importance of not only having friends, but having friends who are always by your side no matter what!
So, after 1km of running I was in so much pain I honestly couldn't go any further and just wanted to quit, but my friend wouldn't let me quit and kept pushing me to keep going. After 5km, my body was officially done and I knew I couldn't go a step further, but my friend kept encouraging me; she just kept telling me I could do it. After 8km I could no longer feel any part of my body, and when I started walking my friend was right there besides me, she just never gave up on me. At 9.5km I didn't even care about the medal anymore, all I wanted was water and a bed to lie on, but my friend kept rooting me on and made sure I crossed the finish line with her... She totally believed in me.
This is what life is about, this is what friendship is about. We all think that
we're in this to be better than others, society keeps telling us that. However, when I was lagging behind, when I was on the verge of giving up, when I was essentially holding my friend back, she had every opportunity to just leave me behind, and infact I urged her countless times to just go ahead, yet no matter how far behind we fell, no matter how many times I walked, no matter how much I tried to get her to leave me alone, she just refused, instead choosing to stay by my side. She wanted to see me push through, she wanted to see me to the finish, she wanted to see me succeed... And she did!
Life can be hectic... Life will toss you about and then bring you down. It will try to take everything out of you until you have nothing left - Life is tough! But life can and is made easier when you have people in your life who care; people who will stick by your side no matter what; people who are willing to get down and dirty in your business (Helen Burns); people who just love you!!! This can only happen if you open yourself up; when you choose to go the extra mile; when you decide to look beyond yourself, not for your benefit, but for the benefit of others... #justsaying
Love this!
ReplyDeleteYou are blessed as you bless...don't be surprised when people do things for you Tee...you are legendary