I really needed this today. Thanks. I love this part: "Success is showing up. It’s putting in the miles, even when no one’s watching. It’s taking a risk, knowing you might fall short."
Jenn wrote: "But if I run because I love it—because I love the training, the process, the rhythm of my feet on the trail".....Success is failing—and then trying again anyway. I know there are a lot of runners who would laugh at that definition of success. They’d call it weak, they’d call it an excuse. But that’s fine. I don’t run for them.
Truly.
More than several of my "successes" were on the way to "failures". And, I am really OK with the word "failure", because it doesn't define me as a runner, or a person. I pick myself up, dust if off, and keep moving forward.
Jenn wrote: "And if that’s the definition, then maybe failure isn’t failure at all. Maybe it’s just another step forward."
Truly.
It's an event on the way, merely a sign post, and hopefully brings the lesson for the continued path, the continued process. Success is often built on failures, sometimes lots of them.
A wise man once told me, if you hit the bullseye every time, you're standing too close to the target.
"Success is showing up. It’s putting in the miles, even when no one’s watching. It’s taking a risk, knowing you might fall short. It’s having the courage to set a goal that scares you." A goal that scares me, and a friend that always talks me into it is why I signed up for a 100km (I have completed two 50 miles on the same course/same race). It seems so insurmountable to me. And technically last year I failed the 100km and "called it" at mile 50 because according to the race rules, I could do that vs. continuing on and failing w/o a medal. I was in pain since mile 31- hip pain which I had never had before. This particular race is called Badger Mountain Challenge and has the same cut off time for the 50 mile, 100km and 100mile, 32 hours which is unusual for a race, so in theory you could walk it. I like the challenge of me against me.....oh, and the friend who talks me into it :) Thanks for the pep talk. I'm 3 weeks out from today and getting more nervous as the day approaches.
Aaaaand, I connect with this story as I bust my arse in college as the old white lady trying not to compare myself to the born-bilingual-20-somethings, trying to be successful in every role play in the MA Lab, trying so hard to build my medical interpreter skills. Wondering on the daily if I can cross that finish line and be an accurate proficienct speaker for those in need of health care. Yet I continue the journey and hope that soon I will have trained enough and practiced the skills to pull it off effectively. Thanks Jenn.
I really needed this today. Thanks. I love this part: "Success is showing up. It’s putting in the miles, even when no one’s watching. It’s taking a risk, knowing you might fall short."
Jenn wrote: "But if I run because I love it—because I love the training, the process, the rhythm of my feet on the trail".....Success is failing—and then trying again anyway. I know there are a lot of runners who would laugh at that definition of success. They’d call it weak, they’d call it an excuse. But that’s fine. I don’t run for them.
Truly.
More than several of my "successes" were on the way to "failures". And, I am really OK with the word "failure", because it doesn't define me as a runner, or a person. I pick myself up, dust if off, and keep moving forward.
Jenn wrote: "And if that’s the definition, then maybe failure isn’t failure at all. Maybe it’s just another step forward."
Truly.
It's an event on the way, merely a sign post, and hopefully brings the lesson for the continued path, the continued process. Success is often built on failures, sometimes lots of them.
A wise man once told me, if you hit the bullseye every time, you're standing too close to the target.
"If you hit the bullseye every time, you're standing too close to the target."
I really, really love that quote.
"Success is showing up. It’s putting in the miles, even when no one’s watching. It’s taking a risk, knowing you might fall short. It’s having the courage to set a goal that scares you." A goal that scares me, and a friend that always talks me into it is why I signed up for a 100km (I have completed two 50 miles on the same course/same race). It seems so insurmountable to me. And technically last year I failed the 100km and "called it" at mile 50 because according to the race rules, I could do that vs. continuing on and failing w/o a medal. I was in pain since mile 31- hip pain which I had never had before. This particular race is called Badger Mountain Challenge and has the same cut off time for the 50 mile, 100km and 100mile, 32 hours which is unusual for a race, so in theory you could walk it. I like the challenge of me against me.....oh, and the friend who talks me into it :) Thanks for the pep talk. I'm 3 weeks out from today and getting more nervous as the day approaches.
I'm three weeks away from my first 100K at the Pistol in TN. It has similar long cutoffs as well due to the 100-miler option.
Good luck to you - just keep moving forward!
Good luck to your race as well!
Amen. Someday I will complete the 2 half's to earn those medals...maybe this summer. I just gotta show up and do the work.
Aaaaand, I connect with this story as I bust my arse in college as the old white lady trying not to compare myself to the born-bilingual-20-somethings, trying to be successful in every role play in the MA Lab, trying so hard to build my medical interpreter skills. Wondering on the daily if I can cross that finish line and be an accurate proficienct speaker for those in need of health care. Yet I continue the journey and hope that soon I will have trained enough and practiced the skills to pull it off effectively. Thanks Jenn.
Amazing