Monday, March 23, 2009

Against the Wind

Tonight's run was probably the most mentally difficult training run I've ever had. I began the run in pain, having recently strained a rhomboid muscle in my back. It was in the low 50s, dark, and very very windy (21mph). In addition to that, I ran in my subdivision which is blessed/cursed with a good set of rolling hills throughout, since it's next to a golf course.

Between the wind and the hills I could have easily called it a day or went to finish the rest of my run at the gym. I thought about it, several times...but then my mind drifted back to grad school. In grad school there were alot of times I could have taken it easy and "phoned it in." By the time you get done with that much college you can't help but be pretty good at faking it. I never did though. Even when the work wasn't challenging, I found a way to make it challenging. I looked for things to learn where there weren't any. I did that because I knew that I wouldn't find success in the commencement walk without putting everything I had into it. Glory was hidden, very carefully, in the late nights doing work I really didn't have to do.

So here I am again, just like grad school, putting in that little bit extra that I didn't strictly need to do, and searching for glory here too.

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