Find the door!

-

 

Find the door!

That was the charge to my cross country runners every time they stood at the start line of the race.
Why? If they were running hard and with courage, it was inevitable that they would "hit the wall" at some point during the race. But here's the thing: 
 
▶️ In every wall, there is at least one door. The key is to find it and then fling it open to charge through.
 
But most will give up when they run smack into the wall. It hurts. They slow. They mentally quit. The will to continue vanishes - even if the door is in sight for a fleeting moment.
 
It takes exceptional courage and will to give the door a good boot. You see, just cracking the door does no good because you are no further along than before you found it. You are simply left to get a glimpse of what could be.
 
That said, when you fling open the door to burst through, the wall is suddenly behind you. You now enter uncharted territory where you are doing more than you ever thought possible. It's a brave new world on the far side - but there is pain and sacrifice coupled with bravery, valor, and grit that gets you there.
 
Finding the door is tough. Really tough. I've looked for it plenty of times in the context of an ultramarathon but can only count on one hand the times I actually found my way to the other side. When I did fly through the door, the feeling of incredible accomplishment was like no other.
 
Lest you think that finding the door in a wall is relegated to athletics, it is not.
 
No matter the venue, there can be a big, scary wall in front of you. It is formidable. With no way around it, you have to find a way through. So you:
 
✳️ Try something novel
✳️ Consider a new approach
✳️ Commit your mind, body and soul to find a solution
 
And every once in awhile, the door opens, you pass through, and a new realm of possibilities opens before you.
 
Next time you are confronted by a wall, look for the door.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Last things first: My failure

-
Image
My feet hurt but there have been at least three times in the past when they hurt worse. My legs were okay, still obedient when I asked them to run. I never really bonked bad. On good ground, I made decent progress. Problem was, there wasn't much decent ground. The thought of being out there on the trail at snail's pace for sixteen or seventeen hours was revolting, especially knowing the others would likely be in their tents by the time I got through. And, to do this again and again for the next nine days? Well, It's hard to say "I'm done." But I did. I suppose I could start from the beginning, telling you all about every last detail of my short-lived adventure.  (And I will. Only later.) But I am compelled to speak first of the decision day. Day five. The day I said those three (two if you count the contraction) fatal, final words. The fifth day of the Tour de Virginia, the 568-mile brainchild of phenom ultrarunner Eric Grossman, started early, but not as ...
Read more

Win a free scarf!

-
Image
Over the years, I have enjoyed home parties. You know the kind: a bunch of women gather, a representative lays out her wares (everything from kitchen tools to jewelery, to makeup and skin care products that promise a glowing, beautiful face), and the attendees pick, choose, and fill out order forms. I've been both a rep and a hostess. Back in the late 70's I made sewed crafty items and held my own little in-home selling parties. Years later, I sold for The Pampered Chef (TM) since I loved the products. But alas, I gave up because I didn't feel right about asking already financially-strapped folks to buy what they could probably live without. Yeah. I'm not much of a saleswoman. Borrowed from www.mytradesofhope.com/tamarawalston But every one in a while, a business idea comes along that grabs my attention. I found that in 'Trades of Hope.' Until about a month or two ago, I had never heard of this group. But then I came across a friend's post, Tamara Wal...
Read more

Hellacious Hellgate

-
I heard the sound switch from the scuffle of gravel to the crunch of leaves. My confused mind sent a signal to open my eyes. Good thing. My mindless weaving had nearly cost me a trip down the steep embankment. But in some curious way, it wouldn’t have mattered. Once I landed I could have dozed. Sweet contentment even if it was near single digit temperatures. Sleep running is not a new phenomenon to me. In fact, I find myself in that mode quite often. Eat. Drink. Talk out loud. Sing. Falalalala. Take a caffeine tab. I do all the right things but sometimes it is miles before I wake up. When I do, all is well. But when my mind is hazy and my body fighting forward motion, it is, well. . . hell. This was my seventh Hellgate 100K. I miserably failed one year but was attempting to complete my sixth wicked race. After a year of heavy-duty volunteering at the other five Beast series races, I could not resist the call of this course. There really is no explaining it. It is cold, dark, wet, s...
Read more