(photo by Glenn Tachiyama. Running past ruins in Ancient Nemea.)I've thought a lot about my trip to Greece and running the Spartathlon since I've been home. I've "processed" so much. It was such a rich experience, filled with adventure, passion, despair, love, anger, hope, friendship, gratitude. That's why I call it "rich." It was thick with emotion and adventure.
Even an old dog can learn. I learned a lot.
I learned that:
there is nothing more important than your friends and family and significant other.
you can't always win the race.
sometimes no matter how hard you try, you will "fail" nonetheless.
your best is good enough.
love and forgiveness are stronger than hate and greed.
the world is filled with good people wanting to make the world a better place.
you should not allow mean people into your head space; there's only so much room in there.
the mind CAN overcome the physical.
sometimes the mind is weak.
sometimes we need someone to lean on when we sprain our ankles.
ankles heal.
so do bruised hearts.
"no pain, no gain" is not just physical.
we're not as fragile as we think.
we're not as strong as we think.
some risks are worth taking.
life is short; we should kiss often, laugh a lot and love with abandon.
5 comments:
Awesome. Just plain freakin' awesome. Lessons worth learning at any costs. And we'll still forget them at times, and will have to learn again. That's why the life is that long:) Loved what you said here. So true...and love you too.
Well said, Lisa.
We always hope that things will go as planned, but when they don't--well--that's when we grow as human beings. It's never fun at the time, but when we emerge out the other side we can appreciate and be grateful for what we've learned and experienced.
A big hug to you!
-Anna
Something I've always admired about you, as I told you years ago during a phone conversation after I just moved from WA state back to the Chicagoland area and was feeling lost (I'm sure you don't remember this conversation, but I do like it was yesterday), is your amazing capacity at giving and motivating.
You are one of my many mentors as I entered ultrarunning and you continue to be so...
I was very sad reading Dave Bursler's post to the Ultra List that you severely injured your ankle (that pesky ankle! Hey, it didn't stop you from winning BW, now did it?) while in Greece...and not surprised in the least that, once again, you made lemonade out of lemons.
Best wishes, Lisa.
Connie :)
As Randy Pausch ("The Last Lecture") once said: "Brick walls are there for a reason. They are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. The brick walls are there to stop people who don’t want it badly enough."
You are a winner because of the goodness you have inside.
:-)
Oh, friends make me so wealthy!
Thank you so much Olga, Anna, Connie, and newsatfive. ;)
Yes, I recall our conversation, Connie! Thank you so much for your kind note. Looking forward to running loops with you at ATY.
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