Week 9 2022 Summer Miles

 

What is The Starting Line?

What is a starting line? is just that: a place to start running. Doesn’t matter who you are, what you look like, or how much (or how little) you’ve exercised in the past. The Starting Line is here to offer you help, guidance, and encouragement in order to, well, start running.

Starting Lines

Starting lines have a magnetic pull even more than the finish, I crave the start. Starting lines represent hope. They represent a dream, and all the preparation it took to get there. I yearn to toe that line and measure myself not only against my competitors and the clock, but also against my previous limits.  

We all have stood on some starting line at a race and in life. Starting lines can represent a dream and a journey. I believe starting lines can give us purpose. When you stand at the line before the start of a race you know exactly what you want to do. You have a direction and a goal. During the race you are fulfilling that purpose with each stride and each breath. You are constantly striving to do exactly what you set out to do before the race began.

Beginning in high school I wanted to stand on the biggest starting lines possible. I wanted to feel the adrenaline – the anticipation of the unknown. I never knew exactly what was going to happen, but I was fully committed to giving it everything I had. Once the race started, there was a different pull. The finish line. I used to think the finish is what drove me to work hard and dream big, but each time I crossed a finish line I immediately began looking forward to the next start. I would reflect on what I could have done differently to better my time or finish. Should I have matched that early move or let it go?  Should I have squeezed in one more long run or backed off on my last interval session?  Where is the next line?  When can I begin again?

The Last Race

Everyone has a bad race now and then. When it happens to you, it's easy to get frustrated and feel like everything went wrong.

Whether or not we achieve our goals or not, if we gave our best efforts in the process, who could deny us? We were willing to sacrifice our bodies and endure whatever pain was necessary to reach our goal, and THAT is a greater achievement than any medal or time - for the will to win will never outshine the will to PREPARE to win. 

Moving on

I have two choices. Option 1: I can feel sorry for myself, curse my performance and effort and regret trying for that starting line in the first place, or Option 2: I can accept the circumstances, be thankful I took a shot, and focus on what is next. I choose option 2. I choose to look back at my performance /race attempt as a worthwhile experience. I do not have to live with “What if” in the back of my mind. Although I am saddened by the outcome, I have no regrets for trying.

Starting lines and finish lines are edges. They are edges that drive us to action and frame our journey. Never stop dreaming of what is possible or striving to find the limits of your potential. Chasing our dreams and goals keeps us moving in the right direction, not just in running but in everything we do. Look forward to your next run/race and new starting lines to toe.  The anticipation, mystery, and excitement of what will happen next motivates me to give these journeys everything I have,

A finish line without another staring line is empty. The applause will die, the personal satisfaction will fade.  There needs to be something else- another purpose. I realize now that the finish line was never what truly drove me. It was the start.  I finally understand the truth in the cliché “It’s not the destination but the journey.”

Life starting lines could include, progressing in school into a new grade is a starting line, graduating from high school is a starting line, college or a job is a starting line, marriage is a starting line and starting a family is a starting line. I am in the middle of those journeys, and they bring me purpose while demanding my very best. I need to be fully committed to those journeys and giving them everything I have. Life will provide each of us with many starting lines just as exciting and full of opportunities to test our limits and desire.

Don’t look at it as if you have stood on your last starting line. This is a new beginning. It is a new direction full of many different purposes, hopes, and dreams. Do you want to be better? Do you want to test your previous limits? I hope you look forward and are excited to have a chance to compete and see just how far you can go.

The best race/life plans are adaptable, the best athletes/people know what needs to be done to execute even on the worst days. What we gain on our toughest days is experience – the ultimate teacher for future success.