Run the Race with Perseverance

If you read my comment to Amy's post (just below), i would like to describe to you one of my personal challenges last year that relates to it.

Last December i took part in the Standard Chartered Half-Marathon (21km) - my very first! To a person who dislikes running and did not enjoy my 2.4km runs in school, i felt almost like i paid $30++ for registration, just to push myself into a pit . But hey, the more i was not comfortable in doing it, the more i wanted to take up the challenge to push myself beyond my limits.

These were my take-aways from the race:

^Pain in the joints between the legs and the torso

^Bruised toenails (Ouch! They dropped off after that!)

^Bad headache

^Over-exerted strain on the stomach (i forgot to eat breakfast! gosh)

Now you must be thinking "Mirabel you siaoz ah!".

But i had NO REGRETS! I AM A WINNER! I conquered myself!

Yes the temporary conditions above tried to discourage me from finishing the race. I felt like my body was breaking into two pieces. But in mental strength, i saw my finishing line right from the start, and crossed it in the end!

And guess what, i was healed from these right after the race. My toe nails are nice now. Ha.

Do not be mistaken that i was one of the top runners to finish the 21km. I didn't care how fast the others ran. I was running my own race, and the most important thing was that i finished it.

And this little experience taught me really, like what i said in my comment to Amy's post, to finish my own race of life well and strong, even with bloody knees after falling!

How are you running your race (of life) today?

Are you too busy comparing your speed with others that you don't push yourself the maximum?

Do you keep looking backwards, wondering how you had done in the past? Remember you cannot change the past, but you CAN determine how your future will be.

Have the end in mind, run the race with perseverance, look AHEAD and stay focused!

April Coughlin, of New Paltz, celebrates as she crosses the finish line at the 2001 Utica Boilermaker Road Race, Sunday, July 8, 2001. She was the second female to finish in the wheelchair race.