On Pain

When you run, the brain makes all logical attempts to stop you. Boredom, fatigue. These are the culprits the mind associates with. But it knows how to mask them; fatigue feigning as pain, boredom pretending to be dislike. Apathy setting in on a once valiant effort, causing you to turn around early, slowing you to the side of the road, walking the shortest distance back to the car.

But when you know real pain from running, you will understand. The pain associated with fractured limbs, broken joints. Torn muscles and ligaments. You will know real pain, and what follows in the days, weeks, months after rebuilding and recovery has the potential to be glorious, if we realize that running hard won't kill you.

Pain is irrational, stemming from deep within, hidden away where the brain cannot find it. Follow that path back to its origins and we find the driving force that can overcome the mind, if we are willing to pour ourselves out every time we lace up. The heart.

The heart does not follow the simple constraints of time and sensibility. Pain blurs the ideas of logic and reason. Only let these two bodies govern you while you move, for however long across the landscape, at whatever speed you desire. Let your heart guide you through your races, and you will find that there is always a bit more of yourself to leave behind-in the woods, on the track, parts that your brain was trying to save; perhaps only trace amounts, yet everlasting morale victories that you can look back on with solemn pride. Knowing that our hearts are pure and unbridled by our minds gives us hope that in the face of adversity we may hold on for just a moment longer, unleashing potential that has never been tapped; the hope that we may prevail even when defeat seemed inevitable.