A father, at the request of his son, pushes him through a funrun. After hearing his son say the run made him feel like he was not handicapped, this magnificent man ran again. And again. And again. This AMAZING man and his son completed the Ironman in Hawaii....an Ultra distance event and one of the hardest in the world. And he carries his son all the way through it.
Dedicated? YES. Inspirational? UNBELIEVEABLY so.
This team has accomplished so much....not for the fame or the glory, but just to do it. It made me think how hard would it be to get up and go training day after day, to swim dragging a dinghy with your 45 kilo son in it, to ride balancing him on your bike, to run pushing his chair. Not only to do all that but really COMPETE. What drive does this man have? What's his secret?
Well he is just dedicated to his son. He is passionate about his family.
And that's the secret isn't it.
Pushing myself when there is noone else around. Doing it when there's no immediate payoff. Working hard because it's what I do, not what I pretend.
Having dedication towards whatever I do will keep me going even when things are going wrong. Those qualities will keep me working out even when the short term results are disappointing me. It keeps me going when it hurts and feels like it's too hard. Being dedicated gives me the map to improvement, no matter how long it takes.
I woke this morning to the news of the bombings at the Boston Marathon. I watched the explosions with tears and a heart in shock. This is an event that runners have to qualify for....often considered the pinnacle for marathon runners. All those people are dedicated to their running, to getting into the Boston marathon, and then to finishing it. No matter what, they would cross that line. This something that all the participants have as their goal and this morning they lined up at the start line, ready to run the funrun of a lifetime, after all the long training sessions, the pain, the mental toughness, the strict nutrition....they were finally going to see the culmination of all their efforts.
Footage shows racers running with the end in sight...the finish line just within their grasp, their dreams coming true, when the first two explosions went off. And just like that, lives lost, injuries so terrible they defy thinking about, dreams shattered. Chaos instead of success. Overwhelming grief and fear instead of elation. All I could do was pray for those there.
But I am willing to bet anything you like that those runners will be back next year. They will be back in training, back on the roads. There will be much to overcome, so much I can't imagine it....fear of it happening again, injuries and so much heartbreak and sadness. Dedication will push those people back into their runners and back into the race. That's the dedication I want. That's the dedication I am working on. In the face of the horror and sadness that I woke with today, it is good to remember the words below.
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