You never know until you try . . .

Today’s “declarative statement cookie” at Pei Wei.

I don’t put a lot of stock in fortune cookies but I kind of cherish this one. One, it couldn’t be more representative of a weekend where I’ve logged another race and a new PR. I honestly didn’t really plan to do it. I already had a decent Tulsa Run course time. I knew to try and beat myself would mean pushing a pace that may not be the best for recouping my upper thigh pain not to mention taking on Training Week 17 which culminates with a 20-mile training run this coming Saturday. There will always be Tulsa Runs and plenty of time to best oneself. So, to shave almost a minute off my 2011 time was kind of sweet.

Secondly, this PW declaration reminds me that running really is a sport so many of us get into because in forcing our bodies to do more than it thinks it can, we win. Every time. You don’t have to take home the #1 spot overall. Every time you cross a finish line, whatever the time, whatever the distance, you win.

I think more than beating my own time this weekend, my real joy was watching other people with very specific race time desires walk away with some really huge accomplishments and new wins in their race portfolios. I ran this year’s Tulsa Run with a running buddy for this very specific reason. She wanted to shave about 15 minutes off her previous Tulsa Run racetime. Kind of a big jump. I told her that I’d run with her if she wanted to have someone to help pace her toward that goal. Not that I’m really any great pacer but I thought at the very least I could help get her in her goal time window.  About halfway through the race, a few other buddies found us along the trail and whipped out some movie trivia in an effort to pass the time. At about 7.5 miles, my buddy started speeding up and I laughingly thought to myself, “Oh my gosh. She’s going to majorly PR…and beat me!!” I was afraid that if tried to keep up with her I might risk pushing the pains of the past week too far so I held my pace — and my running ego — in check and just enjoyed the last moments of the course. My running buddy crossed the finish line 30 seconds under the time she hoped for.

Rock Star amazing.

She told me on the race course that the theme song in her head that day was Katy Perry’s Roar:

I got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire
Cause I am a champion and you’re gonna hear me roar

The thing was she never needed my help or my other buddies’ help. The champion in her to cross the finish line with her race goal secured was already in her.

Really, no one can get you across that finish line but yourself.  Sure, other runners encourage, prod, and cheer on their fellow running buddies when it gets tough but the effort to get across that finish line is all you in the end. Others may disagree, but I think on race day, all your training amounts to about 5% of what gets you across the finish line.  Believing you can get there is probably the other 95%.

I think what inspires me about running and runners is that it is laden with people who try. They’re people who push themselves. They are not people who say, “No, I’m sorry, I can’t do that.” They are people who are willing to try.  And every time they try, they win over life’s setbacks and in some small way slay life’s demons. Every time they cross the finish line, just by trying, they win.