JTB: On the Shoulders of Giants

My daily run takes me past a stadium and a track.  It is rather inspirational to see this twice on my daily journey.  It fills me with nostalgia and a small longing for the sports I never played... it fills me with a desire to work hard and to continue getting better.... but most of all it fills me with hope.... every athlete that set foot on the track or in that stadium once metaphorically stood where I stand.... a novice... a new comer... some one with passion for the sport and the eagerness to learn.... how to do it well.

Of course... I am not a young athlete.... I am a middle aged halflete.... bordering slowly on athlete....
I spent about 3 years running and then 1 year wanting to get good at running.

I spent one year stalking the best running group in my city... learning the names of all the players... the best of the best.... times and places... names and faces...

I spent the first year on my run team in awe of those around me.  I spent the second year avoiding everyone.

It is not just me
It is the coach who believes in me no matter how many times I don't come through... who knows when I need kindness and empathy and when I need to be harshly reminded of why I did not quite make it.... who calls me out when I am not doing my best and comforts me and encourages me when my best just doesn't seem to be enough...

It is the athlete who keeps moving forward...training for years... hours upon hours a week for 1 massive iron clad goal.... failing, succeeding, but always continuing to pursue what is driving her... no matter what.

The girl who tells me it took 6 years to PR.

The girl who tells me to believe in myself.

The girl who asks me my goal and hearing doubt in my voice looks me dead in the eye and says... say it like you mean it

The girl who invited me to be part of something so far beyond what i am.... but a part of something that will ultimately make me what I am hoping to become.

It is not alone that I will accomplish what I want to do.... It is on the shoulders of giants that I can sit.... when I have failed again and again and fallen to far to see my goal... to believe that I can... It is there on their shoulders I can look out.... uplifted.... and see exactly where it is I am going.... so I can get up again and become stronger that before.... It is on the shoulders of giants that will allow me to see beyond my dreams... to what is next.... experiencing their greatness.... learning from their journeys... letting them influence me and make me better.  It is on the shoulders of giants that I will be carried when I can not walk..... or placed upon when victory is mine and they let me rest... just for a moment.... those massive, accomplished, powerful shoulders....softening the pain and the exhaustion and sometimes the heartbreak..... before we begin again.

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