The Race

I consider it the race of life.?What race are we in? ?

Are we saying yes, even to hard things??Are we contributing to society? Are we focused on what’s in our control??Are we building to provide a better future for our children, grandchildren and?generations to come??Are we focused on our health??I hope so, because without health, nothing else matters. ?

These are just a few of the questions I ask on a daily basis as I look at my life.?Spring has been very influential in motivating me to constantly grow physically, mentally and emotionally.?I am being coached to be a better human and a better man so that I can bring more to all of you and much of this comes from following my wife’s example.

She is always looking to improve herself, accomplish more, and take her life to that next level and in doing so, she is influencing and taking so many to that next level with her. ?

It was my privilege to join her in NYC this weekend for the NYC Marathon.?Have you been there and experienced this??If not, I highly recommend you do.?The city was full of life with visitors and locals alike cheering on over 50K runners.?It didn’t matter if they knew them or not, they were cheering for them.?This in itself is a lesson we can learn from.

Right after Spring finished her last 29029, she got a call where a friend of hers invited her to join their group for his event.?With us having back to back to back events leading up to our 10 year anniversary next week, the timing wasn’t perfect, but she said yes. ?

Now get this, yes, she has been an endurance hiker over the last few years, but running a marathon is a totally different thing and she had never run more than three miles at once when she accepted this invitation 2 months ago. ?

However, I knew this would be another challenge she would thrive in because she has purpose and will always make sure she is prepared for the challenge.?Physically she did this and mentally, she is always prepared. ?

She crushed the event and made it look easy even though it wasn’t. ?She started feeling pain in her hips at mile 10 but didn’t express this to me at mile 17.?Why??Because the words you speak matter.?Let me repeat.?THE WORDS YOU SPEAK MATTER.?And she knows this.?I saw her again at mile 24 but there was really no interaction this time because she was on the other side of the street and only gave me a glance when I called her name and whistled my loud whistle to get her attention.?After she crossed the finish line, I called her and she answered.?She was happy, excited and grateful, but in that moment, she was in pain.?She let me know and I met her nearby as she walked out to the tent.?Not very often does she get emotional or cry, but as she walked out I could see a few tears.?These were not tears of joy, but tears of pain. ?She was truly in pain. I called her coach to ask her what to do now. We walked around a little, got her in a hot shower and kept her hydrated.

I share this story because so many of us quit when things get hard. ?It is a choice and she is not a quitter.?I knew she would finish this no matter what. ?

With that said, CONGRATULATIONS Springtime.?You ran an amazing race and I’m grateful that I could be in NYC to experience this amazing event and continue being your biggest fan.