Day 9: Crossing the Finish Line

I really enjoy crossing the finish line. It signifies that you have gotten to the end and the race is over. Life is messy and you don’t always get closure. But when you do a race you have a beginning and an end and sometimes even a medal to boast about your accomplishment. I think this is one of the reasons that I like training and racing so much, because it’s something that can be planned out, checked off, and completed. You can set a goal, work to get there, complete it and move on to the next goal. In my professional life, I work with people and people are a work in progress. We are always changing, coming up with new ideas or iniatitives, and developing skills and abilities. There is no constant with people–it ebbs and flows–so it can be difficult to have closure on projects. Training and racing for me is cathartic–allowing me to experiencing emotions that I don’t get to in my day to day work.

Second to crossing the finish line myself is helping someone else to get there. There are so many different ways you can support a friend who has set a goal to complete a race from training with them to being at the finish line to celebrate with them. Tomorrow, there is a marathon in town and the full marathon route goes right thru my neighborhood. I’m very excited to have the ability to go sit on the street corner and cheer for all those running, from the first racer to the last–something little I can do to encourage those folks on their way to the finish line, one foot, one step at a time!