Patience And Grit

At mile 70 of the Cloudsplitter 100, the thought of running one more step seemed impossible.

I was climbing up a hill, unsure if I was beginning to fall asleep or if I was sleeping already, dragging my feet through the dirt and leaves.

I took my jacket off, then put it back on for what must have been the fourth time in the past hour—my body was struggling to regulate its temperature.

I figured I was on borrowed time, and somehow my race would be over eventually due to timing out or a broken spirit.

But my friend Tony continued to remind me, “Take what the course is giving you and keep pushing forward. It doesn’t matter how fast you’re going. Just keep going one step at a time.”

I reasoned with myself that I could keep stepping forward—I guess I really didn’t have a choice. So I keep putting one foot in front of the other, plodding along—slowly but surely.

I felt awful, but I was making progress.

Two and a half hours went by, the sun came up, and we had traversed a solid seven miles of rough terrain. Suddenly, the fog of inability and bad vibes lifted, and I rediscovered my belief in myself.

I continued to trust the process that things would get better if I could just be patient and grit things out for a little longer. Maybe the low moment would pass.

I chose to press on despite the pain.

And I’m glad I did.

A few hours later, I was running down the mountain again, pushing way beyond what I thought was possible. I ran all the way through to the finish. 30 miles after I thought I was done.

Was it comfortable? Hell no. But it shouldn’t have been.

Anything requiring patience and grit rarely is comfortable.

But those are the things that test our character and deliver us breakthroughs.

Patience and grit are superpowers for life, but they require practice.