Thursday, March 26, 2015

Testament to the Journey

I received this email four days before my first race back after surgery.  I was already anxious about toeing the start line.  After almost a year away from racing, I was uncertain about pacing and how I would handle the pain of a hard effort.  I knew I wasn't at the level of fitness nor at the weight I wanted to be for racing.  I thought a fun local 5k would be the most stress-free way to begin my journey back to racing, until I read these hateful words.

I was having a tough week already, and this put me over the top.  I couldn't stop crying for the next couple of hours (which is really embarrassing at a law office where there are only three people working!).  I was shocked and hurt.  This man had called me rude and conceited, when I try really hard to be considerate and humble.  Even worse, he said I wasn't a very good runner, at a time when I am questioning my talent as an athlete and my ability to return to competitive steepling. 
                                
I was crushed and couldn't stop thinking about this email for the next couple days.  I knew my obsessive thoughts were unnecessary.  This man and his mean words should have no influence on my well-being, but I couldn't shake that this stranger had taken a stab where my ego was most vulnerable.  I thought about not racing because I felt so distracted.

But after two days the pain had dulled, and I finally felt what I had been telling myself all along: I try to be a good person; I didn't do anything wrong; and racing is a celebration of hard work and having the courage to challenge yourself.  Racing is a testament to friends, family, medical support, and coaches, who have supported you in your journey.  I've had many periods in my life where I have been overwhelmed by the expectations, or my perceived expectations, from others.  In most cases, the expectations have been for me to achieve high results.  In a few cases, such as this man, people want to see me fail.  Either way, it can be hard to let them go, even though intellectually I know these outside judgments don’t matter.


As I stood at the start line, I did have to face the man who had briefly shaken my self-confidence.  He was giving commentary over the loudspeaker before the start of the race.  He listed the elite athletes in the race and their accomplishments.  He didn't mention my name, but I didn't care.  I’m not running to please anybody or to hear my name over a loudspeaker.  I’m running for myself.

2 comments:

  1. Keep fighting the good fight, Jamie!

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  2. "Shake it off"....sing that song everytime some jerk gives a comment like this. He doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm happy to hear you are back. We love you, Frank and Connie. (aka: Mama D. and Papa D) :)

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