what doesn't kill you

since i started this running thing (back in the spring of 2009) i've really not let anything slow me down. from the treadmill to the road, there have been numerous goals that have kept me getting out of bed and lacing up the shoes:

• run non-stop through the entire album version of paradise by the dashboard light
• finish a half-marathon
• run a sub-1:30 half-marathon
• finish a full marathon
• run a sub-4:00 marathon
• run a sub-3:30 marathon
• qualify for boston (sub-3:15 marathon)

so far i've managed to hit all the marks except for the last one, and i hope to put a strikethrough line across it before the dawn of 2014.

in order to realize those aspirations, there's been some dogged determination injected as everyone gets obstacles thrown into their way.  those challenges can range from the mundane to the serious to the wild and wacky - i've seen most varieties in my own journey.  here are just some of the things that i've dealt with in trying to make sure that i was able to stick to my schedule/training plan:

• snowstorms that have downed hydro lines and forced major road closures
• colds
• flu
• pneumonia (note:  powering through this probably wasn't the smartest idea)
• being chased (for several kilometres) by stray dogs in rural romania

the strays in romania come in all shapes and sizes
• getting lost while running through the streets of detroit
• recurring bouts of benign paroxysmal positional vertigo
• mysterious knee pain
• grade 1 quad strains
• exercise-induced asthma
• the normal rigmarole of kids' schedules, work projects
• the abnormal rigmarole of working nine straight 15+ hour workdays helping to oversee the 1000+ volunteers of The Rogers Cup.

certainly in the grand scheme of things my list doesn't even compare to those who have to overcome diseases like cancer, or the demands of caring for dependents who have special needs, or dealing with special physical demands (like the coach i worked with this year, rick ball).

i suppose that the bottom line is that there are always excuses readily available as to why i (and why you) could choose not to run.  and i recognize that there are times that discretion is the better part of valour.  but i'm always inspired by the stories of people who choose the path less travelled, who stare down the forces that oppose them and manage to find a better version of themselves emerging from the struggle.

what wages against you to keep you from running or exercising?  

what doesn't kill you