Day 11.230 We Are Running

I asked the spinning faithful assembled at oh-dark-thirty this morning to join me.

Join me in the goal of hitting the ground running today. What better time than Monday morning and what better place than here?

Additionally, let's keep that generated intensity at red-line all week.

As we pedaled towards thirty minutes, the half-way point of no return, I had a startling thought.

It startled me to consider that I had asked too much. After all, in front of me turning efficient and powerful circles sat professionals, leaders, executives, mothers and fathers of spectacular success. There was even a lawyer or two present.

I hear myself reprimanded again by my inner judge, "You have some nerve fella, not merely asking, but DEMANDING that these people who have demonstrated an understanding of success to a degree you have apparently yet to fathom, to (please) execute a protocol exceeding their comfort zones and smile while doing it. Don't you find this, if not hypocritical, then certainly fraudulent?"

I hear this in my brain as my body seeks balance and meaning enough to endure.

Almost simultaneously I blurt, finding a deepness of breath despite the vascular demand, that I will not back down in the face of danger. That my virtues, if not displayed under duress, are merely hobbies. And that this is the way that we practice courage under fire. So suck it up buttercup.

I am fatigued, my left hurts from 50 indoor miles yesterday, and my right from Saturday's run. I started the day with failure galore. My team lost, I missed an opportunity to assist someone in need, and I was once again reminded of the fleeting nature of love. My heart and my soul needed another day of rest and recovery. Yet I know that time will not wait for my successful recovery.

For another nano-second I consider the issues and challenges unique to every person in the room. Again I am humbled, because in that larger picture, my issues are puny and pathetic.

I re-commit, internally pledging to use the time remaining in our morning session for betterment and improvement. I share this with the team as well, suddenly not caring if I cross some forbidden line of political correctness or professional demeanor. so I repeat...

...I will give my best and all I want from you is all you got. We have this one opportunity to set the tone, create the model, embody the spirit, that we wish to be, right here and right now. We are in the middle of all that power. And this is just the start.

We are done. I feel great, empowered with the afterglow of honest effort. It is Monday morning.

We are running.