Lessons from Trials

Okay, here is a warning for all my non running blog readers: this post will be all about running and running as a metaphor for life. I will not hold it against you if you skip my ramblings!

In all seriousness though, I just wanted to share an inspirational story with everyone. I have been watching the Olympic Track and Field Trials this past week (mostly way too late at night, as there is never live coverage of running events) and one of the best stories of the whole week was in my favorite race - the women's 10,000 meters.

First of all, you should know that to make the Olympic team you need to accomplish two things. Finish your race in the top three AND achieve the Olympic "A" time standard at some point during the year. The three women in the above picture all pulled away from the pack early on in the race and it was quite obvious that they would be the top three finishers. End of story for the first two runners, but not so for the runner in the third spot, Amy Begley. She had yet to achieve her "A" standard, so even if she finished third, but missed the time of 31:45 she would not be going to the Olympics. Towards the end of the race, the two leaders pulled away and the chances for Begley to make the team looked pretty hopeless. It didn't look like she was running fast enough to make her time. You can go to runners world and read more eloquently written accounts of the race than mine, but the point of the story is this. During her final lap, Amy Begley reached very deep down past her doubt and fear, and through a lot of physical pain, and gave everything she had to cross the finish line in 31:43:60. She made the Olympic team with 1.4 seconds to spare!

I am a sucker for a good story of athletes triumphing in the their sport, but this one is especially interesting to me. It makes me think about how often we give up on something because it seems impossible or people stop believing in us, or because it just plain seems to hard. I for one give into doubt all the time and give up on things way too soon. Who knows what I might be able to accomplish if I squashed my self doubt and pushed through the pain to the finish line. Next time I am in the middle of something hard I hope I can remember Amy Begley and how her determination and hard work let her accomplish something huge.

Oh, and here's another reason I love this story,

the "girly" display of joy expressed by teammates and good friends Kara Goucher and Amy Begley when they realized they had both made the team!