Flashbacks

I am down here in Fort Lauderdale for the weekend driving down these roads which I grew up on. The funny thing is, when I look at these roads I don't immediately think of playing football, riding my bike, or other things I did as a youngster. For now they remind me of the sweat, blisters, and bruises that I experienced during the summer of 2008 when I began training for a marathon. I might end up forgetting the details of that summer but I will never forget the exhaustion and pain that I endured.

Each intersection in the neighborhood was a marker for my runs. I used to drive around watching my odometer so I can map out new routes as I added miles. Imagine the immense journey ahead the first day I signed up to run 26.2 miles - a day when I struggled to do 2 or 3 straight miles. The loony part was that the bulk of my training was in the evening humidity of a south Florida summer. Immediately after each run I would be overheated with ice packets on my feet and knees. It was in the hell bent determination of that summer that I learned that even the most immense journey could be conquered once step at a time. Nowadays, I often remind myself of this as I take on new daunting tasks on a daily basis. No barrier should discourage me if I put it in the context of the summer of 2008.