Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable

When you've been around the block a few times, you know that pain is a given.

You recognize that what you expected to go down is not...and after anger, tears, bargaining and ultimately, surrender, you get that life's not fair.

And that maturity is simply the state you find yourself in when you accept reality gracefully.

So, it was with an extreme lack of character, grace, and maturity that I attempted to do hill training last Saturday morning.

I'm preparing for a half marathon in six weeks and am keenly aware of how much work lies ahead of me.  The course is hilly to say the least and my legs, ass, and least of all my head is in the game when it comes to going up and down for 13.1 miles.

But while I was running, I was simultaneously aware of how it doesn't matter...most of it at least.  I spend a good chunk of time worried about the balance in the checking account, questioning if I'm doing the right thing by staying at home, fearful that my kids will be jacked up if they don't live on a street with lots of kids or play club soccer.

And in the end, these "worries" will all take care of themselves.  And like hill training, life is simply a series of ebbs and flows; peaks and valleys; good times and bad.  In theory, it's how we recognize the seasons.  We can't appreciate the wind in our hair and the cool breeze of the sweet spots unless we feel the pain in our ass, the stitch in our side, and the overwhelming heaviness of breath.

I'm learning, truly learning what it means to get comfortable with being uncomfortable, uncertain, and fearful.

It's painful, but it's doable.  And ultimately, it's real.