I didn’t expect the results to be good.

And they weren’t.

Standing in a cold wind-driven rain, I, along with several hundred others runners were lined up awaiting the starting gun to fire. The five mile course would meander through the Seaport district and along the frigid waterfront of South Boston. While I was ready for the start I knew I wasn’t ready to run.

But that’s what I was there to do.

The reasons for me not being as ready as I had wanted to be were strictly my own. “Other priorities” would be a convenient reframing of the excuses associated with my lack of being fully prepared for the race, including not being properly rested, fueled, and trained.

Opting out, though, was never an option.

I’ve never been that good of a good runner, even when I’m properly rested, fueled, and trained. But I guess what I’ve gotten quite good at is showing up. Even if I’m not ready.

Especially when I’m not ready.

Many times in life we are never fully ready for what life can throw our way. The challenges, upheavals, and plot twists can have us standing at an unexpected starting line leaving us to wonder how we’ll run a race we never signed up for. A race we’re probably not ready to run.

All we can do is start. To show up. To do the best we can until we learn to do better.

And we will do better.

My “glory” days of running were the direct result of consistently showing up even when I knew I would be far from perfect. Of starting while knowing I wasn’t completely ready to do so. We get better in the doing, never in the waiting, the contemplating, or in the trying to figure out when the best time to actually start is.

How we decide to show up will often determine how far we will go.

In running.

In life.

Photo by Ashutosh Dave on Unsplash

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