LIVESTRONG

My breathing felt uneasy as I hit the pavement for the first time since Monday. My irregular running pattern is disappointing. I have nobody to blame but myself for not getting out the door. I could feel my LIVESTRONG band bouncing around on my right wrist.

A stranger to my wrist, the band has been hanging on my shift lever since September 2005. That was when I removed it, disgusted with the sudden death of my step dad. Over the past two years the band has been more of a reminder of lives lost to cancer rather than the reason that I first slipped in on.

Now for different reasons, I was willing to slip it back on my wrist again. Staring at the words “LIVE” and “STRONG,” I am reminded of how I must move beyond the pulls to become a victim of circumstance. At least that is what I want the words to motivate me to do.

The band soon settled down, finding its place on my wrist, realizing the change since it last hung there, and letting me define its new role. Rather than against my every move, it was now moving with me.

As I hit the hill, my pace slowed and my breathing became uneasy once again. LIVE, I thought. Be STRONG, I urged. Before long I was over the first hill and cruising down the other side. Representing the first of many hurdles to overcome, this hill workout is just another part of my training for the long journey I am on. Where I am going I will need to call upon my strength (band or not) to go on

…and I will LIVE STRONG