“How are you doing?” I find myself contemplating how to best answer that question. What words can sum up the infinite sea of emotions I have been feeling? The last several months have been some of the most beautiful and some of the most challenging of my life. I chose to lead with the beauty in that statement because that’s what I want to take away from these times and move forward with. Often, it is through challenge that comes beauty. Or maybe it is the very challenge itself that is what’s beautiful? As humans, we deal with adversity in our lives but are born with the capacity to face it, and in turn, conquer it. The truth is, adversity finds its way into much of our existence, and at times, can feel like it consumes all of our energy and attention. Yet, through the cracks of adversity emerges beauty in its most radiant form. In art, there is a term called chiaroscuro, which is the play of light and dark in a picture, and like life, the dark is deemed necessary in order to bring out and recognize the presence of the light. It is this contrast, this clash of two seemingly opposites, that creates the richness of our human experience. When you feel the darkness coming, lean in, this is where the magic happens. There is harmony, beauty, and perspective found in the juxtapose of our emotions, and there is hope. Don’t shy away, don’t be afraid to feel. Embrace change, embrace discomfort. In many ways, my running has always been about confronting challenges. Proving to myself my mind’s ability to persevere, to be resilient, and to not just come out the other side alive, but to come out the other side and thrive. We learn that this confrontation transforms into an embrace, and this, in turn, becomes a dance, a dance in which we must match and counter the flow of our partner, riding the delicate line of this rhythm until we reach that day’s finish line. This is what makes the experience of racing so rewarding and so intimate. We turn a challenge into an opportunity to create something beautiful, something that is born out of love, joy, dedication, and fortitude. https://www.instagram.com/p/CMp8Bjtn1s2/?igshid=1rpujgb9tfwd8
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