In March of 2008, Heather Dorniden from the University of Minnesota stood at the starting line to run the 600 meter race at the Big Ten Championship. The race would be over in less than two minutes and Heather wanted to put in a strong performance. This race was on her home track in front of friends and family. The video was taken by her father as he watched his daughter run the sprint race. What happened next was a surprise to everyone. Just one minute into the race, Heather tripped on a fellow runners feet and plunged forward onto the track. Getting back up, it was the last of the three laps and she was far behind the other runners. But Heather ran anyway. If you’ve not yet watched the video, please do. You won’t want to miss this.
I haven’t run for the last two days. I’ve had some pain in my legs from a pulled muscle injury, but that is only part of the problem. I’ve was supposed to run yesterday, but I just didn’t want to. Yep, I kinda fell down.
But like Heather, I’m back on my feet and ready to win this race. I just got in from a five mile treadmill run. I had planned for six miles, but some pain after an hour of running convinced me to stop for now. I want to be ready for the race in a week, so pushing myself when there is pain is not a good idea. But the important thing is I ran.
Up until this week motivation was not a problem. Actually, I see this as a bump in the road. It’s been cold and overcast for the past few days. Not the most inviting weather for running. It makes shopping for excuses not to run a rather easy task. But I’m up and not going to let this last long. Tomorrow I will run another five miles, then three on Monday.
My two sons are flying from California to visit us during the Christmas holiday. I pick them up at midnight on Monday, so Tuesday will be a day off. I’m looking forward to the three weeks they will be here. Maybe I can get them to do a little running with me. That would be fun.
By the way, if you want to learn more about Heather Dorniden, read the article “Heather Dorniden: The Runner Who Didn’t Give Up“.
