Here you are.
Toes on the line, nerves in your legs, butterflies in your stomach, a fire in your heart.

You’re ready.
You’ve done the tempos, the long runs, traded a warm bed for countless cold mornings and miles.

And your mind is making room.
Preparing itself for a familiar friend: hurt.

There is no racing without resistance.
The moments in the miles where hurt meets want.
Where dread and doubt rise,
And determination wears thin.
The wall.

But there is a secret.
An idea that lives so deep inside us,
It’s sometimes hard to recall.

Pain is not a wall.
Pain is a door.

When the race heats up, and you’re feeling good.
Softly, but surely, as if to announce your arrival —
Start knocking.

And when the journey feels long.
Too far to turn back, but so far to go.
Let the universe feel the strength that you know — 

Knock a little harder.

And when you see your sisters,
Lock eyes with your team,
Feel their energy join your own —
Bang on that door.

And finally, when that moment comes.
When your legs are heavy,
And your lungs are screaming,
And the course is beckoning for you to quit.

Take a deep breath.
Smile.
And kick down your door. 

We’ll see you on the other side.

Head Up, Wings Out