Strength does not come from physical capacity. It comes from an indomitable will. --Mahatma Gandhi
I was working at The Colony High School today when this quote hit me upside of the head. All of the life skills students had left their classroom, on their way to various classes and the daily announcements came on the loud speaker. I have heard the announcements hundreds of times there and never really listened to what was being said. Until today, when this quote by Gandhi was read before the daily moment of silence. It really struck me and I grabbed a pen and jotted it down on the back of a receipt found in my purse.
Of course, I immediately thought of how I could apply this quote to running. What a great way to sum up what I often feel in the closing miles of a race. There comes a point where my physical capacity is used up, done, trashed....it is in these moments that something else kicks in. I didn't have the words for it before now, I couldn't quite describe what came over me....until now....indomitable will.
What gets me out of bed at 5:00 AM to go and run in the cold and dark...
What pushes me to keep on running when part of me wants to stop...
What makes me run through 13.5 miles of mud and freezing temperatures...
What is it that helps me to dig deep and get that new PR on race day...
It isn't physical capacity. I think that a part of me assumed that it was, but now I know that it is much deeper than anything physical. Indomitable will is the word for it. Indomitable will...
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what I learned in high school today.
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