In Others' Words: Tired

"The test of people is what they can do when they're tired."

~Winston Churchill, British politician & statesman

I was a runner-girl for a certain season of my life.

After years of hating the thought of running — and absolutely detesting the few times I attempted running for fun/exercise/because someone told me I should — I read an article that touted a running plan for non-runners.

That would be me.

Suffice to say, I learned to run. I won't say I loved running. But I liked it — especially when I was finished with my route. My husband ran with me. He also was the timekeeper. I was all about time. So many minutes of warm up. So many minutes of "real" running. So many minutes of cool down. And then: done.

Every single run, I wanted to quit before we were done. Every. Single. Run.

Oftentimes, Rob would count out the time. Five minutes. Four minutes. Three. Two. One. Done.

During the season I was a runner-girl, I learned anew what I could do when I was tired.

I could finish.

I could push through the I-wanna-quit-and-sit-on-the-side-of-the-road exhaustion and do it.

Funny thing is, the only way I could learn how much I could do is to get to the point of thinking I couldn't run . . . another . . . step.

In Your Words: What have you accomplished when you've been beyond tired? What kept you going? And how did you feel when you met your goal?

Photo by Mihapix/Dreamstime.com