I was 2 miles into the Cincinnati marathon and I felt my knee go out. There was pain, fear, and then dread. "There is no way I'm going to make it."

I just can't do it. The next 24.2 miles felt impossible. I had trained for 18 weeks, and less than 20 minutes in, I was ready to quit.

I'm sure you've felt like that. You've set out to do something hard. You are in the thick of it, and you feel the weight of all that lies ahead—all the emotions, all the cost, all the miles at once. It's overwhelming. It feels impossible.

But there is another option.

"Run the mile you are in."

That is a quote from marathon legend Ryan Hall.

It's an encouraging perspective. And it's true because it is actually impossible to run all the miles at once. You can't. You can only run one mile at a time. You can only control the current moment you're in.

So that is what I did. I focused on completing mile 3. Then 4, 5, and 6. Before I knew it, I had crested mile 7 of the ominous Eden Park Hill and was met with an epic sunrise and a new confidence. I hadn't quit yet. Every mile I completed was now cheering me on. One by one, they ticked away. Many challenges still awaited me, including a porta-potty disaster and my knee going out again at the 19-mile mark, but those would have to wait until their proper time; because I was present running the mile I was in. Focused on my breathing and my steps. Before I knew it, I crossed the finish line. I had finished the race.

I found my bag and called my dad saying I did it. I hadn't panicked. I hadn't quit. I had run the mile I was in. That is why I chose this picture for this post. Because I need to remind myself of this . We need to remind each other "to run the mile we are in".

If you look at the picture you wont see my gray beardhair because I didn't run the Flying Pig yesterday, in fact the story I just shared was from 18 years ago when I ran it the first time. This year I'm running a different kind of marathon. Learning how to manage my recently diagnosed ADHD, frustrated that I still don't communicate well enough in my marriage, still dealing with my trust issues, still learning the basic of receive feedback, take ownership, apologize and speak gently when I'm heated. And in the past 2 weeks, I've led through the funeral of a 15-year-old girl in our community. It's easy to lose heart to feel like this race is impossible. But instead I will simply run the mile I am in.

So, what race feels impossible today?
- How far your team still needs to go
- the many hard marriage or parenting conversations are still needed
- The trauma you have to carry
- The many skills you still need to learn
- the amount of debt you still have to pay off
- whatever race you are in

Run the mile you are in.

Or put another way as another wise man once said. "do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself."

Tag someone who needs to hear this today.

PS shoutout to all the runners! Well done! Tag one to celebrate.

#FunGrowWin