Endure-ance

And I found you with a bottle of wine 
Your head in the curtains 
And heart like the fourth of July


I'm not generally a fan of pop music. But I was pondering the meaning of life when this one began playing on the radio and it struck me as related to what I was thinking about. I was thinking that 'endure' is not just a synonym for 'tolerate'. Nor is 'endurance' replaceable by 'patience'. To endure something you do more than tolerate it. You live inside it for as long as it lasts. You don't just patiently, passively let it wash over you. You are actively participating when you are enduring. 

Woah 
My head is on fire 
But my legs are fine 
Cause after all they are mine

As runners, we endure a lot of long runs, interval sessions, short, hot, fast, freezing, wet, scorching, hilly, painful runs. 

As women we endure... well... lots of stuff. And people. 

If you're gifted with mental illness (or life) you get to endure mood changes, ups, down, swings, pits of despair, R.O.U.S's (anyone? Funny? No? Huh.)...

May your past be the sound 
Of your feet upon the ground 

But no matter what it is, I think the best among us endure. I think it's what makes us proud to be runners. We aren't idly sitting down waiting for another day to pass us by. We're taking up with it, linking arms with whatever we think sucks and is hard, and walking one step at a time, together, with whatever the hardest thing we can think of is. 

Like Ali reminded me a few weeks ago: Relentless. Forward. Progress.
Even if you're just waiting out a 9 hour migraine.