Into The Wind I Go...

I have paid my dues
This Sunday come rain or shine, sneakering up once again pounding pavement in my pink Nike shoes  
Running against myself not against the wind  
Broken and repaired to see if sheer determination can do this once again  
The strain, the pain, the agony to walk again, the grueling physical therapy  
Was it for this day for me to see  
If perseverance truly pays off or a dream denied  
As I stand among my running peers at the starting line  
Freighted to move  
Because in my mind, I am running with no pace, my own glory, on my own time, my own groove  
No marathon by minutes watching my time stopwatch, seconds shaved off to a clock to beat    
Hopefully, my ankle will be in union with my feet    
Borough after borough through the Big Apple, appreciative cheers as strangers greet  
Mile after mile, sweating, legs may be throbbing, yet pushing it through  
Sweat population telling myself I got this, the will of the mind cannot lose  
If I stop too soon, and I cannot go on  
Once I look at all the runners going by can my mind atone  
Will this be my last hooray as I place the last medal on my wall, and next year stay home  
Do I coach the young ones to love the passion to run  
Pass that beautiful feeling on you get from the divinity of the universe as you become as one  
The warmth to the face when greeting the rise of the morning sun  
Training in the cold rain that seeps deep in the pores  
Strength and core exercises giving it all you got when you just do not have any more  
Do I become an example of my own legacy  
That I have defined for years all my possibilities  
And smile under grace to realize, this is just the runner resonating in me  
    
   
11-01-22
 
(Final Weigh In For The New York Marathon on 11-06-22)
 
Present Weight 121 (goal was 120)  
Height 5'4  
BMI (20)  
Muscle mass (Lean and mmm... softly contoured)
Will be running the half marathon 13.1 miles)
Have to complete a little over an hour...