Diligent

I woke up this morning after a night filled with an anxiety dream about not being able to sleep.  I took up arms against the thoughts producing such angst and began listing in my mind all the

Things I KNOW (about the race Saturday):

1.  I have trained properly.  More than that, I've trained well.  The Rocket City Marathon Training from Fleet Feet has been top notch.  I followed the well thought out plan fairly closely (except the paces in the beginning).
2. I might not be able to control the weather, but I've got clothes for just about any probable scenario.  Since I'm in my home town I can toss off layers with reasonable confidence I will get the stuff back.  (And...weather.com is assuring me it should be near perfect conditions for a marathon, high of 45 low of 27, sunny...I'll ignore the wind prediction for now...)
3. I'll have a lot of friends on the course, running, volunteering and cheering.  THAT will be nice.  Instead of looking at people who are cheering on the stranger running next to me, I'll have some people all along the course who will be cheering for me. 
4. I have been moving toward this goal for two years.  In 2009 I remember coming home from Christmas shopping at Best Buy when we were stopped by a traffic cop at the intersection of Governor's and Gallatin.  I watched as several runners passed and told my husband, "I'm going to do that.  I'm going to run a marathon."  (I had planned on doing it last year, but realized this is not an end goal, this is a step in the walk of a lifetime.)

I began thinking more about that last point, how much my life has been transformed in the last two year.  Just two years ago I weighed almost 20 pounds more.  My resting heart rate was probably 20 beats per minute faster.  I couldn't jog to the end of my street without getting out of breath.  I couldn't "hike" the South Loop of Monte Sano (about 3.5 miles) in an hour.  I couldn't have run a mile if my life depended on it.  Yet, I made the decision I would run a marathon.

In a post about WHY I would want to do such a thing as this, I said:

Setting a goal that will not be achieved for a whole year really involves a change in lifestyle.  In my mind, running this marathon will be an outward symbol of the me I've come to know on the inside--someone who CAN "go the distance".

(Little did I know then just how much of a "change in lifestyle" I would have.)   As I was pondering, my phone buzzed with an incoming email, the Merriam-Webster Word of the Day.  Now, if you click on that link, you'll get the current WOD, but, for today, December 7, 2011, it's: 

diligent

Usually I don't read the definition for a word I already know, but under the circumstances, I read every word:

\DIL-uh-junt\  adjective: characterized by steady, earnest, and energetic effort : painstaking.  

• DID YOU KNOW?

You're more likely to be diligent about something if you love doing it. The etymology of "diligent" reflects the fact that affection can lead to energetic effort. The word, which entered English in the 14th century by way of Anglo-French, descends from the Latin verb "diligere," meaning "to value or esteem highly" or "to love." Of course, you don’t need to care for the task at hand in order to be diligent, but it certainly does help! (emphasis mine)

What a great reminder.  I set this particular goal to be an outward symbol of an inward change.  No longer am I quitter.  I will persevere (intransitive verb: to go on resolutely or stubbornly in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement) with diligence.

 
I think I might sharpie those two words on my arms.

Thanks for stopping in; come again soon!
:D