What Am I Made Of?

I went to the movies today to see Beneath Hill 60. It's a story from WW1 about a group of miners who tunneled beneath enemy lines to plant mines and blow up the Germans. I found myself thinking about how hard life was back in the early 1900's. Even out of the war zone there were none of the things that make our life easy - no cars, washing machines, dishwashers. On the front line it was unbelievably miserable - the mud, the cold, being fired on, the rats, dysentery. People were so tough back then.

Life has become so easy. We don't need to struggle for our existence. If we're hungry we go buy some food. If we're thirsty we can turn on a tap. Generally we don't have to fear for our lives. And when I see a movie that makes me think like this I wonder how I would hold up if I was the one on the front line. Would I be the blithering, whimpering person in the foxhole who's incapable of moving? Or would I rise to the challenge and lay it all on the line?

Maybe because we don't get to test our mettle like that we undertake our own tests of character. Some people climb mountains, some trek across frozen wastelands and some run marathons. Within that 42.2 k's we have to fight to achieve the goals we've set and to survive. We don't have to do it - we just want to see if we can and what we're made of.

I'd like to say that tonight I'm made of very sore and tired muscles. I've had a great week of challenging training sessions and I've survived. Yesterday's 18k hilly run was the icing on the cake and apart from a few aches I've recovered really well. I'm really excited about the weeks ahead and the increases in mileage and the opportunity to see what I'm made of.