There are times you feel the aches and pains and your breathing is heavy and things just do not seem right. Then you continue to struggle and at some point find your rhythm, but nevertheless it is not your day. When the run is finished, you are darned happy you got through it. We all know there are days to back off from a long run or hard run. True dedicated runners though run through pain and will not stop and quiet during their workout as quitting is considered a defeat by us die-hards. I have never stopped one run in more than 5 years. I have taken spills where I was bleeding and still finished my run. I ran in intense typhoons and was thrilled I was out there. I have had the common stitches/cramps and still ran through. I even got nailed by a snowball as the result of a Mac truck speeding by and its tires sent the snow at my head where I saw stars for a period of time but ran through the initial pain and shock.
The point being is that the discipline and will power to never quiet leads to the feeling of empowerment. If I can get through these difficult and at times painful runs, this empowers me with major feelings of accomplishment and this carries over to every aspect of life which truly means the feeling of personal freedom.
