Options

Saturday I had the opportunity to participate in the Helvetia Half Marathon.

Helvetia is my favorite half marathon and I’d done it the past 3 years.  Right before Helvetia my friend Amber, who has also done the race for 3 years, received some bad news from her doctor.  Due to the worsening of a health problem she was no longer able to do races or exercise for prolonged periods. She was understandably disappointed about this.

The two of us decided to do Helvetia for fun, that is, to walk it slow & easy and just enjoy the journey.  I suggested we do a shot every mile but the more level-headed Amber suggested we have fancy chocolate every hour, so that’s what we did.  Every hour we stopped, had some chocolate and took a picture, to the horror of people who were actually racing.  We also took a lot of pictures along the way.  It was seriously fun.  The weather was perfect, I love that race and 13.1 miles is very manageable for a relaxing walk. Amber & I had a great time and I have to say it was the most fun I’ve had at Helvetia.

However Amber’s situation got me thinking about how grateful I am.  We all have days where we don’t feel like working out. I think we all have races where it feels like a slog and we wonder why we signed up.  I often have those days.  But the fact is, I have the option.  I can choose to work out.  I can choose to do a race.  If I suffer during a race, it’s because I’ve chosen to suffer.  Either way, I have the option.  Amber no longer has that option.  Lots of people have serious illnesses or disabilities that take away their options as well.  My options remain open.