The Route Back Isn't A Straight Line

Progress isn't linear. It's a scribbled, messy line that sometimes dips down and sometimes plateaus before moving upward.

Progress isn't rushed. It's slow. It's steady. And sometimes it requires a lot of patience.

Trusting the process isn't always easy, but it's necessary.

It's been a long time coming, but I finally got cleared to run.

Not a lot.

Not as much as I'd like.

But it's something.

And I'm moving in the right direction.

Looking back, I've made a lot of progress.

At times, it hasn't felt like it, but that's where the trust comes in.

I had to trust that everything I was doing was getting me one step closer to where I am today:

Every strength workout.

Every PT appointment.

Every day without running.

And now, here I am again.

Seventeen weeks from race day.

Trusting the process.

Working toward progress.

With patience not being my strong suit, I'm learning that if I want to run pain-free again, I can't rush things.

That's the joy of midlife.

You've been here before.

You know what needs to be done in order to succeed.

And this time—this time you're wise enough to do it.

To trust the process.

To be patient.

To let progress unfold in its own time.