Hitting the concrete, stuck in humidity like jam.
Wondering if I made the right decision to take
this troubled route, but then I see it on the horizon.

If only I take a few more steps here and a few more
steps there. The summer sun will begin to rise in the
distance. Mileage only counts in these hours.

When the only people I can spot are running and
running to a goal larger than life. Steps that lead
to something that won’t happen until years later.

I set up the mornings with mileage. Building and
building until I’m afraid I can’t anymore. Until I’m
afraid I’ll collapse on the pavement from exhaustion.

It’s a different kind of feeling to be the only one out
there. There isn’t anyone to rescue me except for mind
games pouring in and out of my brain. Games for miles.

By the end of the work day, my body is crying out for
help and the only relief I can offer is a meager amount
of sleep. Before I return in the morning for more.

Blisters come and go offering me warnings that I’ll
keep ignoring. At the end of the day, it’s the only
reminder that those runs in the mornings were real.

Those runs in the mornings at five and eventually
four as my mileage grew and grew. Until I ran for
hours and waited until I’d be able to have a chance.

A chance to run alongside my peers instead of
struggling against the wind alone. A chance to prove
that I was where I was meant to be all along.

The summer sun will begin to set in the distance,
bringing the breeze of autumn to my front yard.
Where I’ll lace my worn down shoes once again.