I slowed down for a walk break when she grabbed my arm pulling me along with her as she said,

Come on, let’s go. It’s not that simple. You can’t walk. The worst is behind us.

Breathe I told myself as I shuffled along the route.

You have a good pace.
This is comfortable, it’s good.
Honey, it’s nothing about comfort. It’s about strength and character.

Mile ten my right knee began to hurt. It’s an all too familiar pain. Pounding the pavement in repetitive fashion my knee was being hit with a hammer. Over and over again. My IT band was tight causing my knee to buckle, (* IT Band runs from your hip, down your quad, to your inner knee) this injury put me out of commission while I was training for the Marine Core Marathon two years ago). I was trying to run through the pain, ignore it, and hope it would go away.

Let’s run the rest together. I’m Jessica

Of course she is.

So am I.

We both laughed.

We finished with shaking legs and smiling at one another.

It wasn’t my best time, and won’t be my worst. But I did work through the pain.

Indeed.