I just got back from a great training run with my running partner, and it was one of those runs that was more like therapy than cardio.

My running partner is gorgeous, like straight out of Victoria’s Secret, people gawk at her everywhere we go, tall, thin, and beautiful.  And she is SMART! An encyclopedia of knowledge, direct and well-spoken when she wants to be, and just all around a great person.  To me, looking at her, I think, “what could be wrong?”.

In her eyes, or so she tells me, I have it all together, and what could possibly be wrong with me and my life?  

Yet, there we are, striding through the dark, crisp air, admitting our biggest flaws, things we want to fix, physically, but mostly more than that.  Personality traits, genetic coding and chemical compositions that are beyond our control.  As I was talking her through mine, telling her how abnormal it must seem, she said, “not at all!  It is part of what makes you you, and that is beautiful whether it is normal or not.  You admit it, you aren’t a victim to it, and you can take it as a challenge to deal with it.”

It just made sense, and it just clicked. It is a random flaw and something that I have to deal with, but it is a beautiful flaw that I can use to challenge myself. So we have accepted the challenge together to work with our flaws and not let them hold us back.

It is the beautifully-flawed project (not outwardly named, it just came to me upon reflecting on our run). I feel as though this marathon training is going to be very good for us both.  

Accept your flaws, whatever they may be.  And if it something that challenges you, then graciously meet that challenge head on.  I promise, you will win.

Hope this finds you all well.