Last year about this time, I couldn't run a quarter mile. But I trained consistently and in April, I ran my first half marathon. I ran a second half marathon in the Fall, taking 15 minutes off my initial time.
A couple of weeks ago I started training for a full marathon. It seems almost impossible. I was at the health club, running on the treadmill, listening to my iPod. The TVs were on in the club, I could see them but I couldn't hear them. Barack Obama was being interviewed. And it hit me:
On January 20th, 2009, Barack Obama would become President of the United States. Just a few short years ago I had never even heard of Barack Obama. Not many people had. And in less than a week, he'll lead our country. That this could happen seems impossible. That this man, this black man, could travel from the streets of Chicago to the White House in so short a time is staggering. It makes me wonder:
What's Possible?
What can you and I accomplish? What great goal can we achieve? What "impossible" dream have we turned away from?
We've always heard, in America, anything is possible. Barack Obama has made that real for me. I won't be President. But I will dream big, do the work, and achieve something grand because Barack Obama has proved to me it's possible. I hope you will too.
And somehow, 26.2 miles doesn't seem impossible.
