Triumph over Adversity

The 100th Dipsea last Sunday morning turns out to have been a metaphor for my life right now. Taking a hard knock and coming back up swinging.

I'm feeling better than ever, passing gobs of people going up Dynamite, hitting Hog's Back breathing beautifully, muscles all in sync, when all of a sudden, a nagging tight left calf muscle rears its ugly head.

As I stopped in the first meadow, grabbing my lower left leg and saying things to myself about the situation that are better left out of print, gobs of people began to pass me back. It hurt like an 8 of a 1-10 scale. Like a cramp run amok.

I had a couple of choices. Quit, taking my first ever DNF in a race (I've been racing for 36 years), or hobble on and focus on the body parts that WERE working perfectly. I picked B. It's just a calf. Get to the top of Cardiac and then it's downhill.

Now I don't always recommend running or playing through an injury, but in this case, as I limped along, my calf realized that it hadn't beat me. It decided to play along. And it worked.

I had been headed to perhaps a top 100 place, as I had done several years ago, but rejoiced in my 193rd place and headed to the medical tent for ice. It was an enormous triumph over adversity.

Which girls do every day. To read vivoGS Intern Ryanne's latest Riff http://www.vivogs.com/buzz/opinions/ryannes-riff-hey-uncle-bob-were-real-sports-fans-too, it just motivates me even more. Yeah, Ryanne!

Can you believe that just last week, my daughter's friend's father actually said to me that if entrepreneurship was easy, "women would do it"? This was his answer to me when I said that starting a business is HARD (which makes it more worthwhile for me). If it was easy, everyone would do it. Then he made the disparaging comment about me and all my sisters who have successfully started businesses. THEN he tried to back up and say that they say the same thing about football, "if it was easy, women would do it." Stop talking!

Luckily vivoGS is surrounded by angels and investors who do believe in the power of women and the strength in their passion and commitment to sports and excellence in all aspects of their lives.

Whew. Now that my calf is better, thanks for Dr. Ron and PT all week, I'm going for a run to feel my own strength and determination.

vivoGS Girls, this is YOUR community and your business, we're building it for you and all of your friends and teammates in middle school, high school and college. We will not let you down.

P.S. Can you believe that the US was denied the winning goal over Slovenia this morning? What was that ref smoking on that play? This will fuel the boys to kill it over Algeria, I said it here. What a second half. Well done, Yanks, from one of your biggest fans.