Willpower: Will I, won't I?

The hardest part of running is putting on your shoes and getting out the door. Unless it's pouring rain (and I'm talking torrential downpour) and then the hardest part is just finding your shoes and finding the willpower to say no to the warm cozy blanket on the couch and the bottle of wine. Yes, you guessed it, I was rained out again at 6:30 yesterday so I did what I never thought I would: I actually said screw it to the rain and went out for a run.

This brings us to today's topic: willpower or as the Finns say 'SISU'. Sisu means perseverance in the worst conditions, the willpower to survive. Without digressing into Finnish history too much, it comes from the sheer determination of Finns to hack out a life in a country that is dark and snowy and cold 8 months of the year, is bordered on one side by the scary nation of Russia and on the other by the Swedes who are their eternal enemies.

Finns are also the best endurance skiiers in the world (I don't care HOW many Norwegians have won gold, Finns are still the best!!) and you need a tonne of sisu to be able to move that fast on two small sticks for that long.

How does this all relate to me? If any other sport relates to the word sisu, I would have to say that long distance running fits the bill. Yesterday's run was cold, wet and miserable, but instead of turning around after 10 minutes when I was drenched to the skin, I remembered that I too am Finn and have this magical sisu. Suddenly I found myself feeling a bit stronger and a bit more smug. Looking at people sitting in their cars and in restaurants, the thought floated through my head that they may be warm and dry, but I am awesome because I'm enduring the rain and physical pain and am on my way to becoming a better person because of it.

It's really easy to say I'm going to run a half-marathon, but at the end of the day good intentions do little to help. It takes willpower and determination to put in the miles you need to cross the finish line you want. I guess we can all apply that to life as well, don't you think?