sí se puede

I recently began using Rosetta Stone to bone up on Spanish.  I've been enjoying the program immensely, devoting upwards of an hour a day towards the study of a language I haven't spoken for almost twenty years.

It works using visual cues and multiple choice answers that you must match up.  Most of the time this is easy to do - it is easy to choose the picture of the cat sitting on the table versus the dog who wants steak.  (Yes, these are actual images they use.)

But the other day, my new perspective on what is possible got in the way.

The lesson was about the verb podar - to be able to.  The image was of a man walking, and the question was whether he could or could not walk 70k in a day.

70k?  43 miles?  Of course he could walk that in a day, I thought.  Hell, he could do 140k if he really wanted to.

So naturally I answered that he could walk 70k in a day.

Wrong.

I had to laugh.  I suppose to most of the world, walking 43 miles in one day does seem impossible.

Until they do it.

It starts with believing that you can do it.  In spanish, that phrase is "sí se puede" - "yes, it can be done" or "yes, it is possible". (You might recognize the phrase which was made famous by Cesar Chavez.)

There is power in belief; without it, we cannot walk 43 miles in one day.

This weekend I will be pacing and crewing for my friend Deb's first 100 miler.  If all goes well, I will be running 50 miles for the first time.  She will be going 40 miles farther than she has ever gone.  We both believe that we will be successful at our endeavors.

I am sure that there will be dark moments out there - times when we doubt we can do it.  But those words are sure to bubble up - "sí, se puede" and they will help carry us across the finish line.

Whatever your big dream might be, tell yourself that yes, it is possible.  And go from there.

If you want to follow our 100 mile experience at Lumberjack, follow me on Twitter - @runnerteri.  I will be tweeting out updates as the race progresses.