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Source: Tracy Korn
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Sometimes I see my life in movie clips; the ending scene where the anthem music builds in the background as I walk from a swim, hair still damp, to my car in the misty, rain-soaked parking lot. Victorious.

Those moments when the whole story comes together and I finally understand the point of the rising action movie moments...those in the shadow of a setting sun, having just tripped or fallen off my bike for what seems to have been some divine practical joke. No apparent at the time logic, just a random obstacle that eventually seasons my determination and redefines my potential.

But not before a long and pensive pause - not before doubting, and not before questioning until finally deciding to just carry on. Those 60-seconds dedicated to getting up against a backdrop of cussing and dusting off, the 60-seconds in which I hit my alarm clock and look around in the dark, think, sit up in bed and decide not to think again until I have my shoes on, am committed and out the door.

It's in these little confrontations, in these setbacks and in these little wars; in culminating moments like this morning's moment heading to my car through the mist that my every reason for doing this everyday seems to be encapsulated. I learn, and I improve. I dare, and I discover.

This year I've decided to pay attention to the movie a bit more and remember that moments like these foreshadow the climax. That what I consciously decide to do, and what I instinctively do in these moments are the tells of my tale. Because of this it's reassuring to see what I am, and encouraging to know what I will be.

Because I've fallen, I know I will get up. Because I've doubted, I know I will persevere. And because I've tried, I know I will succeed.

January 16, 2007:
1,000 - yd time trial PR by 2.5 minutes.

Tracy Korn
Tracy is a language assistance program coordinator and English teacher at an alternative high school for at risk students in the Midwest. She is currently training for Ironman Wisconsin, 2007. Contact information: tracy@throughth3wall.com.