"I have not yet begun to fight"

John Paul Jones - in response to a British taunt in the midst of a naval battle "I have not yet begun to fight."

That is how I felt today. I realized that anything worth attaining is all uphill. I was running in City Creek Canyon - and if you have run in there before I will tell you how it goes. Mile 1 from the state capital to the ranger station is mostly flat - and at times uphill. Mile 2 is uphill. You wind through the trees and wonder when the marker is coming along. I think at times the rangers move it and hide in the bushes laughing at me. Mile 2.5 is up a roller coaster of hills. Mile 3 is up a steady incline. Then more climbing, twisting, garbled running and then you think that you might be going downhill a bit and then BAM more uphill and then you reach mile 4. Luckily God decided to have some of the return trip on a downhill instead of changing the topography randomly to torture those of His Running Sons.

So - to revisit the point. Nothing that is worth anything is ever given to you without a fight. If something is given to you then you don't appreciate it. Think of my dogs. If they fight over breakfast they like it better. When I am running up a hill that bugger is making me work for every foot. I have not yet found an escalator to take me to the top. All personal effort. I also have not run into anyone that is going to operate a rope tow to get you to the top. All you, all your power, all of it fed right from the brain to the bottom of your shoes.

Giving up makes you slower. Stopping is not an option. Guts, dredging around in your desire every day to make up the difference in distance between where you are and what you want to be. How deep is the well of your desire? How hard do you grip the ropes on your ship of life and yell out to your opponent no matter the situation and if you are winning or losing: "I HAVE NOT YET BEGUN TO FIGHT!"