Go back to basic physics with me. Do you remember the simple circuit? Usually has a battery, a wire, and a light bulb. Ring a bell? Well to those who were not lucky enough to play with these fantastic things, let me explain the basics. The battery offers a potential energy. This energy is used to conduct a current through the wire. The light bulb acts as a resistor and when the current runs through the light bulb, the product of the resistance is light and usually heat. This resistance is necessary to create light. If there is not enough energy or resistance, there will be no light.
Have you ever noticed when a light bulb is about to go out, it gets very bright right before it dies? Sometimes it only lasts a few seconds, but It will burn brighter than usually and then with a soft crack, the light bulb goes out. I'm sure there is a practical reason for this but I always thought that this was strange. Why would it burn brighter before going out? Shouldn't it dim till it produces no more noticeable light? I guess some light bulbs do just dim till they run out of light, but those few that burn brighter really perk my curiosity.
I've seen this type of thing in people, too. Have you ever known someone with cancer? Cancer is a terrible disease which is uncontrolled cellular growth. It causes all sorts of problems because it can affect any cell of the body, thus any organ is susceptible to this disease. But have you ever known someone with cancer suddenly improve physically and mentally? Cancer and the treatments to fight cancer could be eating away at the person, but almost over night they "get" better. They have energy, their mind is sharp, and, voilà, they have an appetite. But unfortunately, like the light bulb I was explaining, the person with cancer just as suddenly falls back to illness and usually tumbles to a worse state and passes away. Yes, there are patients who slowly dim till they die and there are patients who beat cancer. But like those few light bulbs that burn brighter just to suddenly go out, those cancer patients who suddenly appear to be full of life and then quickly deteriorate fascinates me.
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I'm about 2 hours into my run now and my legs are getting very fatigued. I haven't pushed myself like this for a long time and I was hoping for a second wind but it never came. As my feet pound the ground and I can feel my muscles protesting for a break, I don't listen. I still have 5 miles left to go and there is no way I'm giving up. Like the light bulb, I'm a resistor in this world. I'm curious about how I will go out.
