COMMUNITY: Don’t limit your goals

Editor's note: Daren Schumaker of Cedar Rapids and Dennis Lee of Walford are attempting to run across Iowa's 99 counties to raise money for the American Heart Association. They have completed 55 counties. Next: Madison.

By Daren Schumaker, community contributor

Limits are a part of our everyday lives.

Many limits are imposed on us by others - the speed limit on your route to work, the number of items you can purchase at the 'express lane” at your grocery store, and the amount you can contribute annually to your Roth IRA.

Limits also can be self-imposed, like the time you go to sleep on a 'work” night, the amount you are willing to pay for a new motor vehicle and the number of friends you are willing to allow your son or daughter to invite over for a slumber party.

Limits are imposed in an attempt to keep things within the boundaries of what is determined to be acceptable, and we generally acknowledge such limits and operate within the bounds established for us.

In this regard, limits can be good. They keep us safe from ourselves and others. However, limits cut both ways - not only do they keep us within the bounds of the safe and ordinary, they also hinder us from extending the realm of what is attainable and achieving the extraordinary.

On April 13, 2014, Team 99 Counties was cut by the blade of limitation. We left at 6 a.m. and drove southwest to Taylor County, passing through drizzle and heavy rain as the lightening flashed and the thunder boomed. The cloud cover failed to break, and at 10:10 a.m. we found ourselves standing on the western border of Taylor County as the heavens opened up, quickly and literally soaking us from head to toe in seconds.

Running in rain was acceptable. However, the 45-degree air temperature and 15 to 25 mile per hour northeast wind made running unacceptable. We were on the edge of a knife and, depending on how it cut, our limits would become crystal clear to us despite the dark sky above.

We separated quickly, one far ahead and the other far behind, not stopping for fear that if we did we would not continue. Our moods darkened like the sky. We shouldn't be doing this. The weather, the cold and the wind were so extreme we hardly noticed the 10 miles of hills we climbed before stopping in Gravity for our first break.

With our clothing soaked, we found it easier to run in shorts despite the cold that had made our hands numb and useless. Things were grave. We regrouped and continued eastward on J-35, an infrequently traveled stretch of pavement that turned gravel at Conway, and eventually to dirt one mile from Ringgold County.

The rain returned in earnest as we ran south for one mile in order to avoid running on a 'mud” road. We turned east for the last time and finished our 26.75-mile route across Taylor County. We had survived for 3 hours, 56 minutes and 27 seconds in conditions that, at first, did not seem acceptable for one minute. We had been cut by the blade of limitation and, although the cut was deep and caused us to bleed, we survived.

Many find what we do to be extraordinary, but we too have limits. Things weren't easy, but the satisfaction from accomplishing what we didn't think was possible quickly healed our wounds. Don't allow the boundaries you set for yourself keep you from your dreams. We can promise you things won't be easy and you'll want to give up, but we also can promise you what you achieve from reaching for the unattainable, even if you fail, will far outweigh the brief discomfort that you may experience.

Get up, get active, and get moving. Don't let limits stand in your way.

Limits are like rules, and rules were made to be broken. Even if what you want to accomplish is unrealistic, start working. We promise the journey and where it takes you will be well worth it, as long as it isn't raining, cold, and windy. Take a step toward your goals and you will be moving in the right direction.

Inspiration through perspiration. Become active or make a donation to Team 99 Counties or the American Heart Association to help fight heart disease.