The Tree Still Stands: A Story of Seasons, Setbacks, and Strength
You’ve seen it before.
A tree full of life—thick with green leaves, wild with colour, standing tall and proud like it owns the hill it’s rooted in. But come back six months later, when winter rolls through with its sharp wind and short days, and what’s left?
Just bark and bones. Bare branches. Stillness.
And to someone seeing it for the first time, it might look dead. But we know better.
Because that’s how seasons work. And if you’re someone who trains—someone who pours your time, blood, and breath into chasing more from yourself—you’ve felt this cycle too.
The Seasons We Don’t Post About
It’s easy to show up in spring.
When you’re fit, flying, and full of energy. When the times are good, the paces are quick, the PBs are falling, and everything just clicks.
But what about winter?
What about those runs that feel heavier than they should? The early mornings where the warmth of the doona makes you second guess it all? The injuries. The plateaus. The heartbreaks that spill over into your training.
These are the seasons we tend to hide.
But they’re just as real. Just as important.
And just like that tree—still alive in the cold, still rooted, still existing—you are still in the fight, even when it doesn’t look like it from the outside.
Growth Needs Winter Too
Anyone can celebrate the spring. But what builds the roots? What builds the resilience?
It’s the hard miles. The slow climbs. The rest days you didn’t want to take but had to. It’s the days when the world feels quiet and you wonder if the fire is still there.
Truth is, every great athlete, every high performer, every deeply fulfilled human—you included—needs both.
Without the cold, the spring means nothing.
Why We Need to Speak the Whole Story
We’ve all done it—posted the win, skipped the struggle.
But when that’s all people see, they start believing everyone else has it easy. That they’re the only ones in winter.
And that creates distance, not connection.
So let’s talk about all of it. Let’s be the ones who show the season we’re in—even when it’s not blooming.
Because when you share the hard part, you give someone else permission to hold on a little longer. To keep showing up. To believe that they, too, are just between seasons.
Your Struggles Are Part of the Strength
Look—we don’t grow by pretending the hard stuff isn’t there.
We grow by owning it.
By showing others that yes, we’ve had injuries. Yes, we’ve fallen apart. Yes, we’ve doubted it all. And still—we showed back up.
You don’t need to be blooming to be brave.
You just need to keep standing.
A Final Word From the Tree
So when you see someone else training hard and thriving—don’t assume it’s always been spring.
And when you’re the one in the cold, feeling flat, maybe even invisible—don’t forget the tree still exists.
It’s still alive.
Still growing.
Just waiting.
And spring? It always comes back around
Yours in running and life,
Daniel Lucchini