Teamsiliconvalley - Sports Blog

“Anyone can give up, it’s the easiest thing in the world to do. But to hold it together when everyone else would understand if you fell apart, that’s true strength.”

We are in week 10 of our training for the Moab Adventure Xstream Race.  Not gonna lie, some days feel like it’s getting harder, other days I feel like I could cross the finish line of  two 12 hour races back to back because I feel so good.  This last week, I’ve seemed to hit a wall a couple of days.  Things just aren’t always clicking right.  Like perhaps when I showed up for Hot Power Fusion Yoga at 4:30 and the class started at 4:00 – argh!  Today in particular, I ended my run in tears because it absolutely sucked.  I felt like crap, I threw up at the top of a steep hill (maybe it was that burrito), and I am emotionally running on steam the past few days.    But, these are the days you discover who you really are, what you are really made of, how strong you really are, how bad you really want something.

I am always full of words.  I always have a lot on my mind.  I never hear “crickets” up in this brain.  I read a quote in a book I am reading this week that struck me, “Action always happens in the present, because it is an expression of the body, which can only happen in the here and now.  But the mind is like a phantom that lives only in the past or future.  It’s only power over you is to draw your attention out of the present.”  I can so understand the depth of this statement.  There are escapes for me, moments when I can live fully present – music, physical activity and writing (ACTION) – so I try to have more of those things and less of the sitting around letting my thoughts get the best of me.  When I have too much time on my hands,  I question myself – my abilities, my emotional fortitude, my place in this world.  I am a deep, deep girl…simple, but deep - dang it.  Therefore, action good – sitting on my butt not good.  And so, I continue to be motivated to stand up to this challenge, even when I have days that I puke up rice and beans at the top of a dirt hill.

We are entering the weeks when training for distance and endurance matter in order to compete in this race.  It’s 50 miles of mountain biking, running, and kayaking with some orienteering and a hellatious rappell thrown in for some mental work.  Right now, I am a mental wreck, how the heck does one train for that?? Steph and I are taking an orienteering class on Friday and getting the rest of our rappell gear and in two weeks we will be rappelling in Colorado Springs.  I am getting increasingly nervous and as a side note, I have no idea what I am going to wear yet for 50 miles of blood, sweat and tears.  I find myself feeling everything physically – pain here, discomfort there.  I wake up in a stupor on the days I have to run early and daydream about someone driving by and throwing me in the back of their truck and dropping me off at my house halfway through.  But, all worth it.  It all has a meaning, a purpose, a reason, a deadline, a goal…a finish line.  Just to make sure that I don’t wuss out and give up after this race is over, we’ve already signed up for more adventures.

I really appreciate all the emails and personal words of encouragment I’ve gotten from so many of you.  It means alot to me that you are following along and some of you are taking on some of your own big challenges and shared them with me.  I’ve had a lot of inspiring conversations the past few weeks!  I have a friend who’s lost over 40 lbs. just becoming more conscious of her food choices and increasing her physical activity.  Today, I heard from a friend who had once given up on getting healthy and now has taken the first steps on his own to a new start and he asked me to be his coach!  That’s really what this is all about.  Just put one foot in front of the other and one day you will look back and see all the miles you’ve walked, all the bridges you’ve crossed to a better, healthier you.

So, cheers to the hard things.  They make us better, they make us stronger and make for great conversation.  Love to you all…