my mountain

aaannnnnd......there is the alarm.

I HATE the alarm. I try as often as I can to avoid it....and when I can't, I usually hit snooze.

three times.

The house was so quiet.

Perfectly cool.

But I had to get up.

ugh.

Stretch out.

Get dressed.

Choke down as much Power Bar as I can before I start to gag up that good old fashioned peanut buttery cardboard taste.

The kids are up.

Breakfast.

Clothes.

Out the door.

On our way to Dana's, where friends and and a babysitter await our arrival.

The kids are dropped, Dana is with me, and we head to our Mountain.

Mountain with a capital "M", because we are talking one. big. mountain.

It's already hot.

I am so nervous. Sooooooooooooo. Nervous.

But here we are.

Only 4.6 miles and a 1600ft elevation increase to the top.....we can do this.

ha!

half mile in.

Can we?

The heat.

Salty sweat.

Why am I breathing so loud!?

I can't feel my legs.....and then I can,

and they hurt.

I think I'm going to throw up.

No really, where can I throw up.

Why am I doing this??

I can think of 1000 other things that I'd rather be doing.

So I named them--every single one.

And then I thought of how to get more comfortable.

Like slowing down.

Walking.

Turning around.

But I can't.

There is still road in front of me.

And it only get's steeper.

WHY???!!

I have learned over the past few years, that for the most part, my body likes to run. It loves it. Craves it. It can usually get out and run, and my mind doesn't have to do too much work.

But every now and then, there comes a point where my body thinks it might just turn off....the autopilot malfunctions, and it's up to my mind to take over and get me there.

To the top.

I will make it.

My mind has to actually tell my body to MOVE.

left, right, left.

To the top.

and.

we.

di-

-d

it.

We did it!!!

How??!!

We stop.

We celebrate.

We stretch.

And continue our (amazingly easy seeming) journey down the other side.

The taste of victory, fresh on our lips.

Or that may be salt, but either way.

*************

Our bodies are absolutely incredible little contraptions. Amazing! And they were built to do amazing things--do we let them?

I have been wanting to run my "Mountain" for years. Seriously talking about it for 8 months now.....it took Dana to look me in the eyes and set the date to get me to do it.

I was afraid.

To some this mountain would be nothing--there are marathoners and ultra marathoners who would laugh at the amount of worry I put in to this tiny hill.

But for me it was perfect. What I needed. What my body and mind needed.

Please push yourself! Find your own "Mountain". It may be a literal mountain, it may be a 5k, it might not be running at all--it might be a walk around the block or finding the time to stretch every single day.

But find some way to let your body live up to it's potential.

It was given to you to do amazing things--your mind just needs to convince it to do so.

Don't get too comfortable.

My amazingly talented yoga instructor and friend Abbey, always says "don't be afraid to feel something."

Let your mind take over,

left, right, left.

All the way to the top.