Fueling the fire

Things have felt a little quiet lately blog-wise, but they’ve been less than quiet in real life.

I’ve managed to sneak onto the podium again at the wet and rowdy Gonzo Graveler!

I set a new distance PR at the Rattlesnake Gravel Grind … 110.7 miles of gravel in one go. (Just slightly over my last record of 110.1 miles … I know, it’s not much, but I’m still proud.)

I’ve done two centuries in the first 3 months of the year!

And since I got a coach, I’ve been digging in, getting uncomfortable, and pushing myself in new ways, physically and mentally. It has been cool to see growth where before I felt a little stagnant.

Maybe it’s the changing season, and all the beautiful new growth around me, but I feel some new life inside of myself, too.

It’s a long journey, this life — all of our lives. We’re all out here, trying to do something good, for our own selves, and for others. The day-to-day becomes part of the background noise. It becomes habitual. It becomes part of who we are. Eventually, the amazing things we do just become a little bit more normal with time.

How often do we take the opportunity to reconnect with just how truly amazing our little actions really are? To look back over the years and to celebrate the growth and the progress and the path we’ve been creating brick by brick, each and every day.

Today is that day for me.

My resting heart rate has been slowly lowering over the past couple of months. Training feels achievable yet challenging.

I am so much more open to experiences and finding wins to celebrate where it may not seem like there are any.

My blood pressure is improving. I’m focusing on diet, and my body composition is changing, even if my weight is not, which is also exciting because that means I’m maintaining muscle.

And, well, I’ve gotten a podium twice so far this year, which is crazy!

When I got my first Garmin some 10 years ago, my VO2 was 37.

It’s now 56.

My blood tests at age 25 showed a risk for metabolic syndrome with high cholesterol and triglycerides.

Now they look amazing.

We don’t always have control over things in our lives, but it’s important to understand the things we do have control over and why they matter.

It doesn’t happen overnight. It never will. But you can decide to make a positive change in your life, and work toward it, each and every day.

It may take 10 years, or more. Likely more.

You’ll be doing it alone, for the most part.

You’ll have setbacks, and relapses, and periods of negative growth, and times where you feel like, or maybe even actually are, going nowhere.

But beneath every success story is a long, long story of continuing to try, and continuing to show up.

Beneath every success story is a history of so many failures.

Beneath every success story is a history of continuing to learn and to grow, and allowing the world and your experiences to change you into something new.

Change is swirling all around us. Take note of it every time you see someone out jogging, or posting about their gym session, or riding bikes with their kids.

We’re all just trying to be a little bit better. It may not be some big, grandiose gesture, but it’s the most important thing you can do, each and every single day.

So have fun out there, y’all, on the journey to something new. You are magic, don’t you forget it!

Next stop: Gravel Locos, my third attempt at the 155 mile course!