Putting in the work
| July 13, 2016 | Posted by Melinda under Uncategorized |
From my *training journal this week:
“…the main reason for setting goals isn’t to achieve them…it helps you identify a trajectory for moving through the world…My 15-year old goal of being an Olympian has not been achieved yet…but I certainly am no worse off for chasing it.” -Lauren Fleshman
*I use this one and LOVE it.
I may never ever ever get to run Western States 100 mile trail run. But I’ll be no worse for wear by putting the work in to earn the buckle. In fact, considering my starting point right now, pursuing the third buckle promises to be an adventure on par with Tevis.
- I’ve never run 100 miles
- I’ve never felt particularly good riding 100 miles
- I’ve yet to qualify for even a single lottery ticket into the the WS100
- My last ultra was before I got pregnant
- The thought of actually running a 100 miles is so mind blowing I immediately want to go scrub my brain with soap and have someone pinch me back to reality-land.
- There’s a good chance because of the sheer luck that plays into actually Getting Into Ws100 I may never actually get into the race at all.
“Put in the Work” has become my motto over the last couple of weeks.
Schedule an early morning run or hope it gets done later in the day? Put in the work
Tempted to have a second cup of coffee just for the caffeine buzz? Put in the work
Skip the scheduled core workout? Put in the work
Stay up late finishing my latest Craig Johnson novel or go to bed on time? Put in the work
Sometimes I write the motto on various parts of my body just so I can be reminded throughout the day.
Like when drinking coffee and catching up on my blog reading!
I can’t control whether the WS100 buckle will hang nestle be-thrown-in-a-box next to my Tevis and RnT buckles. I won’t spend 6 months moping/sobbing/devastated about because of some unexpected set back a ‘la Tevis in the pre blogging days. Nope nope nope. I’ll put in the work and be ready if that door opens and enjoy the journey along the way.
Admitting that my major goal right now is a WS100 buckle means that I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that this blog will be making a shift from primarily riding and horses to a mixture that contains significant running posts. Sorta like when I gave in and started posting vetmed stuff when I was in vet school. I like nice clean tight line when it comes to my online blogs – this is not a “journal of Mel’s life”- and I’ve argued for years that Boots and Saddles is HORSES with a bit of general endurance thrown in. But, after 7 years of blogging here I’ve also learned that changing the blog to fit where I am is critical. Farley and ML aren’t going anywhere, but they also aren’t “going anywhere exciting” for a while. Farley is puttering around doing the same ‘ole same ‘ole, and she’s looking so good at 17 years old it will be awhile before I’ll be motivated to get ML to endurance-ride-level fitness and training.
Now I have to go…ironically to go ride!!!!! [cross-training at it’s best ;)]
Putter around reading more blogs, or go to bed on time?
#putinthework
(but I had to finish reading YOUR blog, first!)
Keep writing what you want to write. We’ll keep reading.
I LOVE THIS. YES YES YES YES
damn, that is some dedication. You rock. (Though I was up at 4:30 to not miss my swim workout, so sometimes I do the same, but not as often!)
So excited for you to push for this! It’ll be worth it