Mt. Holly, Little Lessons in Big climbs

"Uphill is honest, you can't cheat gravity." Killian Jornet

 I am 11 days out from the New River 100k, truth is recovery was short because training has to press on. 

Last week brought me 2-20mile runs, and a 10-mile trail run out at Holly Rec with Andy and a few friends. 

But by today, my body felt the condensed training, even though my heart was excited and ready. 

Today was a key training day at Mt Holly. I was going to just show up and run that mountain, but I asked permission. "today only, we will be running heavy equipment." 

• I needed the Time on Feet
• I needed the elevation training/ extreme suffering
• I needed to train with my sissy sticks (trekking poles) 

With a sky bigger than the hill I headed towards the man-made mountain. 

And I climbed. 

14 miles. 

Poles in my hand, wobbling less than my legs. 

No music-just my breath, my heart and a lot of conversations with the Lord. 

It didn't take long for the strain to hit, heart pounding like I was in a concert, breath heaving, and calves cursing me. 

Oddly in all the agony I had peace. I didn't resist the discomfort. I let the discomfort train ME. 

I let the training coach me. 

Because Here is the REALITY:

• Western States = 18,000 ft of climbing
• Sulphur Springs 100- 16,150 ft
• Kettle Morain 100- 8,453 ft 
• Bear Lake (92 miles) - 8,900 ft
• Cloudsplitter 100K- 15,000 ft
• Midwest to Everest 50m- 10,455 ft

I have some work to do. And we don't have mountains or elevation in Michigan!

But I do have a choice, to show up and do the work with what I have been given and to embrace the suck!

Today's goal wasn't about pace. 

It wasn't comfort.

It was Faithfulness. Commitment. Fortitude. 

Not perfection. Just trusting the process. 

Little Lessons in Big Climbs

1. Do it afraid. Just start. 
2. Don't cheat yourself. Follow through. 
3. Humble grit. Give God the Glory, it is by His strength. His Will. 

RUNDOWN

Mt. Holly: 14 miles

Time: 3h 20 min

Elevation: 3,1,33 ft

Average heart rate: 127

We often choose the path we can predict, the safest one. But growth lives in the places we can't control. The places that often are not comforting. 

When we surrender the outcomes in life and simply do the work in front of us, it may feel like strain, pain and discomfort but it produces something deeper:

"..a peace that passes all understanding." Phil. 4:7

Suffering has a way of stripping everything down to a place that it allows us to draw closer to the Lord. 

It exposes what we trust, what we fear, and where we run when things get hard. 

And when we stop fighting it, that is when we let it do its work. It doesn't weaken us, it REFINES us. 

IN PEACE, NOT Pieces, 

Anita