Warning: Bitching, moaning, and overall 🙁 ahead.

Lying in bed with a headache, chills, and feeling overall shitty for the second week this spring….not how I expected my training for the 14ers record to go. I think whenever any of us make big plans we have an ideal plan of how things will go; we’ll get in plenty of training, we’ll feel mostly strong doing so, and all the logistics will come together for our big event. Well, surprise surprise, that rarely happens. I was feeling good after 11 laps on Green Mt in 19h and an overall strong winter when bam, I came down with the flu for a week. No sooner had I recovered from that when some nasty hay fever kicked in and I was coughing and spitting up mucus 24/7. Just when I thought training was getting back on track I got hit with a rhinovirus, taking me out for another week. As I sat at home pouting, wrapped in a blanket when it was 85F outside, I decided I needed a walk, no matter how bad I felt.

Mariposa Lily, seen during my slow sickly walk.

As I slowly strolled along the trail the humidity of an afternoon thunderstorm clung to my skin, the rustling of the grass and the chirping of crickets tickled my ears, and I was even able to stop and enjoy the flowers blooming in the meadow. I realized, that my woah is me attitude didn’t really do me any good, and that I still had a lot to look forward to. My health would improve, hopefully my bad luck streak would end, and I’d be back to enjoying all the amazing things in life. Sure my training for the 14ers record attempt has not gone as planned, but it does no good to dwell on what could have been. I’ve always tried to live in the present and for the future, though admittedly sometimes I need a reminder. My job now is to do the best I can with what has happened, and take everything one day at a time. So here’s to a healthy next three weeks and a renewed appreciation for all the things big and small in life. I hope everyone else can too.