Leadville and Ouray

You may remember that I was in Leadville, on my way to Ouray for the Ouray 100 Mile Endurance Run last month. (Also...if you don't read my columns, you better start! This is good stuff in here!) I had planned and prepared and thought I was ready for what I knew was going to be the most difficult adventure I had ever attempted.

As Mike Tyson put it, "everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth." Well...I got punched. After trying to regroup a couple times, I quit the race at Mile 38. Looking back, and oh have I "looked back", I feel my pace was too fast early on, and I didn't eat enough solid and 'regular' food, instead relying on exercise mixtures and gels. By the time I saw my crew at Mile 27, it had gotten hot, and I think I was behind on hydration and nutrition, and coupling this with the altitude, I couldn't get my GI system to process much, if anything. Looking back on the decision to quit, sitting in a folding chair in the Ironton Aid Station, I can't help but think about the 'what ifs' regarding had I continued back up that trail. Maybe my stomach would have gotten better? Maybe it would have rained more than it did...just enough to cool me off, but not too much to make me have to stop and put my raincoat back on? Maybe if I had just gotten to that next aid station, the menu would have been perfect and I would have eaten 10,000 calories and then the next climb would have been a breeze?

I'll probably keep thinking about the What Ifs for quite a while. But I have moved on from the thought of "Failure" and "Weakness." And I see all the reasons to be so incredibly thankful for the moments out there and the people who were thinking of me. And, I'll keep reminding myself of this quote, which is prominently featured on the Ouray home page...

“Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

I am rich in spirit, in God's Love, in friendship, and in purpose. And I am unashamed and unafraid to try again. Growth happens in the valleys, just as I had mentioned to Eddy earlier in the week.

This trip was so much more than just the Ouray 100, though.  I was with my family, with some truly incredible friends, of whom I've shared many similar adventures, and Ouray remains the most beautiful place I've ever been.  And I'll be back in Ouray as well.

In the meantime, go out there and try something that scares you.  Try something that you're not sure you're able to accomplish.  That's where the magic and the growth truly happens.