I Won a Trail Race This Weekend and My Response After Surprised Me…
For the better part of the last decade my dad and I lace up our shoes every fall for a trail race put on by a local race organization. This year we chose one we had never done, and while I usually can place high in these events I never win them. We headed to the start line and away we went, a few ladies dashing through the first mile. With my more conservative race start I slowly started watching them come back to me and before I knew it there were only a few left in my sight. By mile 4, I was the sole female in front and I dug in deep to keep cranking down my pace through the course of the last two miles. I rounded the final turn and through the finish line in a solid, not incredible time, worthy of the win for the day.
After finding my dad, rehydrating, and stretching we chatted about the kids and some of my thoughts through this challenging season while we waited for the awards. My dad is great for bouncing thoughts around with and going 9 layers into a conversation, he’s incredibly smart and I’m grateful for his mental fortitude in keeping me talking past the surface. So I surprised myself when we finally parted ways and I called my husband on the way home. I simply said “I like winning”.
Sure, everyone likes winning, but I was stunned the minute it came out of my mouth. That thought being at the forefront isn’t typical. Through my modest number of victories in the road racing world around the city that is never my leading thought, so why was it today? Why did that win feel like so much? And thanks to my dad for poking holes in conversation early I could drill down pretty quickly: after this season that has left me feeling beat up I was desperate for any “win” I could get.
Our season post adoption has been anything but easy and smooth, my career shift has brought its own challenges and I end a lot of my days simply thinking “we made it”. That’s not exactly a victory cry, or maybe it is? Even so, I think we all need moments that are clear wins, those with no questions around it, they are concrete.
And maybe it seems hard to find somewhere for an easy, but satisfying win, but I didn’t know I was going to win that race, and maybe you’ll surprise yourself also. Put yourself out there and do something different. Just possibly the benefits of it all will help keep your propeller spinning through a challenging season.
0 Comments