The small steps towards the big dream

I would love to be your inspiration, your motivation, that voice that tells you to live big. The truth is that some days I struggle to be my own. I am getting there though. It is through a long journey of small steps that we get anywhere. Some days we go the wrong way and have to turn around and go back to find our way again. Some days we are simply too tired to take any steps. Other days we go backwards for the whole day and at the end of the day we wonder why we are on the path at all, only to go backwards. Over time though, even though it is slow and we don’t always see our progress, we move forward.

This has been my journey for the last couple of years. When I measure my daily progress, it seems that I have hardly moved at all. It can be incredibly frustrating. But if I look at where I was when I began and where I am now, things look a lot better. I have actually accomplished some pretty cool things. A bikepacking trip with my mom, my epic garden project, the neighbours epic garden project (if you don’t want to rip up your whole backyard and build a new one, make sure you do not move next door to me!), starting to run, this blog ….. I actually have a lot to be proud of.

The trick to accomplishing any of these things is the small steps. In all of my projects, once I have the initial idea or dream, I continue to break things down into the smallest steps that I can. For the Aconcagua goal that I wrote about previously, once we decided the goal, we put a date far into the future. Seven years from now. That is when I will turn 55. Seems like a good time to do it. The long timeline will give us time to save the money, to train, and to figure out the logistics. We can also throw in some cool intermediate goals like Mount Baker and Mount Rainier.

It was late November when we first started to put together the idea. The weather had turned and going into the mountains for a good scramble was no longer a great option. Also, going into the mountains consistently to train when you have a six year old is not really feasible. Maybe for some people it is, but we are not really like that. It is way too easy to talk us into just staying under a warm blanket on the couch watching a good movie. I needed something that I could easily do year-round for training. I needed a small step. That is where the running came in. It is easy to throw on the running shoes and go outside for a quick run. It is a perfect small step to help get me to the big dream at the end.

Although logistically it is simple to run, you do not need a lot of equipment or special facilities, mentally it can be a bit tough. Ok, who am I kidding? It can be a lot tough.  However, I have run in the past and I remember how it made me feel. After I overcame the initial discomfort, running became fun. It made me feel strong. I remember being incredibly proud of myself and feeling like a true athlete. Just being out there. When I did my first 10 km race, I felt incredible. Melissa’s road race in Banff Alberta. With my mom, my aunt, and my cousin. The experience was one to remember. I have always wanted running back in my life. That desire was enough this time to get me out and started, and to hold me to the goal.

I started with a simple training plan. The plan is to go from not running at all to running steady for 30 minutes in a matter of ten weeks. Week one was to run for two minutes, walk for four minutes and repeat five times. This was to be done Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. On the rest days I stretch out my sore muscles and do a few yoga poses. Each week the running interval increases slightly and the walking decreases. I took my time to fit things around my health and my schedule. Taking some time off when I was sick and repeating a week when I felt too tired. I am now at three cycles of eight minutes running, interspersed by two minutes of walking. I am doing it. I am out there training for my big mountain goal.

Some days I feel like crap. Certainly not like someone who can climb Aconcagua. On those days I don’t even need to think about the big goal. All I need to do is to try to get in my 30 minute run/walk. For the rest of the day, I can sulk on the couch if I really want to. I just need to do that one little run. On good days when I’m feeling really inspired, I can find adventure memoirs to read, and I can look up videos of others who have climbed Aconcagua. I can research other mountains and treks to add to the Big Dream.

Now, I am happy to say that sometimes, when I am feeling really down, I have turned to my run. This has been a turning point for me. I now have something that I can use to get me through a low. Running is becoming something more than just my training tool, it is becoming a life line to pull me out of a dark place.