It Is What You Make It

Only a few miles to go.

Only a few miles to go.

I keep reciting the simple sentence in an attempt to bring comfort, to ease the pain, from biting off way too much of a trail run than what I am able to chew.

At the time of clicking on my headlamp 5 hours earlier, I unknowingly made the mistake of starting at a lower trailhead which ended up adding 6 extra miles to the adventure. I ran, walked, hiked and stood in dense pine forests, beautiful aspens in full fall color, windswept alpine tundra and pure rocky talus slopes and am eager to plop into the driver's seat and return home.

The steep alpine hiking took its toll on hip flexors, butt and calf muscles to the point I wanted to simply turn and dive back downhill. But, doing so would require labeling myself a quitter, and that won't do. So, I forged onward and upward. Finally, upon reaching the summit, I spun and began to run at a pace easily four times faster than the ascent. Feeling froggy, I bounced in between rocks and felt solid with my downhill alpine dance. 

But, that was well over an hour ago.

My thighs are trashed, calf muscles are cramping, hips are screaming, the trail kicked my gluteus maximus miles ago, knees are creaking and my lower back feels like delicate glass ready to shatter on the next meaningful impact. My heart has been pumping high volumes of thinly oxygenated blood for too long as my burning lungs work overtime trying to fit more air into my whumping chest. My brain was woozy at the summit, along with a strangely famished stomach, and now it's stuck, like a scratch on an old vinyl record, repeating, Only a few miles to go... Only a few miles to go.

All of a sudden, splat!  My nemesis Achilles snickered as it failed. As a result, my toe stabbed into earth and I became a crumpled wad of human being on the trail. Starting with fingers and toes, I wiggle joints inward and all are still functional as I lay and wonder what is the point of doing this to myself???  Why can't I sleep in and wake up watching cartoons, the news, a movie or something???  What's wrong with lounging on the sofa and doing nothing???  Why not lay in bed and slowly work my way to the kitchen for a monstrous, and I mean MONSTROUS, bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios??? What's wrong with me???

Come on!  Get real!  Open your eyes!  This is self-destruction!

So I did.  I opened my eyes.

And, I had to take a picture from my crash landing pad and thanked my evil Achilles.  Despite hurting, I'm grateful for the tumble. Instead of suffering along the trail, in complete tunnel vision of what I'm running under, the crash was a blessing in disguise as it forced me to stop and look up.

This spectacular view isn't something found, live and in person, by staying in bed and farting the day away. Here I was in the middle of no where and had front row seats to one of Mother Nature's greatest displays of color.

Instantly, all the pain and misery became worthwhile.