Yesterday I spent the day running in the mountains.

Training for a 106 mile ultramarathon, and a 38 mile ultramarathon that’s on the shortest day of the year, in winter, in the mountains means one thing –

One must get better at experiencing many weathers. And with many weathers — comes many feelings.  18.9 miles, 7,000ft of elevation & up to 50mph winds resulted in many a feelings of aloneness, fear & dark imaginings.

But with that, came many feelings of stillness, peace & joy.  All of it. Every single one of them.  Yesterday I had 4 profound moments of “nope, I can’t do that”

Following some random route I found on the internet, looking ahead at some high, steep edges, covered in cloud and being battered by wind, with no other human in sight.

The feeling of fear was deep, intense. The aloneness and beyond the point of help if needed made for a dangerous dance. Dancing on the edge, seems to be where the growth lies.  Of course, I was fine.