This weekend I am supporting my friend and long-time client, Chelsea Glenn, at the Javalina Jundred - a 100 mile race through the desert complete with rave-like dance parties, tattoos, and all the race snacks you can eat. I will run 20 of those miles with her through the night.
My job as a pacer will be to gas her up when it's tough, play upbeat inspiring music for her, help her if she’s struggling (I’m not allowed to carry anything, or physically assist her in any way). I can feed her snacks or help her layer up if it gets chilly in the night. My job is to help keep her happy, healthy and moving forward at miles 81 through 100.
Chelsea’s path to achieve this goal of running a 100 miler has been years in the making.
Her commitment to this goal is inspiring.
In the last year she has doubled down on her commitment to show up for herself and her goal, so consistently, that I know she won’t stop until she accomplishes it. It is driving her.
I share Chelsea’s story because we can all learn from the way she has set this goal and worked towards it.
I talk to a lot of folks about their goals and what they are willing to do to accomplish them. Here are real reasons I have heard for why folks aren’t ready to take their next step -
“I need to be better about working out before I get help from someone with it.”
“I will never be able to run again, so my knee doesn’t really hold me back otherwise.”
My own version of this in the past has been, “if I do this, will I have guaranteed success, or is there a chance I will fail at my goal?”
Most of us hate feeling uncomfortable and not knowing when, or if we will achieve a certain level of accomplishment. Instead of allowing ourselves to embrace the years-long process of improving our pain, our skills, or our tolerance to discomfort, we opt for goals that feel more comfortable. We choose goals that we can already see on our own horizons. In a way cutting ourselves off from achievement, before we have even begun.
Chelsea has a different approach. She set this particular goal before she ever knew what it would take to run 100 miles. At every step along the way she has said, “what’s next, so that I can accomplish this big audacious goal?”
She has been dogged about this plan for years. She did the 100k version of this particular race 2 years ago, and she attempted a 100 miler last year (the Mountain Lakes 100). She’s invested time and money into training, as well as getting her family and friends to Arizona to join her.
As we were talking about the upcoming race, I asked “what would you like to hear me say, when you’re tired and over it mid-race?” Her response was, “tell me, ‘keep going, you don’t want to have to do this again.’ Never say, ‘you’re almost there.’”
If you’ve made it this far, maybe you have a big audacious goal. Maybe you haven’t said it out loud to anyone. Maybe you hesitate to dwell on it, even in your own mind, because how you will achieve it doesn’t quite make sense yet.
I dare you to say that goal out loud to yourself right now before you close this email. If you want to take it a step further, reply to this email to tell me about it. Saying a goal out loud, especially to someone else, is a proven powerful first step.
Best,
Katy
P.S. Chelsea, if you’re reading this - you have the grit to look into your future and know exactly what you want to do. You are truly an inspiration to me and I am so excited to support you when you cross the finish line!