What makes the hard slog worth it?

For those that have been here a while, you’ll know that coming up 18 months ago, I unintentionally started running. Yeah I know, teenage (ballerina) me is is still in shock about it all.

Over time, I have done a few races with my friends and vowed - at every single one - I was ‘one and done.’ Yet here we are. A few weeks ago I finished my second 15km race at the Noosa Ultratrail Event which was my 6th running event in 18 months. But guess what – this one TOTALLY sucked. Well, not totally. I loved the atmosphere, being there with my gal pals/chief cheerleaders, moving through the beautiful hinterland (a total privilege) and the post race brekkie feast? A delight! BUT! Noosa had just come off a month of crazy heavy rain so the course we were headed for was a slippery, slidy mess and the water was still flowing down the mountain…the mountain we were about to run up.

Now, I’m not talking a few muddy puddles, I’m talking wading through water crossings and at many points, not being able to see my ankles or shins due to them being either underwater or covered in mud. At the start line I thought “can’t be that bad out there, surely?” So off we went, heading down the trail with a pep in my step thanks to Beyoncé in my ears. Then, I saw the slip ‘n slide mud-fest in front of me. That pre race warning from the start line announcer made sense. Strap in MB.

Now, I had trained for this race. As someone still firmly in the ‘beginner runner’ territory, 15kms is a distance I need to prepare my body for. I saw this as my chance to see how I had improved from the year before. Once I started to see the change in conditions up ahead and people in front of me starting to slow down rapidly, I knew I had to take it easier and concentrate. I didn’t want to risk an injury and figuring out the best places to put my feet was like an impromptu ballet dance - tip toeing, leaping and dashing from right to left to navigate the most firm and secure ground beneath. I was moving much slower than planned but just had to keep going. One mud soaked foot in front of the other.

Despite a (slightly) faster time than last year, most of this race felt like a REAL slog. I was so disheartened that I felt I couldn’t achieve my potential (and yeah I know, I can’t help the rainfall and soil composition of the forest) and it took a bit of grit to then kick back into gear for the last segment of the race which was back out on the road. Those last few kms were a pretty fast time for me so all the training did come into play in the end. I also woke up the next day feeling really great, with minimal soreness and proud to have another race medal for my kids to fight over. The disappointment from the day before was fleeting because I could acknowledge that the preparation wasn’t wasted after all, there was some real positives to come out of the 24 hours prior.

I absolutely understand now that in doing these kinds of challenges, the value is in the ‘showing up’ and there are so many positives to be gained in the learnings from ‘hard things,’ regardless of the actual outcome. The heightening of your skills, both mental and physical. I get it now. In the process of dedicating the time to prepare in the way I did and show up on the day with a smile on my face, I learnt what it takes to gain confidence to complete those tasks that seem scary or challenging. For me, that is running long(er) distances. I’m learning each time and slowly but surely, getting better. I also learnt that the newly updated Lululemon Fast and Free tights really are more robust than what they appear – 6 massive tumbles in the mud later and they are still in one piece.

And so am I.