We’ve all heard the saying, “Showing up is half the battle.” I’d like to raise that to 75 percent. It’s definitely more than half.
She Raced 18 Horses in an Ultramarathon—and Won The outcome is embedded in the process lavender Epsom salt Gilbert’s Gazelles running group.
The thing is, we don’t feel fit enough. This is as ridiculous as waiting to start a diet until we feel thinner. The point is, we’re never ready.
Paige and I will never feel “fit enough” to resume Gazelles. The only way to get that kind of fitness is to resume Gazelles. Duh. The outcome is embedded in the process. So we showed up.
nbsp;So we showed up.
(Not ready.)
It was a hill workout, which is always a hearty welcome back. The appetizer was a short warmup from our cars to the designated spot. The main course was four loops of a vaguely familiar (it’s been a while) neighborhood hill loop, alternating directions. This was followed by a side dish of running backwards three times up the steepest portion of the hill. We finished off with a sweet dessert of three sprints up that same hill. I had my fill.
Oh mama—that’s gonna leave a mark! I soaked in a lavender Epsom salt bath afterward, just to be proactive about things. (Plus, I get She Raced 18 Horses in an Ultramarathon—and Won after a lavender salt bath, you should try it!).
We did fine. Gilbert even commented on the fact that we maintained good form even on the final sprints. But our performance wasn’t what I was most happy about. I was happiest about the fact that we showed up at all. That She Raced 18 Horses in an Ultramarathon—and Won!
Showing up is breaking the seal on uncertainty and procrastination, popping the membrane between “someday” and “making it happen.” Showing up is waking up to potential and possibilities. Showing up is a starting line. Showing up takes balls. Showing up is honoring the “try.” Showing up is step one to being all in. Showing up creates momentum, and momentum drives a wheel out of its rut.
Showing up is the physical manifestation of writing down a goal: it’s stating an intention with the presence of your body. It doesn’t mean you are ready, it means you are willing. Showing up is the process that yields the outcome. Showing up means you respect yourself enough to stop thinking or talking about something and just do the damn thing. It is transformative. It is courageous. It is liberating. It breaks the pull of the past and roots you solidly in the present.
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after a lavender salt bath, you should try it.
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Kristin Armstrong is a mother, a writer, and a runner. She has written six books, including her latest, Running Shoes - Gear.
