We heard about the Dipsea Trail in Mill Valley, CA.
Actually, when I say “we”, I mean LZ. She heard about the Dipsea, that it was a
little over 7 miles, and thought we should run it. We’re both training for a ½
marathon in October, so we thought…Why Not?
We really had no idea what we were in for, but thought it
would be, somehow, something we could handle.
When you have to climb 699 steps just to get to the
trail…Houston, We Have a Problem…
....
First of all, the “locals” all love to talk about the 699
steps. There’s no one who DOESN’T know about the 699 steps. OK. We get it. But
after that, it must be a typical trail, right? Well……
....
10+ miles later, all up-hill (and by up-hill, I mean
risking-your-life-up-a-mountain) we were EXHAUSTED!!! Ten miles, people!!! All
AFTER 699 stairs…(yea, I know. Now I can’t stop saying the number either)…it
was a lot!
....
So, we found out what we were made of. Turns out, it was
more than we thought. We ended up laughing, gasping, feeling like we were
dying, trying to figure out each-other’s problems as we climbed the mountain,
and, by the time we were at the top, we realized a valuable lesson…we hadn’t
figured out ANY of each other’s problems, but felt such a sense of pride that
we had gotten that far, that any problem we’d left at the bottom of the
mountain was totally something we could handle…and the view along the way was
awesome.
....
I find myself doing things in my life now that I never could
have imagined doing even three years ago. I’ve produced my own holiday EP, gone
to Japan for almost 3 weeks ALONE, put on big shows, played on national TV,
toured across our great country doing solo gigs, and learned how to work and
run my own sound system. I’m learning how to play the guitar and how to speak
Japanese. Who knows what new and fascinating mysteries and adventures are ahead
of me.
....
But I do know that I don’t need to climb a mountain to see
all of the little mountains I’ve already climbed. We are all capable of doing
so much in our lives, and we’re stronger than we even know. I hope you’ll think
about the things that you’d like to accomplish in your life and start to take
the first (of 699) step to making it happen. I wouldn’t have wanted to tackle
the Dipsea without my best friend. And I hope you’ve got people in your life
that will bring out the best in you, too.
....
Now, I’m going to hobble my weak and sore body back to bed
before getting on a plane to come home…really glad I don’t have any mountains
to climb today!