stories from the road and beyond
For those who find peace and quiet in the outdoors, or who manage depression and anxiety through movement among the trees, any kind of injury feels like a tiny death. So how do we handle the lack of endorphins that we’ve become accustomed to when we’re sidelined? How do we maintain our connection to the outdoors?
Get outside, use those lungs, let your eyes wander. Be curious. Don't check your phone. I repeat: stay away from your phone. Seriously.
I had begun training in August, and as the race approached, I found myself getting anxious. No matter that I’d completed my long training runs without any issues, or that I’d faithfully adhered to a training plan I’ve used before. I kept thinking about the the “what ifs”.
This was seriously scary business, and they let children do it?
While researching my trip to Glacier National Park, I noticed that most guide books also had information on Waterton Lakes National Park. What was this park, and why had I never heard of it?
Once you accept how things are, you can begin to work with them, instead of against them.
After stopping for gas at a rest stop, a curious urge made me check the deep pocket behind my passenger seat. By something I can only call fate, the book was there, every dog-eared, highlighted, and notated page. I'd loaned it to my boyfriend a year earlier and must have never gotten around to re-shelving it. The fact that it happened to be in my car as I was moving all of my belongings across the country felt like a small miracle.
