Let Go

Previously in this blog I've referred to my learning from the writings of Dan Millman, a former world champion gymnast and author of a number of mind-body books, the most famous of which may be "Way of the Peaceful Warrior." One of the ideas put forth in Dan's book, "Body Mind Mastery" resonated with me from my first reading. In fact, I felt so strongly about it that I had my husband write the words on the inside of my forearm with a Sharpie marker the morning I started my iron distance triathlon in Sonoma California two years ago. It was simple, yet so powerful for me, the words were "Let go!" If you look closely you can see the words on the inside of my right forearm in the photo.

While this may seem somehow different from the "letting go" of attachments often discussed in the Buddhist philosophy -- really it has a strong correlation. In this case, Millman is talking about letting go of trying (Nike repackaged the idea as "Just Do It"). Millman points out that often the harder we try -- and live in the mindset of try, the more tense we become. The more difficult things become for us. It is when we let go, follow the energy, relax into the play of life that we succeed and succeed joyfully. Trying creates its own resistance. Millman explains that "(T)he word 'try' itself implies weakness in the face of challenge." Try says we might not do. Trying can create internal forces in opposition to our goals. It is when we "let" it happen (with intent, of course) that we do. Millman calls this "understanding of the spirit of nonresistance" the "first step on the path of body mind mastery."

Isn't life really a celebration of doing? For now, I'm off to a big party called the Snowman Trek. I'll check in again in about a month. Be well, and remember to smile, it does a body good.

Snowman Training Note: I finished the Soles plan this weekend. Took a long walk on Sunday and enjoyed one last GaGa-infused versa climber workout achieving 3,100 vertical feet in 30 minutes on Monday.

Thought for the Day: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain

Joyful

It's a grey and gloomy day outside my office window and I can't stop smiling!

It started yesterday when I noticed my countdown function on my watch read nine. That's nine days until first foot on the trek. Even now typing nine -- and knowing I'm already down to eight -- my sense of joy rises like a helium-filled balloon, lifting my spirit and curling the corners of my mouth up involuntarily. I've reached the point of letting go and appreciation. My sense of exultation is palpable.

I am traveling to Bhutan. I am making the Snowman Trek.

Years ago I overheard my husband explain to someone the way that he had determined to approach a new environment -- a new learning opportunity. Cliff said that he had decided to walk with his arms wide open (figuratively, of course) so that he could collect all that was there to learn. That's always been a strong mental image for me. Beyond the function of collection I also see the gesture of open arms as an attitude of approachability, interest and genuine curiosity. There's a simultaneous sense of vulnerability and of capability. I am taking that first trek step . . . in just eight days, with arms open -- and smiling.

I also find a sense of pleasure and release in knowing that the preparation is ending and the trek journey is about to begin. All that I need, I have. Everything else will come as I let go and remain present.

Snowman training notes: Yesterday was a first when I completed 6425 vertical feel on the summit trainer (1:15) and discovered blisters on both thumbs from my handle grip. That was the final lactate threshold day on the training calendar. Hour long run today and a hike tomorrow round out the Soles calendar. I am anxious to put these strong and ready legs to work.

Thought for the day: “Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh

And Always Pack a Little Magic

The essentials are organized. Ready to be put into my kit bag and weighed.

All tickets, reservations, plans and schedules are set and recorded.

All pieces paid, all visas made.

And just as I notice before any major undertaking, I'm now selecting those magic tokens of goodwill and positive energy that will make the trip. They'll add negligible weight, yet so much volume in terms of filling my heart and spirit.

Over the years my magic has come from different sources. A stuffed dog named M&M (to Bosnia). Favorite bandana (in Nepal). Once a lighting-bolt shaved into my cropped hair -- and dyed blue (for Kilimanjaro). Almost always a leather thong with a collection of trinkets (each with special meaning to me). For this trip I'm adding a found item from a training hike to remind me of the strength I've developed, the investment of time to prepare and the value of presence and awareness (otherwise, I never would have seen it).

These things connect me and propel me. They symbolize the final countdown. When I get to the magic -- all else is in readiness.

Snowman Training: Another training hike yesterday (6.5 miles, no more extra hills now). Back the the gym today for a 30 minute versa climber warm-up (2750 vertical feet), then my regular strength training routine. Today I finished my two-minute plank without even realizing time was up. As Cliff observed yesterday, that which used to be tough is now quite easy.

Thought for the Day: “ And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it. ” ~Roald Dahl

Seeing is Being

Time is drawing near -- time to get on a plane, time to leave behind cell phones and newspapers, time to count on only one mode of transportation (our feet).

Now is the time I work on visualization. While I'd like to visualize a perfect day weather-wise; ideal trekking companions; breathtaking vistas unobscured by clouds; pristine trails without washouts or scree walls, I visualize that which I can bring to be. It is a rehearsal of sorts for my performance. Brain-training, if you will. Yesterday I incorporated visualization into our training hike (the next to the last training hike, in fact).

I see myself happy. I see myself appreciating the earth, the sky, the culture and the experience of Bhutan. I take in healthy muscle-sustaining breaths, regardless of altitude. I do not get into a game of comparison or competition with my fellow trekkers. I see myself thankful for their company. I see myself as a non-judgemental companion. I see myself appreciating that I am able to make this journey, and so for that maintaining a presence and awareness as not to miss a single moment. I see rhododendron, horses, herders and huts along the way. I see myself walking slowly, thoughtfully in deep appreciation (and of course clockwise) around a white-washed chorten. I see my prayer beads in my chapped hands. I run them through my fingers and feel the worn edges of the hand-carved chunks of agate. I do not become frustrated by delays or surprises -- rather I am deeply joyful to be in a country without traffic lights to meter and regulate the flow of life.

When it rains, I am accept the drops with grace. When it is cold, I smile and am glad for the opportunity to be here, in Bhutan, experiencing every bit of the trek. When the wind blows, I see my blessings take flight and travel to those who most need to share in blessings this moment.

I see myself at the first pass, attaching prayer flags with Cliff's help. I see myself rejoicing an on-trek birthday and being thrilled that at 52 this is how I celebrate. I see myself entering Laya and later the Lunana Valley admiring Table Mountain, the wind whipping at my face. I feel so ALIVE. I see myself completing the trek -- healthy, strong and grateful.

I am smiling in my vision -- and I can feel the smile right down in my belly, where smiles blossom.

I see myself happy.

Snowman Training Notes: Now I am blogging so infrequently as to lose count of where I am in workouts. The weekend included a 1:15 interval training session, which I spent running sprints. Yesterday was a two-hour training hike with only one doubled hill. A headache was my body's feedback today, to take it easy, so I did.

Thought for the day: "Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." ~Carl Jung

Ch-ch-ch-changes . . .

The other night as I was relaxing on the love set in our media room, I looked across my legs and thought, “Now when did that happen?” My legs have, over the practice and training experience of the past four months, changed somewhat dramatically in appearance. My muscles have become very defined, particularly in the quads and calves in response to many hours of training for hills. This rather coincidental noticing caused me to reflect upon the changes that occur in the process of doing to achieve a goal – and on our awareness of them.

Those changes are a big part of what makes every day of a doer’s journey so valuable – and so worth appreciating.

I didn’t set out to re-sculpt my legs; rather it was a natural consequence of training my muscles to perform the specific task of trekking the Snowman. Change (big or small) happens in all of us in moving toward a goal. I wonder how much of that change we simply fail to notice because it’s not physical, nor sudden, nor even intended.

Think over your journey – what is changing for you that propels you toward success not only in achieving your goal but also in living your best life?

They are there (those changes) – to be discovered, even if by accident – and to be appreciated with full intention. And you will find, no doubt, that they fit perfectly into your doer’s toolkit – hmmm . . . as though they are meant to be there. They are accessible to you now, as you gain awareness of their presence.

My best advice: Stretch out and take an assessment of what’s changing for you.

Snowman Training Notes: Since Tuesday (making up lost days). Concentrated on stretching on Tuesday to work out a few kinks in my back and hips. Made me think I really could benefit from yoga (something to plan for when I get back). Wednesday – 1:15 on the summit trainer (around the world mode). Thursday – back to weights: 30 minutes on the versa-climber (2750 vertical feet) plus my trekking strength training program.

Thought for the day: "Drink your tea slowly and reverently, as if it is the axis on which the world earth revolves - slowly, evenly, without rushing toward the future." ~Thich Nhat Hanh

Practice Makes Practiced

I don’t know that I’ve ever really subscribed to the notion that practice makes perfect. What is perfect anyway? Can humans really achieve perfection? I believe that perfect may occur in nature – and I’ll set that aside as a wholly different topic than the “perfect” that presumably can result from practice.

Perfect aside, I am quite convinced that practice makes practiced – and there is much value in being practiced in the skills with which we choose to fill our doer’s toolbox.

Yesterday Cliff and I logged our 268th hill-training mile for Bhutan. These are miles spent solely in practice for our trekking muscles and minds. Although the miles suggest many hours of effort, they don’t include any time spent in the gym working cardio or strength. They don’t consider a moment devoted to research or planning for the trek. This is time devoted to practice for the business of walking hills; the activity that soon -- and for nearly a month -- will define our days.

When I think about trekking and how it came to be a passion for me, I know it didn’t start with my first hike – a clumsy misadventure on the Appalachian Trail nearly three decades past. Rather it was the rhythm of the practice of subsequent hikes that wooed me. The more I hiked, the more effortlessly I could hike. I don’t know that I am a trekking expert, nor do I believe that I have perfected the art of trekking. I do know that the more I practice, the easier it becomes – and the more I can push the envelopes of time, distance and difficulty -- partly because my muscles are mastering the action and partly because my mind is mastering the misery ☺.

When we are practiced we gain certain knowledge and ease that result from experience and repetition. From practice springs familiarity that calms anxious nerves and quiets fear – liberating us to grow and expand in our craft.

Practice can be a sort of rehearsal of the physical and intellectual aspects of any doing (Soon I'll talk about visualization -- the full dress rehearsal). Present and purposeful awareness in practice can open our minds and bodies to actions we may choose to strengthen, sharpen and refine -- and to detractions we may elect to modify, repair or omit -- as we move forward.

So practice. Practice with intention – the intention of noticing, of learning, of feeling and intuiting.

You'll soon be ready to hit the trail to "Do."

Snowman Training Notes: Time flies . . . my last blog was nearly a week ago. This was a busy week at work, in training and with trip preparation. This was the last “peak week,” which meant long days of aerobics and strength training. I logged my longest days on the summit trainer (1:15 hours) and versa-climber (1:05, 6,200 vertical feet). I ran hills around our neighborhood (7.5 miles). I did my sprint/ lactate threshold training on the Octane trainer and treadmill. And yesterday we hiked our hill six consecutive times – PRACTICING.

Thought for the day: Many people are familiar with the “10,000-hour Rule,” normally attributed to Swedish psychologist, Anders Ericsson, for his research that involved observing groups of students (ranked by excellence) at the Berlin Academy of Music in the 1990s. Ericsson found that musical achievement correlated with hours of practice: elite musicians had put in about 10,000 hours of practice; good musicians 8,000 hours; and average musicians about 4,000 hours. There was no genetic advantage or predisposition at play. Practice improved performance. His rule, when applied to other disciplines, proved true.