An experiment…
Wednesday the 1st of March, 2023
25k with Skin n Bones boys
Its been a minute. Like, a REALLY long, non-New York minute, more like a few Fiji minutes maybe, but here we are. It feels like so much has happened since my last blog but not that much at all. Heck, I have not even done a wrap up since my X-Country failure. That will wait for another day but man, the last blog I wrote was the 15th of September, 2022. Too long ago.
Its weird, I have wanted to write but kind of haven’t felt ready to I guess. The pull has been there, I have missed it, but life has been very busy and I just haven’t gotten around to it. Lazy, unmotivated, uninspired? Maybe a combination of all of the mentioned. BUT, I am attempting to return.
I would like to develop a new habit of writing each evening after dinner. Im not sure I will every day but I will do my best. Some days will produce tripe but hopefully some days, through the act of just ‘doing’, some gold will emerge. I recently heard on a podcast that writers should write EVERY day, even if its garbage. I have a fascination with writing. I like words, I like the focus it gives me and I like sharing. I think I am ok at it and people seem to enjoy it most of the time I guess. So, we’ll see where we land with all this but for some time, I would like it to be my practice.
Without drawing out this first post too long, a snapshot of the last five months would be nice I guess. I failed on my X-Country run. An old hip injury appeared and left me broken. Will I go again, maybe, I am not making that decision just yet. I came back, licked my wounds, explained the story 400,000 times to customers at work and got on with it. It was hard. To be honest, it is still is hard. I was a short tempered, frustrated human to be around for some time but I believe I am turning the corner on that. I turned 40, Pria turned 13, we had our 20th Wedding Anniversary, Tegan opened her own hair salon from home, Christmas happened, I nearly broke due to pressure and stress in the businesses, New Years, I have decided to try and run 10,000km this year (yep! more on that later), Corlè turned 10 and a whole lot of other stuff went down. Tattoos, piercings, gigs and all the usual. Its been a little wild but mostly awesome.
So, its been a minute. I rage on, doing my best in all I do and now back writing. I feel a void not writing my book as I had planned to after my run and maybe that’s why there was such a long hiatus? By and by, here we are. Life moves on and it waits for no man, especially me, so we rage on. I hope you are all incredible and lets see where this new journey takes us, one day at a time.
Thursday the 2nd of March, 2023
31.7k Magic Loop
30min Stepper
This morning I set out with no route in mind. I decided to head a direction and make it up as I went along. What a journey! Road works, bugs, back burning fire, dirt, the hummock, a chat to dad and a super cool podcast to boot. I wanted to do 3hrs and with no add ins, just guessing and completing the ‘loop’ I got home in 2hrs and 59min! What guess work! Was a good morning.
I think the word of the day and the last couple of weeks has been tenacity. Running a business is a roller coaster of emotions, management of people, bashing your head against a wall, confusion, requests, demands and everything in between. Sometimes I wonder why I bother, then I get there, start making coffee and chatting to people and it all becomes clear. I LOVE being a business owner and working IN the business. Sometimes all the other ‘stuff’ is just tough. One day maybe I will sell and just work for someone else but for the moment, the entrepreneurial dream lives on. Some days just be wild and we ride that baby out.
An addition to yesterdays post. I did some digging and actually found a blog post I wrote about my X-Country run. It was meant to be posted on an online magazine but somehow never made it. I am actually pretty proud of it so I will post that shortly before this blog maybe. Might be of interest to some of you.
Apart from that, it was a very busy but fun day. I somehow manage to cram about a zillion things into each day some days and today was one of them. Everything down to the minute and executed well. Now, tired, ready to relax for two minutes before sleep and rolling again tomorrow. Some solid wins and a few knocks but all in all, a good one.
Friday the 3rd of March, 2023
22k chilling
Bit tired today. Big day and backing up after yesterday. Solid. Work, super busy, did the markets, now tired and ready for bed before a big day on the trails tomorrow. Life is good when it is full but sometimes its a lot. Now though, bed and rest.
Saturday the 4th of March, 2023
5hrs (40.8k) Pine Creek Trails
Super rad morning out today! I took the running super easy and just enjoyed the time out there on the trails with the boys. A win for the day and the k’s are racking up this week for sure! However, there was much greater win of the day today which has nothing to do with me! Dad finished his first ultra after a fair chunk of time off…
For those unaware but keeping the story short, dad has been running marathons and ultras for over two decades. He recently had some heart issues and had a stent put in. He was also placed on some medications which slowed him up for a minute. Today though, mum and dad found themselves in Tasmania and he completed the Gone Nuts 50k trail run. It was a solid slog for him but he got it done. I am so very proud of him that he has clawed his way back and even though he is 69 this year, he is still getting after it! Well done dad….I tip my hat to you!
Much of the rest of my day has been super chill, coffee, food, groceries and taking it easy. Today has been a good day. I hope your Saturday is crushing also.
Sunday the 5th of March, 2023
25k Back up long run - 212km for the week
Solid week. Legs were a bit heavy this morning but got rolling eventually. Good to have Mitch company and hit some of the nature reserve. Got a message one of the girls was sick at work so ended up filling in for a few hours. Lucky I did cause they got smashed. This got me thinking…
There were a couple of guys clearly from out of town watching me very intently at my caffeine craft. Today was one of those days that flow was occurring for me. Its kind of hard to explain but every now and then when it gets super busy, I get in a flow doing coffee shots. Every move and action has intent and a purpose. Mistakes don’t happen as the concentration is in full effect. It is almost like I am looking down on myself moving smoothly. It feels like things are effortless and I take pride in my precision, speed and meticulousness. Things just work.
Making coffee is a lot like running. A flow. A repetitive action that one can find peace and simple satisfaction in. A dialled deliberateness to every piece of the basic yet complex puzzle. I treasure these moments. They bring me joy and happiness when things just ‘work’. It doesn’t happen always but when it does it is bliss. Today was some nice coffee flow!
A good week and we'll see how long this new writing practice lasts. Hopefully it will continue longer than a hot minute and I can share some more insights in the coming weeks. Happy Sunday.