I vividly remember when this lesson manifested itself to me… which ultimately means you reach a level of understanding so that you can incorporate the lesson into your life.  The opposite being the lesson that keeps presenting itself to you in creative ways until you have the epiphany and understand the lesson. I’ve found this is how life works.

It was just before my first 24 hour mountain bike race in West Virginia and I was working on my bike.. and working on it.. and working on it. I was adjusting the suspension to get the dampening and rebound just perfectly dialed in… and I was turning the 8mm hex wrench and then … I turned it too far and the inside tube of the oil chamber sheared off.  I pulled out the wrench with the threads of the aluminum tube still attached… and suspension oil gushed onto the ground and I realized I had gone too far.

Such a great lesson.
It’s about backing off and allowing things to be unfinished, messy and imperfect. It’s also about trying to determine where the edge lies. Always a tricky proposition. Best taken on a case by case basis.

This is going to be a high mileage week with only 2 races. Wednesday is the Trail Series in Forest Park (which may be in the rain and dark according to the weather forecast). And Saturday’s 50K at Elk Mountain. I haven’t had any really long runs in a few weeks, I have a good base and a season of racing behind me. I’m not so much nervous as a little tired of racing. Maybe I’ve gone to far — hard to tell.

I think this will be my last ultra of the year before I wind down for the holidays and rest (and ski).

A wise man once said that all human activity is a form of play. And the highest form of play is the search for Truth, Beauty and Love. What more is needed? Should there be a ‘meaning’ as well, that will be a bonus? If we waste time looking for life’s meaning, we may have no time to live — or to play.

– Arthur C. Clarke