This series is inspired by my own discovery, as I train for a 200-mile race, of what I am really training for. You can read it here. This series focuses on athletes I work with and their mountains, based on my observations.
Meet Heather. She is a mom. She works full time. And she loves adventure. Not because she likes checking races off a list. But because adventure changes he
She’s completed adventures like the Leadville 100 and a fully self-supported Wonderland Trail: 90+ miles with 22K elevation gain around Mount Rainier.
If you look at her training plan, weekday sessions are shorter, broken up to fit her busy schedule. On weekends, she spends hours on a treadmill or rucking with thousands of step-ups.
She is someone who refuses to let circumstances decide what’s possible.
She lives somewhere flat. With the foundation she had built with Coach George, we adapted the plan to fit her reality. We built mountains with treadmill climbs, weighted hikes, and more box step-ups than I care to admit writing into her plan.
Her treadmill broke, and we needed to get in elevation simulation. I finished writing her program and remember thinking, “There’s absolutely no way I’d want to do this.”
Later that week she sent me a picture of chalked tick marks indicating how many rounds she was through, along with “I will say, box step ups build mental resilience 😂”
I just laughed. “Damn, girl.”
Heather loves a challenge that scares her. Maybe the initial spark comes from “this looks hard.” But her journey becomes so much more than doing hard things.
The mountains are where she practices. Each challenge becomes something bigger than the miles.
It becomes an internal journey. A spiritual one.
One of my favorite things about Heather is that she knows that not every season belongs to her.
Sometimes races change. Plans fall apart. And life gets in the way of things we want to do.
Heather doesn’t let one missed adventure define her identity.
She works through it. She adjusts. Then finds the next path.
That’s why I admire Heather. She’s not always climbing mountains or chasing a challenge. She knows that there are times to climb and times to pivot. She trusts that there is another adventure out there.
The more I get to know Heather, the more I realize she isn’t chasing finish lines. She’s chasing who she becomes because of them.
Everyone’s mountain is different.
The person you’re becoming is what matters.
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