Happy MONDAY! TGIM! QUOTE OF THE DAY: “The finish line is just the beginning of a whole new race.” ~ Unknown Author THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: On Saturday, I completed a 16 mile trail race called Goodwater. It was around Lake Georgetown in Texas. I had heard the trail was technical and I had been out to the lake before, but I wasn’t quite prepared for how hard it was going to be to run the whole 16 miles. In short, I would like to rename that run, “Relentless Rocks.” There were so many rocks out there on the trail that you had to be careful at almost every step. I did train specifically on some harder trails at Brushy Creek Park, and did trail running as much as I could before the race. But after 12 to 13 miles I was just mentally exhausted. It was physically hard on my body, but it was also hard on my mind. I listened to some music for a good amount of the time, but I switched to a comedy podcast called Hook Line and Smiley at about mile 13. The last 3 miles I resorted to a mix of walking, running, and hobbling. I just couldn’t run with the precision it would take to not fall for the rest of that race. As I was running, I thought this run is just relentless. There are rocks everywhere and if I took a couple of wrong steps I would have fallen. Then I thought, but isn’t life just like that? Life just comes at you whether you like it or not. Life is relentless sometimes. Are you with me? You can go through it and deal with life for the most part. And you will get through it, but life can just be relentless. Can’t it? You have to navigate it whether you trained for it or not. You have to navigate life through the ups and downs. And you have to get right back up when life knocks you down. I slipped once early on in the run, but it was no big deal. I just got right back up as if nothing happened. I didn’t fall and hurt myself which was just amazing! I tripped myself up a couple of times but then caught myself from falling. Such is life huh? Now that I have crossed the finish line of that race, which I had been training for about a month, we have a new beginning that is upon us. Today is February 1st. We have a whole new month to set goals and execute them. I want to dig deeper within myself and see what is there. I want to work on myself more. I want to be a better version of myself. And now the real work begins. In January, I had the new year mindset. But that 31 days have come and gone now. And now the real work begins. What are some things you want to work on in February? Share them with me and let’s go on this journey together. Happy Monday! From Coach Matt AFFIRMATIONS OF THE DAY: 1) My life is filled with joy and vitality. 2) I refuse to limit myself. I am always willing to take the next step. 3) When life trips me up, I don’t stay down. I get right back up and keep on going.