Vision Board ----> Journey Board

No secret here: I'm VERY visually motivated!!! In the past, I have always been a fan of some sort of vision board and/or visual motivation when training for a big event.

Vision board I created for Ironman Coer D'Alene 2012

A "countdown" poster I made in prep for IM Wisconsin 2015

Countdown Board + "Journey Pictures" for Leadville 2017

This year, I haven't set down the time to really go at it and figure out where I am going/how to get there -- visually, at least!

So, shortly after making the realization that some things needed to change and I needed to get back to what got me places in the past, I sat down to start to CREATE. And, as those of you who know me know, CREATING is my happy place. Like, in everything.


So, I started...

And I got this far...

Before this happened.

Yes, that is me in urgent care on a Sunday night. They are repairing my finger, of which I had sliced a chunk of skin clear off (thank you, super sharp exacto knife!) while I started my Vision Board. 

Side note: I am not saying that slicing my finger has ANYTHING to do with my training, but when you look at my training this year, this is EXACTLY how it has gone. I try to do something positive for my training, and something horrible comes in my way. I could give you a half-dozen more examples of how things have not panned out thus far, but I am NOT going to dwell on those, only move forward positively. 

Anyways, back to my vision board... it got sidelined first because of the injury. Then, every time I would step back to doing it, I struggled a bit to make myself I glue anything down. And, while I know what I want to see, I really had to think about everything... and what I realized is that I kind of want the experience to guide me this time.

So here is where I stand: I have this BIG piece of paper. And I am EXCITED to fill it. But, I don't want to necessarily fill it now. I want to fill it with all the benefits and experiences of training. I know where I am going (Leadville 100, duh), and the areas I  need to focus on, and the areas and things I am excited about doing... so as I work my way there, I plan to fill the paper. (As you can see, I've already started to fill it with parts of my training thus far - along with notes on what I am looking forward to as I prep for the race.)

Essentially, my "VISION BOARD" has changed once again, and is no longer a vision board, but a JOURNEY BOARD.

I've started on my way, and I can't wait for the journey!!!