It’s finally here. The taper for my last three events for Lead Challenge—The Leadville 100 Mountain Bike, The Leadville 10k Run and the Leadville 100 Run.

Tapering.

The magical final stretch of training where you dial things back to rest, recover, and prime your body for race day. On TrainingPeaks, where I plan my workouts for myself and my athletes, it looks amazing — fewer miles, more rest, and fresh legs. But in reality? For many athletes, myself included, it’s a mental minefield.

Owning the Story

Here’s the deal: when we own our story, we write the ending.

When we’re self-aware, open and accepting of ourselves, our own true, unique self, when we hold ourselves kindly and compassionately, and when we move towards a growth mindset, we gain power. We can do more of what matters.

Owning the story is acknowledging the truth of the experiences. It’s taking authorship instead of playing the victim. It’s letting go of shame through self-compassion. It’s living aligned with your values and strengths.

It ain’t been easy. But the more I come to ‘owning the story’ the more control I have of this story, and likely you will too.