Failure is freightening.

Mostly, the fear of failure seems to come from a fear of what other people ‘may’ think of us. Usually those thoughts are our own projections of stories that we’ve told ourselves over and over again throughout our lives.

While the thought crossed my mind for a few moments to not compete as I knew there was a certain risk (of severe injury or worse) I also knew that I could be composed enough to not ‘race,’ take my time navigating terrain that was above my ability, challenge myself in other areas, grow as a rider and get stronger, preparing for races later in the season.

The opportunity was in the mindset.

Several weeks ago I finished one of the countries hardest 100 mile races - the Bighorn 100 in the Bighorn Mountains of Wyoming. The feeling I had in this race was one like no other. A lot had to do with my mindset and how I practiced it. (Photo Courtesy of Mile 90 Photography.)