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.

The mindfulness journey isn’t to a mountain top destination. Some will say there is a path, but trust me, there isn’t. You’ll wander a bit. Maybe get to take a training or go to a retreat. Your mind will likely say ‘you’re doing it wrong’ or ‘why bother.’

There is no wrong.

Take a slow deep breath. Notice the air filling up your lungs. Notice the sounds and smells around you. Come back to right here, right now, in the present moment.

What if in the next race or event you have, instead of focusing on XYZ time, you put your energy and focus into mastering the task. Mastering the race. Ask yourself what does that look like? What are you doing? What does training look like? What does that feel like. Can you bring in support and feedback? Can you be open to the pain of failing part of it? Can you be patient? Keep striving, and keep moving forward?