Can we talk for a minute about these three little things?   Two are literal ‘things’ and one is a symbolic ‘thing’ of something else.

Little thing #1: 

I’ll start with the gloves.  I’m training for my very first Century road race.  Ya’ll…that means I’m going to be riding 100 miles in one day.  I’m doing it as my annual Team in Training fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society (I’ll hit you up later for donations, I promise!).  Well, as a triathlete, I haven’t ridden long distances like this in the past.  And in trying to transition from swim to bike to run quickly (my version of quickly), I also tried to be as minimalist as possible with “gear.” This has meant I have not ridden with gloves on in the past.

Well, let me tell you — my first 50 mile ride, I learned that was a very, very, very bad idea. 

My poor little hands (and they are little) were so tired.  And actually bruised and blistered and peeling on the palm of my hand!

Before my next 50+ mile ride, I went and got this little pair of gloves. Purple because, well…Team in Training colors… and HOLY SMOKES!  World of difference!  My hands felt so amazing – not sore at all!  And, that little tiny flap in the underside of the two middle fingers?  That’s so you can easily slide them off without “insiding them out” (that’s a thing.).  

Game changer, I tell you.  Rookie mistake not to know this, but now that I do…

Little thing #2:  

This is a two-parter…I’ve been cycling, yes, but I have also been back at lifting and strength training as part of my daily workouts. And I’ve been lifting pretty heavy (ahem, proud of myself here…).  But last week my thumb-area and my wrist were really sore during and after a lifting session.  And, my knees were sort of sore too.  I chalked up the hand to sleeping on it wrong coupled with heavy lifting. And the knees to 1) cycling 50+ miles for a couple weeks in a row and 2) needing to pay closer attention to my lifting form and 3) getting old.  

But after a day, both still hurt.  Like a dull pain. Throbbing sort of, not stabbing…but there.  Always. Painful actually. A little massaging of it didn’t help the hand. And the knees were hurting every time I stood or sit down.  #gettingoldsucks Then I remembered I had this little jar of my topical CBD.  I took a pea size – literally, that small – and rubbed it on my knees and on my hand (one pea size for each area).  I SHIT YOU NOT, within 10 minutes there was NO PAIN.  NONE.  It was gone.  I kept bending my thumb to make sure.  And standing up and sitting down just because – really?  But yes, really?  The pain never came back — gone!

I was totally on board with my new favorite CBD oil before for helping with my insomnia and my migraines and my anxiety…but you better believe, I’m all for this topical now too!

Little thing #3

The ring signifies my husband.  Our marriage. And a silly little thing that really wasn’t so silly to me at all.  On my first really long bike ride, just a third of the way in, I was feeling totally defeated – by hills, by heat, by knowing I was going to miss a few training weeks for our upcoming trip…and when you are cycling, you aren’t having a whole lot of conversations so you are really “in your own head” and I was NOT in a good space in my own head.  At a break, I texted my husband and said “There is NO WAY I can ride 100 miles.”

I had just about convinced myself of this. I was missing golf lessons for the kiddo Saturday mornings.  I was tired of getting up early.  This ride was already painful and I wasn’t even close to the 100 mile mark.  I could put this off and train for a different event…and on and on it went.

If he had texted me back “yeah it sucks” or “just do a different race” or anything really…it would have sealed the deal.

Know what he texted back? 

“Yes you can!”

Those three little words brought me to tears on that corner.  I didn’t believe in myself in that moment, but HE believed in me.  He didn’t even realize the POWER of that response.  And I was reminded in that response that words are powerful and that believing in other people is powerful too.  I wasn’t out there riding because I was going to win this race.  I was out there riding because I am dedicated every year to helping find cures for blood cancers.  And because I do things that are hard a lot — I set a goal and I reach it.  He knows this about me. It’s a thing I do. And he knows this is an important part of who I am….and he believes in me.  Even when I have crazy ideas, that seem impossible, that’s what he does: believes in me. And that little “yes you can” also says a lot about our marriage. And how far we’ve come in a short period of time (haven’t been married like eons or anything) and how we’ve gotten there with consistent and constant work. It’s not about all the big, grand gestures – like gifts or trips or whatevers. It IS about the little bits of big work we do each and every day to create a marriage built on love – and believing in one another. 

All this long-ass post is to say: little things friends.  LITTLE things can make a HUGE difference.  

Don’t just walk around your day looking for the “next big thing”.

Walk through your day taking time to stop and appreciate the little things too.  

❤

Much love,

Colleen