We don’t always get to stack wins. Sometimes life knocks you back and you have to readjust your sights without abandoning your goal. My thru-hike is still happening, but I had to pause and try to recover from being sick. I was down for about 10 days. 4 weeks of coughing caught up.
Just sick enough that workouts became walks and moving things forward on my Tahoe Rim Trail prep wasn’t happening. I don’t rest easily and I probably prolonged my sickness. I kept thinking I could push through. I couldn’t. Anyone relate? Ha.
There’s something I’m still learning: rest is not the same as giving up. But I did have to change my expectations on what I considered a win. It wasn’t contacting trail angels for water drops or finding lodging for day 7, or figuring out my mail drop contents and mailing location. Those decisions could make or break my trip, and I knew I couldn’t make them sick.
So I chose something small. Choosing my on-trail snack bar.
It sounds small because it is small. It still needed to be done. And it felt lame until I realized that’s the wrong word for it. It was still forward.
I tried three bars. My favorite protein bar has to stay refrigerated. Perfect Peanut Butter bar is not multi-day trail-friendly. The Lärabar peanut butter was good. More protein and calories, which matters out there. But the one I chose, the one I think I could eat day after day on a long trail, was the Bobo’s bar peanut butter flavor.
That was my win last week. A peanut butter Bobo’s bar and a lot of slow walks. Forward!