Hesitation is the Enemy of Successfully Completing Anything
When we hesitate, we put the brakes on getting it done.
Most of us learn this lesson the hard way, and I’m no exception. What might be different is that I learned it while running a 50-mile race in the mountains of Wyoming.
Considering I was ten miles in any direction from an aid station, this hesitation cost me the race and a lot of mental rebuilding. Considering what hesitation does to most people, I got off easy during these tumultuous times. More on that thought later.
I hesitated after I had successfully climbed a switchback portion of the single-track trail when I came to a clearing. I vaguely remembered the race director saying something about which direction to take at this point because the elk in the area liked to eat the trail markings. I also knew I had somewhere in the neighborhood of two miles above treeline where I wasn’t likely to be able to see trail markings. The trail through this area was not well-used and more of a game trail.
I thought I would just follow the trail of the fastest runners that had gone before me, but that idea was shot as the ground was rock instead of dirt, and there was no obvious trail.
The longer I stood there trying to decide which…
