LUCY BARTHOLOMEW

I listen to a podcast today and in it, the lady said “I’m so grateful for this time of feeling out of alignment, because it means that I’ve had the opportunity to be in alignment to compare” That’s how I have felt these last months. Or more accurately this last year

Like a race when I finish something or some era in my life I like to reflect. Not just looking back at the camera roll in my phone of the good times and beautiful scenes because that’s not all that happened. In my notes on my phone as I’ve moved around I’ve jotted down things that have made me think, learn, re-asses or challenged me and then summed it up to 10 simple truths. And I thought I’d share with you in case they help grow you too. Shocking- running isn’t mentioned yet it’s applicable to all 10. 1. Sometimes the best thing we can do is nothing at all 2. Showing Gratitude brightens many lives 3. Honesty opens doors 4. Self-love is non-negotiable 5. Words change sentences and meanings 6. Patience is the key to happiness 7. Life is one big beautiful mess 8. Community is the best prize you can win 9. Intuition is there for a reason 10. Airports are just as much fun as I remember. Short but sweet. What have you learnt this year? Photo Credit to: Kurt Matthews

Nobody is perfect and everyone is learning. Sometimes we have to learn a few times to really remember and sometimes life gives us a lesson so strong that we learn straight away. I ran my first 100km when I was 15 and since then have pretty much run year-round flying between the European/ American season and the never-ending season of the southern hemisphere. It’s great there are so many races, it can also be really dangerous and hard to say ‘perhaps not this year’. Every year I have finished and told myself that I would take some time off, but then, as usual, I found myself signing up to share in a race weekend, making next year plans and starting to prepare early for them…. I got away with it for 8 years now but something is different- no longer can you just run races easy and still find success, these fields are getting deeper and deeper and this is so cool but also takes so much more energy to train, prepare, share and race these weekends; good or bad the body was pushed, the energy was used and there needs to be that balanced time of rest and recovery. I finished last year knowing I was lucky to make it through with a start and finish of each race, some good racing and some amazing travel and experiences but I said that whilst I wanted to replicate my preparation for races I was going to have to change the balanced rest time. So here is that lesson learnt. I really wanted to be intuitive with the back half of this season and take a breath asking myself: “do I WANT to run this race” or do I feel like I ‘HAVE to’. Truth is, I don’t have to do anything but sometimes you can find that everyone is doing something and maybe a need to be apart of that…. Breaking news; you can be apart of a weekend, positively impact the world, recharge your batteries, fill your soul with good memories and have sore legs from jumping up and down to cheer- you don’t always need a bib. I ran the UTMB route over 4 days with a group of the Salomon Running team and it was a pleasure to share these days of running and these nights of eating and laughing. But as I travelled the route of the UTMB and the CCC (the last 100km of the UTMB) I realised that I had no desire to push myself on these trails in a few weeks, I was so content moving slowly, taking a sandwich on the col’s, sharing a summit with others, asking hikers about their journey, stopping to fix people that don't know how to do their Salomon lace up right and picking berries on the way. I want you to know that I am not sad about not racing, I am more excited about how I can now put my energy into others, help people achieve their goals and continue to work steadily towards mine without digging deeper into a hole that will either leave me not enjoying the sport of running, injured or unhappy. Just make sure to recognise your words: do you WANT to, do you NEED to, or do you HAVE to. Because having this choice is a privilege I think we sometimes don’t know we have! Happy training, racing, spectating, recovering, nourishing, thriving and dreaming!

Weeks words: 10.Comparison 9.perspective 8.believe 7.beauty 6.courage 5.passion 4.consistency 3.cant 2.support 1.ready These were the words that made up my build into @wser. I had moments of all these words; some in strong abundance and some in whimpering shivers. My day; was my day. I passed @majellb at 50km and I said to him “it feels hard today” he said “it’s your day to make what you want of it” Of course, I wanted to run well and fast but I also wanted to enjoy moments I missed last year; look people in the eye and thank them for their help, take the time to leave checkpoints prepared and control what I could. I improved on areas I saw as weaknesses from last year and I also went backwards on things that were my strength... how cool to experience the same race 365 days later and have a totally different experience; to struggle in new ways and also soar in others Highlights of my day included; running into Robinson flat to my crew Matt, Don and Dad all together and smiling, having the kids of Robie Point dressed head to toe in team Lucy gear run me into Michigan bluff, picking up my brother to pace me down and over the river and him saying “this is one of my proudest moments, getting to watch you in your element”, Running into mile 99, having lost a lot of time with a twinged knee but seeing my Auburn family still smiling and having the kids elated to race me to the track I knew early on that I wasn’t going to be in the same position as last year, but nonetheless, I was creating history- my history, it wasn’t going to be any records but it was going to be special. The Western States is a special day. I will be back but right now I am so grateful for the 100miles I traversed and the paths I crossed with so many heroes for whatever day they had. Ps. How about that women’s race?! Life’s quotes: “the one who falls and gets up is stronger than the one that never fell”.

Ready; in a suitable state for an activity, action or situation; fully prepared. “Are you ready?” I don’t know how many times I have been asked this over the last few days. I always say I’ve done the best I can and now its time to just enjoy. It’s funny for 100miles because you can be ‘ready’ for so much yet unprepared for a lot too. Anything can happen when you spend so long out in the trails and that's the exciting thing. “I'm open-minded” is my response and I am willing to try. I am uninjured, I am happy, I did the best training I could with the way life worked out and I am looking forward to a day of eating and problem solving with some running in-between. Sometimes in life, if we wait until we are ready, we end up waiting far too long and miss opportunities and maybe we are never ready or we never try because our thoughts hold us back. are you ready? Yes, you were born ready! Quote of the week: “if you wait until you are ready we’ll be waiting the rest of your life” 🎥 @irun4ultra

In a sport where you are one person on a journey, it’s crazy that actually there are so many more people that make your day(s) what they are. From people behind the logos that sponsor me, my friends who don’t understand the sport but fully support my passion, my family who gives up their time to share my time, and all of you who constantly remind that as much as it’s cool if you can run fast but its cooler if you are happy and smiling. I love when I can be stopped on the trail for a selfie, or people come to an event to say hello and hear my thoughts, that we can be brought together and share our love for movement and freedom and now to share some of the watermelon logos around the world. It makes me laugh and makes me glow. It’s a gift to be in such a community, to share miles with, smiles, tears and frustration with and I am so proud to call this my tribe. This week is just a huge gratitude wrapped in an appreciation for how lucky I am to be here, be healthy, and to be with you. This week's quote: “find your tribe, love them hard” Pictured: @j___e___s___s & @bradleypayton Lil 🦆 Brynn wearing: Team lucy @precisionhydration 🎩 Team lucy @auburnaidstation tie-dye 👕 Team lucy @lebent_ 🧦 This. Is. What. It’s. All. About

I was listening to a podcast this morning with @m_phelps00 Michale Phelps (thanks Majell Backhausen) about how his coach removed the word ‘can’t’ from this vocabulary and how you use it. He said if you say you can’t do something then why are you here? Why are you wasting your time? If you’ve already made the decision up in your mind that you can’t do it. More then anything in the sport of ultra running is the power of the mind, the ability to break down something that seems too big to comprehend and make it achievable. With longer races I break down the distance, checkpoint to checkpoint, tree to tree, step to step... whatever it is that makes my mind say “I can do that” and achieve a goal within a goal. People say “I don’t think I could run 100miles”. How about we start with something you can do, like 1mile and go from there. Sometimes we use this word out of fear, lack of confidence and belief or because someone else has said the same. Be fearless, believe in yourself and pave your own path. If you don’t try you’ll never know what you can do and what you can work towards. This week's quote: “ whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right. “Podcast: @tonyrobbins podcast

My Weekly thoughts on the lead up to Western States 2019