I just got a gravel bike. Almost every time I take it for a ride, I find myself in a wildly uncomfortable situation — and I love it. Climbing thousands of feet over pavement in a matter of hours on my road bike doesn't phase me. I've been road biking for nearly 20 years.

But riding over rocks, on single track trails, over rutted dirt roads, and descending long stretches of loose gravel are all completely new to me... which puts gravel biking in the same category as roller coasters, first dates, and working with a new client for the first time. In other words, it's equal parts terrifying and amazing and it's even more delicious because I know it won't always be like this.

Someday I won't be a beginner. Someday it will take a lot more to intimidate me.  Things that are novel now might be mundane later. The routes I'm thrilled to discover now might be laden with expectations sometime in the not too distant future. Instead of admiring the mountain views and marvelling at the absence of cars in my midst, I might find myself staring at my watch and frowning at my stats. 

Being a beginner demands a kind of presence that can be hard to find once you've achieved a level of mastery. I am grateful for the gift of being a beginner once again. 

xo,

P.S. If the idea of presence resonates with you but you're finding that being preoccupied by food, exercise, and your weight are getting in the way, I can help. Click here to find out how. 

P.P.S. If you haven't seen this newsletter in a while, it might be going to your Promos in Gmail. If that's the case, go back to your inbox and drag this email over to your Primary tab and it should start showing up there in the future. 

4 Things Worth Checking Out 

• If you have two minutes: Check out pro runner Molly Seidel's IG post explaining why she dropped out of the Boston Marathon last Monday. (As the first American woman to earn an Olympic medal since Deena Kastor in 2004, she was expected to perform quite well.) I read this and I thought "She is the queen of finding meaning in mistakes."
   
• If you have three minutes: Lindsay Crouse's ppinion piece higlighting the running career of Mariko Yugeta, a Japanese athlete who ran a sub-three hour marathon in her 60s, flips everything I thought I knew about regret on its head. (But also reminded me of my own advice on how to make jealousy work for you.) 
   
• If you have five minutes: I loved Anne Helen Petersen's piece for Bon Appetit on why we need to stop classifying foods as "good" and "bad." 
   
• If you have an hour: Check out my interview with Rona Kilmer, multi-sport athlete, sexual assault survivor and start-up co-founder. She didn't like how her story was unfolding. Through therapy, self-reflection, and hard work, she's rewriting it (and doing a damn good job.)