Magic brew: Leap of faith, training, and determination
An invitation
Early one evening, V texted me a poster of a race: 50km or 100km. “Would you like to try 50k?”
You got to be kidding I thought. Or you must think I can do it (which she does.)
I’ve not even done anything past 30km. (Protesting.)
Train. (Matter-of-factly).
I did 50k with no training. 13 hours. This time no training again and I’ll see if I can break 13. (Now I’m thinking, well lady, you’re pro. You run mountains, marathons, have PT sessions, and was aiming for UMTB where the website states — “the most mythical and prestigious trail running race in the world: 171 km and 10,000m in elevation on Mont Blanc.” I, on the other hand, am just enjoying the scenery a bit, the nature a bit while I hike and usually slowly.)
However, a part of me might have been curious, and I ask,
These 50k races — you got to run right? As in you can’t walk it, can you?
V says, I walked last time and I’m going to walk this time.
Oh ok.
Are you in?
I ask some more questions, to wrap my head around the idea — what it might take, what might I need.
Trust me. When you can do 30, 50 is nothing!
She was quick to share that Uncle B did it too. The 100. He finished it.
Wow. Really!? (Amazed.)
Yes. 28 hours. Not bad at all.
Wow.
So you see. It only takes a leap of faith, some training, and determination.
All you need to do is to sign up. Then you will finish it.
When’s the application?
You in?
When I look at what I’ve attained (or not), whether something came to fruition (or not), it generally harks back to the time of inception — how whole-heartedly I decided to go all in.
The recent experiences test-baking the cookies, hiking the Tinworth Trail, along with other experiences in life — when we set forth, we can, and will journey.
We are powerful, how we create for good, for ill — depends on how we decide.
Excellent for midnight baking or a weekend project.
Food for thought
- What’s your next mountain to climb?
- What’s your next project to tackle?
- What more do you want to give/gift life?
Postscript
It’s some months in the making — a quick search for what to do with left-over cake flour besides cakes and pancakes led to the discovery New York’s famed Levain walnut and chocolate chunk cookies.
I buy the remaining bits of material: chocolate chips, plain flour, and a couple good bricks of Lurpak butter.
No mis-en-place, but measuring as I go, following the recipe.
Flour in, baking soda in, eggs, milk, chocolate, bashed-up walnuts.
The recipe is pretty much fool-proof. The only variant being the temperature strength of the oven and the humidity.
Very satisfying experiment, Beginner’s luck they call it.
The first batch came out the best. The second batch (same dough, just had so much dough I had to bake in two batches) got burnt.
However lesson learnt — I wanted to use the residual heat of the oven, this is where you got to be careful — the residual heat of the oven can be very hot still. So either open up the oven door a crack or finish baking completely before heading off to your next task. Unless you want burnt cookies!
And now with experience of baking it once, if I were to bake them again, I’ll probably make half a batch instead, and divi-the cookies up to half the size of the ginormous cookies, (which would probably mean experimenting with the baking time).
We have many ideas percolating in the back of our minds: things we wish to experience, experiments to try. Infinite possibilities. And often times, these ideas turn out enriching in one way or another — as we decide to go ahead, it can happen.
So you see. It only takes a leap of faith, some training, and determination.
V
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You may also be interested in:
https://www.wheremyheartleads.com/personal-development/tortoise-hare-growth-mindset/
Originally published at https://www.wheremyheartleads.com on May 11, 2023.
