A few weeks ago, the night after running my half marathon, I found myself walking on a bridge across the Rio Grande on a perfectly temperate night in New Mexico just admiring the feeling of being somewhere less familiar, taking in the trees that grew alongside the river.
It brought back all the good feelings that come with being in a new setting and having all your senses turned on.
I love that feeling of new places. I love the freedom of exploring them. And I love getting to push myself to take on challenges like races, climbs, and travel checklists.
I love my regular life too, and while I think it’s a good thing to keep mixing stuff up, being a dad and doing work I love is nothing I feel I have to escape from. But side quests that fill my bucket helps me be the best version of myself throughout the main storyline. They’ve gotten harder to fit in the past couple years, and it’ll probably get even more challenging for a little while, but it’s always worth the effort.