Growing up, I never considered myself to be a runner. I was the kid who would complain that his legs hurt during long family walks or bike rides. So when I decided that I wanted to train for my first ultramarathon, “An ultra-what?” was a common reaction.
But I trained for 4-5+ months, grinded through the training, and showed up on race day ready for whatever.
The race tested me in every way possible: physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. And I became a better person because of it.
I strongly believe that when it comes to endurance events, it’s not about the race, it’s the person you become along the way. By training for and competing in these events, we become the type of people that can continue or last despite any sort of stress or obstacle that stands in the way of our goals. I call this the “Endurify” process.
A key part of that process is to not only to train and compete in the events, but to reflect on the life lessons that you learn along the way, document and share them for the world, and use them to live a better life.
So here are some of my top lessons learned from my first 50k ultra, and how you can apply them to endurify your own life.
Lesson #1: Our excuses are BS
When I was thinking about signing up in October, here’s a few of the excuses or factors that were holding me back.
- “I won’t be able to train for a race in the winter. I’ll have to run a lot in the snow, ice, cold, or train on the treadmill.”
- “I’ve never done this before.”
- “Now isn’t a good time”
“I won’t be able to train for a race in the winter..” was one of the first excuses that came to mind when I was thinking about signing up, and I can honestly say this was a complete non-issue as part of training.
The main reason why that one popped up was because I had never done a race in January before!
The winter in Iowa so far has been mild until very recently, and I was able to bundle up and handle the training runs before work in the morning and the long runs on the weekends without any issues. Get some tights, winter hat, gloves, illuminated running vest, and you’ll be fine.
Reflecting on it, it’s funny how the first and biggest excuse that almost prevented me from signing up was a complete non-factor.
So what about you?
What are your goals? What’s holding you back? Is it possible that the first and biggest excuse will be a non-factor?
Lesson #2: When you are down, get to the next aid station
As I discussed in my race report, this race was the first time that I had seriously considered dropping out because it was too hard. I was tired, almost halfway through a 6.5 hour race, in cold, muddy, windy conditions, on a course with triple-black diamond hills. I was at my lowest point.
But what got me through it was knowing that it was a few miles to the next aid station. I would be able to see my wife, eat some food, and re-energize.
No matter what you are going through, get to the next aid station, whatever that might be. Maybe you’re having a hard day with difficult meetings and you just need to make it to lunch. Maybe it’s a hard afternoon and you just need to make it to the end of the day. Or maybe you’re leading a project and you just need to get through the messy middle.
Whatever your struggle may be, you’ll be surprised at how much some food, a few minutes of breathing or silence, and a fresh perspective from others can get you. Get to the next aid station.
Lesson #3: Choose your first event wisely
“This is horrible. I never want to do this again.”
That’s all I could think in the middle of this race.
How did I end up here? One of the main reasons is that I didn’t appropriately research the race and ensure that it’s a good fit for my current skill set.
This was backed up by the conversations my wife was having with people at the aid stations. “He’s doing this course as his first ultramarathon? I hope he knows what he’s getting into..”
Here’s the process that I went through for selecting this course as my first ultramarathon. I met somebody during the Hawkeye Fallout 25k that ended up becoming a running friend. We went for a couple of runs together and he gave me a few tips on the course and encouraged me to sign up. Sure, why not! So I did.
Here’s what I should have done and recommend to you for your first ultramarathon:
- Find a few races that work with your schedule
- Research each course (Are they hilly?)
- Find someone who has done it before
- Explain your strengths, weaknesses, and current skill level
- Ask “Do you think this is a good race for me?”
- Sign up
If you don’t know someone, you can email the race director or sponsors of the event or you can search for the race to find Facebook groups, which are full of previous racers.
By going through the steps laid out above, you will set yourself up for success before you even begin training. And to me, success isn’t just finishing; it’s enjoying the process along the way.
Lesson #4: Break your challenges down into smaller, more achievable goals
When I was 16 miles into the race, I reached my lowest point. My legs were tired, I was low on energy, it was cold, the hills were intense, I was by myself, and the fact that I still had 15 miles left made me feel overwhelmed. I wanted to quit.
Once I got the aid station and started to get better, the way that I got through that overwhelmed feeling was by breaking the 15 miles into smaller, more attainable goals. I told myself that I didn’t need to run 15 miles, I just needed to run 5 miles three times.
I’ve gone on thousands of 5 mile runs at this point in my life and it honestly felt so much more achievable. Then from there, I focused not on going from 15 to 20 miles, I just focused on one mile at a time.
By doing this, I knew that by breaking the overall goal into smaller, more attainable goals, and just focusing on the smaller goals that I was making progress towards the overall goal.
A lot of times, the feeling of being overwhelmed is created from thinking about all of the things that you need to get done instead of focusing on the ones that you need to get done right now.
Overwhelm is just a lack of clarity.
How can you apply this principle to your goals and dreams?
If your goal is to write a book and you’re feeling overwhelmed, maybe you should focus on just writing the first chapter. And to break that down even further, focus on the first page of the first chapter. Don’t be afraid to get tiny with your new habits as BJ Fogg suggests.
Overall
As I’ve said in the past, it isn’t about the race, it’s the person you become along the way. I’ve done these races to prove to myself that I am capable of anything, and after overcoming the challenges that I faced in my first ultra, I’m really starting to believe it.