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Tag: Running

Slaying the 100 Mile Monster

This idea came from a question. What is your number #1 priority for 2024?

Gain XP!  What is XP?  In video games, XP is experience.  XP is how to level up your video game avatar or character. As a kid, I played games like Golden Ax, Gauntlet, and Hero’s Quest where you picked a character at the start. There were 4 characters to choose from. A warrior, wizard, archer, or valkyrie. If you are reading this you might have selected the same character as I did, a trail runner. Maybe you slowly became this character over time, either way, your actions brought you here.

UltraRunning Character Selection Screen. Sometimes it feels like I’ve taken an arrow to the knee…

Certain adventures or quests are available once you have gained enough XP.  There are many quests that you can choose from year after year as you level up. This year I plan to slay the 100 Miler monster. It’s not my first time slaying it, but each year the monster comes back, slightly stronger, with different abilities and methods of attack. The difference is I have gained intelligence, strength, speed, agility, and more skills than the year before.

What quest could you take in 2024 that would give you more XP? With games that level up your character, you can’t keep picking the same quests you’ve done previously.  They will pay little to no XP, or gold as a reward.  We have to take on bigger quests than before.  We have to break out of the habits and routines we do year after year.

100 Miler Monster

Part of what made these games great was taking on the quests TOGETHER.  It was a shared experience with friends.  Those make for not only the most rewarding challenges but also the most memorable. I have made lifelong friends during my trail adventures. Gaining XP by yourself is one thing, but sharing it with others is where the real magic comes in.  That’s the formula for great games, experiences, and a great life.  So for this year, I am setting my sights on XP, and hopefully bringing the “trail running” character I’ve selected to his highest level before he fights the end boss.

The 100 Miler Monster

How do you defeat the 100 miler monster?  It’s almost like the race knows your weaknesses and will use them against you! The trick is you have fought mini-versions of the boss in your training. These side quests were done during your training to become a warrior. You were fighting mini-boss battles that consisted of quests in the cold, rocky, wet, trails around your village you grew up. They were shorter quests, but similar to the end boss.

The 100-miler boss is extremely powerful. He can even turn your own body against you! You have tested the elixirs and potions you have created consisting of Tailwind and GUs. Once you get to the 100 miler boss fight, which normally comes around mile 70-80, you know his tricks. You know what he’ll throw at you.  He might have a surprise attack you haven’t seen but you will defeat him.  

100 Miler Monster
What is chasing you during the entire race

You are going to war with at first the mini-bosses and then finally the 100-miler monster at the end.  Who will win?  Did you level up enough?  Do you have enough XP to defeat the monster?  If you have taken on all the side quests, and put in the time, you can slay that beast. Victory will be yours, for you are a warrior, and this epic quest along with all that glory waits at the finish line.

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy “A Runner’s final race”. It’s a post where I try to imagine what happens to a runner the second they pass away. Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed it please consider sharing the story.

Some of the other images I created when making this post

Fear and Action – Mental Toughness In Ultrarunning

“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. One who lives life fully is prepared to die at any time.” – Mark Twain

I was thinking about this quote and had a different spin on it.  Fear and action cannot occupy the same space inside your mind.  The idea is we only have two states our mind and body can occupy at any given moment.  That state is either fear or action.  Before you act, you are in the grip of fear, which normally doesn’t let you act.  The trick is to act before the fear takes hold of you.  Fear makes you believe that 100 things will go wrong before the first step. 

AI image of Fear and Action – Via Bing Image Creator

The power comes after we take that first step.  Every action after the first step melts fear away.  It forces your mind to THINK, “Well, what is my next step going to be?”  You have left the state of fear, and are now in the state of action.  That first step is critical.  Procrastination falls under the classification of fear.  It grips you in thinking no matter what choice you make, it’s wrong.  That’s where we get caught, debating if it’s the RIGHT action.  Action eliminates fear instantly.  You can’t be afraid AND move forward. The fears might be there, but they have a hard time growing roots.  The mind gets focused on making decisions for what needs to be done to keep flight AND move forward!

This brings up the idea of iterative design.  The idea is that we keep improving on every attempt.  “First is the worst” is what I always say.  Iterative design is a design methodology based on prototyping, testing, analyzing, and refining a product or process.  Version 2.0 of YOU gets released only after version 1.0.  It’s not complete until nothing is left to add or take away depending on how you look at it.  The issue is we have to create that first version.  That first version takes the most effort.  Each improvement on that previous version is substantially easier.

AI image of Fear and Action – Via Bing Image Creator

That’s the beauty of running.  There’s always next year, next run, and hopefully tomorrow.  I design a lot of my life with the ability to create a better version of myself. I have put many of my “Big Hairy Audacious Goals” on my TO DO list to achieve each year and get completed with daily effort. The future comes one day at a time and no task can survive daily attacks.  If you put in the work then the greatest of achievements will become yours, and thus the greatest version of yourself.  

AI image of Fear and Action – Via Bing Image Creator

My new version of Mark Twain’s quote is this:

“The fear of failure follows from the fear of action. One who acts in life is prepared to fail at any time AND become the best version of themself.”

I force myself to act, to become that version of myself I imagine.  Am I afraid as I move forward?  Sometimes, but if you move fast enough fear never sticks.

Finally, I leave you with one more quote to think about.

“My Dear,
Find what you love and let it kill you. Let it drain you of your all. Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness. Let it kill you and let it devour your remains. For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it’s much better to be killed by a lover.”

― Falsely yours, Henry Charles Bukowski

How bad is your shape diet?

Mobility issues

The first injury I had in 6+ years caused me to review my habits.  I strength train, eat right, don’t drink much, and cycle training with high/low intensity. I had picked up a new chair about 7 or 8 months ago for my office. Typically, I stand all day, but recently I had been working out in the morning then sitting the rest of the day. It’s what we do the majority, not the minority that causes the most damage.  What does your shape diet look like?  Are you eating junk shapes all day by sitting in the same position? 

Shape Diet curtesy of Stable Diffusion
Stable Diffusion’s image for a “Shape Diet”…

How do we fix it?

I realized I just had to go back to standing no matter how hard I worked out.  For the past 2 months, I stand on my yoga mat, and I’ve noticed I’m fidgeting, and moving way more.  I’ll spontaneously grab a kettlebell and start swinging it, or maybe do some toe raises or downward dog.  Guess what? My plantar fasciitis went away!

I also just ordered one of these balance blocks to increase my foot drills to strengthen all the supporting muscles in my feet.

Sitting is the new smoking, but why?

“If you sit with your legs at 90 degrees all day and rarely extend your hip flexors, hips and quadriceps can become short and tight. Your hamstrings are also affected, which limits your range of motion and will therefore affect stride length when you run. The same applies to your calf muscles”.

Ask a high-volume runner to touch their toes you will see tight hamstrings and poor hip mobility firsthand. You need to fix your “shape diet” to avoid injury and lead a long and healthy life!  We were meant to move, walk, and be on the go.  A standing desk lowers the barrier to movement. If you are standing you are more likely to just walk around. Do you have some weights nearby, well you are more likely to walk over and do a few reps. Always be moving! Muscles are use it or lose it!  When you’re at your standing desk throw in some 100 ups to help your form!  This is the most amazing single drill that all runners should do!  

The idea of the shape diet was discussed on the recent Tim Ferris Podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7AacAkUamfs5m4GGN49ZRK?si=Y5L6qfOsQICGE49XMdYq_Q&nd=1