*I forgot to post this the week before Lumberjack. I decided to post it now rather than delete it.*
The Round-up. Last bits to sweep up. I know I promised no more. Sue me.
Sleep deprivation training
I decided that to prepare to be awake for more than twenty four hours I should stay awake for more than twenty four hours. I didn't run in that time. I'll say I was very excited at the prospect of running 10-15 miles when I got home after a long day on Saturday. This would have been at the 39 hour mark but Mother Nature stepped in. No training runs in lightning and heavy rains. At least that's what my wife says.
Preparing "to quit"
While thinking about completing a one hundred mile ultra marathon I have thought about what obstacles will prevent me from finishing. Injury. Exhaustion. Discouragement. What I have not yet considered is a support mechanism for overcoming these obstacles. Medical staff will determine the injury issue IF I should get hurt badly enough. Exhaustion will win out if I collapse. Discouragement will be the bugaboo.
For a example of how a rational person would prepare for this check out this post. How to quit/not quit is definitely something that flew below my radar. At least in compiling my race preparation check list. I'll be thinking about this a lot this week.
You can't even think about quitting or not finishing. Completing an ultra marathon is a complete DREAM for people like me and, if for not other reason, keep working hard because people like me are watching. :)
ReplyDeleteI finished my first full marathon this past February and it nearly killed me. Next time, I'll prepare better. As soon as I was done though, I decided I wanted to go BIGGER next time...a 50 miler! And then I found out I was expecting. Needless to say, its not on my radar ANY time soon. I'm so inspired by you ultra marathoners. Seeing all the time and dedication you put into running drives the "little runners" like me.
Don't let discouragement ever win out! Keep it up!