You're better than you think you are...

Today I took some time (between studying for two exams tomorrow) to watch videos of the Leadville 50 mile and 100 mile runs. These are my motivational videos for training.

When I did the Boulder Ironman 70.3 , I easily spent somewhere in the vicinity of 3 hours a month watching videos of previous races (this could even be an understatement). It's amazing the amount of time that can be wasted  watching Youtube videos. I've spent some time thinking it over though, and I actually believe it's not a waste of time at all.

I've found an overwhelming number of videos that highlight mutant human beings popping off 6 minute miles over mountainous terrain, 68 miles into a 100 mile race. However, there are perhaps even more videos of "normal" human beings pouring their guts out, simply trying to finish a race.

A mix of watching winners and... not-winners... gives me a good feel for what I'm getting myself into. Aside from the motivation of seeing others finish, there is a familiarity that I gain from observing the environment of a race (runners, terrain, weather, etc.) and also a mental preparation that helps me relieve pre-race anxieties.

When I was training for the half-Ironman, I learned race strategies from watching videos. It was amazing how those strategies actually played out during my race day. When I arrived at mile 11 of the run, I knew that I only had 2 miles to go, but all I wanted to do was walk. I remembered a video I watched of Chrissie Wellington running, and I decided to adopt her form for the remaining two miles. She is an amazing athlete, but come to think of it now, I should have adopted Craig Alexander's (no offense, but he's a lot faster).
At any rate, what's important, is that while my body was physically done, I was able to tap into the strength of another runner mentally. I feel like this provided a way for me to do something that I felt (at the time) I was incapable of.

Today my legs are sore- and I don't feel like running.
However...
I just watched a video of a runner who did not finish the 2010 Leadville 100 mile run. This year he went back determined to finish, and did so barely under the last cut-off time. His video ends with one of the race organizer's motivational speeches (I think the day before the race). His last words were,

"You're better than you think you are. You can do more than you think you can."

These are the kinds of things I want in my head during a race, especially when I'm considering stopping.

It's been a long time...

Wow, for about a year, I forgot I had a blog here. I suppose I'll write something.

Reality check-

I'll be turning thirty this year, which means I'm practically dead.
While brushing my teeth this morning, I realized that there are a lot of things I want to accomplish - one of them being the completion of an ultra-marathon.


So I'm going to run an ultra marathon this year (which is basically a race of any distance exceeding the conventional 26.2 mile marathon). This is certainly a daunting task, and will require a vast amount of training.



Having completed an Ironman 70.3 race in 2010, I have enough respect for endurance races to know that an ultra marathon will be difficult; extremely difficult. I've been researching races here in Colorado, and the race that intrigues me most is the Leadville Silver Rush 50 miler. Online training plans look time consuming, and I'm not entirely certain that I will have the bandwidth to handle school, family, work, and training. Of course there's only one way to find out.

While I undertake training for the next eight months, I'll attempt to present periodic progress updates amidst life's normal happenings.

I'd like to document the road to completing an ultra...

...or failing.