First of all. I'm not an expert when it comes to ultra's. I've only gone a handful of ultra marathon distances hiking before, along with a few trail marathon distances in training. I study hard, test the theory then attack the distance. My body is a bit old and a bit broken over the years, and that means my training and progress I'm writing about is unique to me.
What I'm writing might not be as relevant to a seasoned 70kg marathon running veteran competing to win a trail event. It's not what my page is really about. My focus for this blog is on those starting their journey from the beginning, well out of shape, and carrying a number of issues they want to change. This blog is about how I'm doing it. What's working and what's not and how I'm challenging my limits to grow.
That said, one thing I know very well is the mental side of progress. How to deal mentally with set backs, pain, disappointment and how to endure. The mindset for resilience and grit. For those seeking inspiration I'm a fan of David Goggins - and if you've not followed him then I recommend his book 'Can't Hurt Me'. About how his mindset was built through the adversity in his own life and his willingness to go beyond what any normal person would put themselves through. (get the audio book as there are a bunch of extras in there that are well worth it!)
While I look on in awe of what Goggins made possible for himself, I also recognise one of the key cornerstones of success in anything - grit.
Knocked down 9 times, but get up 10
Grit is that ability to keep going. When you're tired, beaten down and hurting. It gives you that unstoppable quality. Most of us can remember a time when we just wouldn't quit on something. It might have been work, a relationship, a physical endeavour that was beating you down. But you kept going.
Let me assure you that if you can push through knockbacks and knockdowns in one area, you can take that mindset with you in any. Having tackled a couple of ultra distances on my feet, I can say that grit is absolutely a prerequisite. You just keep putting one foot in front of the other. No matter how slowly. You just keep going.
Finding it inside yourself
Everyone has the ability to do something remarkable and beyond what they thought possible. We all have the potential for incredible resilience. The defining characteristic that it's built on, for me, is having a strong enough purpose in the first place. If you're ill, then the purpose is to survive and heal. If you're in poverty then the driving purpose if to seek a solution that leads to better financial security... if it means enough to you, you will do everything you possibly can to find a way until you simply can't any more.
Training, weight loss, health, ultra's etc all come down to the will to endure, and sacrifice comfort for discomfort. The very act of denying yourself 'ease', and applying focused effort over time, builds resilience.
This might be why ultra-running is very popular among us older folks (40+)... we've learned how to suffer for what we want :-)
For me there are some simple (but not easy) steps that I'd suggest are fundamental to the secret to building resilience:
Find what really matters to you. Understand why it matters to you. This is your North Star. The image of your purpose that you come back to, no matter how bad things get.
picture the suffering, sacrifice, pain etc you may encounter in pursuing what you want. Visualise the hurt, the knockdowns, the misery. Prepare yourself to embrace them...
...then learn to love it... all of it. Love the journey, and the destination will take care of itself. Bask in the fact you are getting more unbreakable every day you do. Feel that steel core building inside you in every thought and action you take.
Train for it! Make yourself uncomfortable. Often. Go further than yesterday. Do the 'other things BECAUSE they are hard' (as I say in one of my favourite quotes on the homepage). Choose to be unbreakable and test it. The strongest steel is forged through hammering in the hottest flame.
Keep moving. No matter how slowly. Do something every day that moves you at least one small step closer. Get knocked down. Get up. Adapt. Overcome.
Choose to 'go to the moon', my friends... and I'll see you there.
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