I think it would be helpful for all of us to get a running string of thoughts going on the long distance running. Things any of us have learned, tried/failed, tried/succeeded, read etc.
And I'll start. In a lot of ways, as brutal as it was and as long as it took me, Zumbro was more successful than Surf the Murph 50. I was in a better training mode/shape, had done more long runs, and went in with the right attitude. I honestly think what saved me was beating the mental game. I remember coming into the finish after loop 1 and talking to Julie and Bob and saying "I am running a really smart race." I was, definitely. I thought it through and was doing what I set out to do at the pace I wanted to do it in, for that 17 miles. But maybe more than that, I kept that "smart" theme going for the first TWO laps. Every climb I decided to hike instead of run was a mental pat on the back. "That was smart." Everytime I ran like a lunatic downhill I did the same "smart" mental routine. And then all hell broke loose with the weather and I watched runners collapsing. Then my mental frame turned to "this is absurd" mode. I laughed the entire time, in between cramping and other fun stuff. But I just laughed at every giant stretch of mud, running water coming at me like a river down the trail when I was trying to go UP. etc.
And I'll start. In a lot of ways, as brutal as it was and as long as it took me, Zumbro was more successful than Surf the Murph 50. I was in a better training mode/shape, had done more long runs, and went in with the right attitude. I honestly think what saved me was beating the mental game. I remember coming into the finish after loop 1 and talking to Julie and Bob and saying "I am running a really smart race." I was, definitely. I thought it through and was doing what I set out to do at the pace I wanted to do it in, for that 17 miles. But maybe more than that, I kept that "smart" theme going for the first TWO laps. Every climb I decided to hike instead of run was a mental pat on the back. "That was smart." Everytime I ran like a lunatic downhill I did the same "smart" mental routine. And then all hell broke loose with the weather and I watched runners collapsing. Then my mental frame turned to "this is absurd" mode. I laughed the entire time, in between cramping and other fun stuff. But I just laughed at every giant stretch of mud, running water coming at me like a river down the trail when I was trying to go UP. etc.
ReplyDelete