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RIP trusty 'mudder' shorts...I've worn them in every event since
Wintergreen 2011, but they had to be retired after Wintergreen 2014 |
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Ok, just to make this clear from the very beginning, this isn't going to be one of those posts about the importance of setting goals. That topic is as worn out as my trusty 'mudder' shorts, and we most definitely need to move on. Rather, this post is about the absurd things that we can accomplish without even realizing it. If we simply put our mind to something, and work hard, sometimes we can
surprise ourselves with our accomplishments.
A short anecdote will illustrate what I mean. In order to survive the 24 hours of WTM, I've been trying to build up my running regiment. For the first part of this year, I was running twice a week, about 5 miles each time. I wasn't putting a lot of mileage in, but I was trying to get into a routine. While I was in Australia in July and August, I started doing a little longer runs (anywhere from 10 to 15 miles at a time). I wasn't necessarily running super fast, but I was just trying to keep going and build up my endurance. For each of these runs, I was using the Runkeeper app on my phone to track my distances, time, and course. If you're looking for a nice running app, you can definitely count on Runkeeper (which even works when you're not connected to the internet through 3G, LTE or Wifi - which came in really handy in Australia). Anyway, I kept up the running regiment after I came back from Australia, and have modified it to include a third day of running each week. The plan is to do a 5-mile run, a 10-mile run, and a 15-mile run each week.
The surprise came to me when I got an email from Runkeeper after my 5-mile run on the 31st of August. The email said that I had just finished my "most successful month" since I'd started using the app. I had documented 8 runs and totaled more than 65 miles during the month of August. I hadn't been thinking in those terms, but I was pretty happy with those numbers. Even more surprising was when I realized that these numbers didn't include the miles I had run in the Sunshine Coast Tough Mudder or the Wintergreen Spartan. If I add those numbers in, then I ran more than 96 miles in August. A number that truly surprised me. If you had asked me in 2010 if I would run nearly 100 miles in a month, I would have laughed at you. If you had asked me in July of 2014 if I would ever run nearly 100 miles in a month, I would have been dubious. Not because I didn't think I could do it, but rather, because it wasn't on my radar at all. I didn't set that as a goal, it simply happened as an outgrowth of what I was doing to make sure I was as prepared as possible for WTM.
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If I'm honest, a more representative picture of Wintergreen '14
would be of me sliding down a hill on my ass |
And, quite honestly, that's the best thing about this process for me. Of course, I'm happy to reach the goals that I set for myself. Whether it's running in various events, finishing various workout routines or whatever other goals that might be set (e.g. finishing the elusive Triple, which is still out there waiting for one of us to do it). Each of those accomplishments are motivating and challenging and rewarding, all at the same time. But realizing that you've accomplished something absurd and unexpected is truly beautiful. The surprise of the realization is where the beauty lies, I think. It makes me realize that we are capable of such amazing things, and some of those things we plan and work for, but some of those amazing things are simply the byproduct of hard work towards other goals. All we have to do is keep an eye out for those things and learn to recognize them when they happen.
