Strive

I'm striving all right. After all that's what Strava means. Strava being the popular fitness tracking app known to all walks of athletes around the world. I racked up right around 4000 km of running with over 120,000 meters of elevation gain in 2017 and I would be lying if I said it isn't a point of pride for me.

I've been training and improving steadily for about 6 to 7 years and more importantly made some meaningful personal friendships along the way. Yes, I really enjoy the camaraderie with the broader ultra running community, but for me it's more about the few deeper more personal relationships forged out on the trails over many hours and days of running together. Mind you, there are certainly a lot of names on my “people who are awesome and with whom I would love to hang out more if my schedule allowed for it” list.

So everything is great right? I'm thriving! I might have agreed to that even a few short weeks ago. Since then I strained a tendon in my leg which refuses to get better, got fired from a new job I had started less than a week before, contracted the flu and clipped our neighbour's car while parking the other night.

What's that? Suck it up? That's life you're saying? I actually agree. I'm not soliciting pity. I’m happy with my lot in life. Just being at home trying to recuperate has afforded me a chance to reflect on the lessons that life is trying to teach me right now. Now you may or may not believe that there is a lesson to be learned from these kind of life events. For me though lacking the physical strength right now is helping me to slow down and observe what's going on around me.

How did I end up putting so much pride and effort into often marginal athletic gains while at the same time failing to curb my sarcasm towards those around me? How did I end up prioritizing checking my cell phone for umpteenth time to take in some information with little or no relevance to my life over connecting with my wife, kids, friends and family? Why is it so hard for me to let go of this false sense of control over the things around me? Why can I not stop myself for example from interrupting people while they are talking, although I know it to be selfish and inconsiderate and I'm still holding out hope that I have neither of those traits? Why does it elude me to be more gentle, kind and patient more consistently?

I certainly wouldn't agree if you told me that I'm not showing up for my family. I do. In all honesty though there are too many times where they have to make due with what's left of me after exercising, working and doing chores. Now I'm certainly never going to be one to propagate total self-sacrifice of your own needs and interests in order to better be able to take care of those around you. I don't believe that is a sustainable approach to things. I am very fortunate to have a schedule that affords me with ample time to exercise without sacrificing family time. On the flip side it does leave me with less time at home with my family when they are off though. So in that respect it's double sad when despite everybody's best intentions we all end up being zombies on our individual screens and wasting precious opportunities to connect.

Nobody on their deathbed is ever going to say “I wish I checked Facebook / the weather app / the news / Instagram (or whatever else it is that occupies their attention) more frequently”.

I have all the info too. I know the studies. I know that people with stronger, healthier relationships live longer, are happier and tend to have less regrets when they do eventually die. It's not the guy who poured all his heart and soul into coming in 14th instead of 28th in the 2018 Whatcha-ma-call-it 50-miler.

So where does that leave me? Well for starters writing this down has helped me to structure my thoughts and ambitions a bit. I didn't check my phone all morning and instead played a board game and shared some of my (chubby) childhood pictures with my kids. That was a good start I suppose. I'm just a guy circumnavigating the same pitfalls as everybody else.

So many of us including myself are just getting off track by filtering through this perpetual stream of often barely relevant information all the time. It's so often that I notice how reading on a screen makes me really agitated too whereas reading on paper is in fact quite calming. The screen wins mostly on the merits of accessibility I suppose.

I will focus on relationships, not achieving only my own agenda. I will be more present, open, calm and accepting. I will try to practice love and forgiveness towards myself and others. I guess it comes down to trying to be more conscious and present at any given time. Athletic goals can seem hard to achieve but let's face it. Eat, sleep, train and recover well while listening to the signals of your body and Bob's your uncle.

Now this whole wishy-washy personal improvement stuff on the other hand, that's like ninja level tough for real, but you know what? I'll start striving for that a lot more intently. Now if I happen to place in the top 10 in the 2018 Whatcha-ma-call-it 50-miler that would be freaking awesome too, but it's all right if I don't.

Running Free-ish

I just finished reading Running Free by Richard Askwith. The author references the ages of running repeatedly throughout the book. Essentially these ages are tied to your motivation to run or exercise. Are you in it to stay healthy, shrink your butt, become faster or to enjoy the sheer joy of running and the connection with nature (the one outside the door as well as human nature). As I was reading the book I had to ask myself what motivates me and I have to say it has to be a combination of the above mentioned factors. There are usually a couple of races a year that I really train for in earnest. I like to pick a target race in spring, because it keeps me honest and focused through the rainy and dark month when hibernating seems oh so tempting. These are the times when training principles like specificity (tailor your training to the demands of the event you are training for) or the 10% rule (don't increase your weekly mileage by more than 10% over the previous week) are somewhere in the back of my head. I might not have a written training schedule, but I do try to follow some cycles of progressively increasing mileage week over week with easier weeks roughly every four weeks. I also want to believe that I have a chance of bettering some of my past race results before focusing entirely on other sources of motivation.

Through much of the summer my focus shifts. Between work, the kids being home from school and holidays I am happy to keep some kind of weekly regimen going. Often times the majority of my workouts will consist of running or biking to and from work. Whenever I do have more than just the odd hour for playing outside I will try and bag some peaks or have some adventures. I love these activities as they motivate me to go out and explore places that I otherwise might not try to get to. These outings offer a welcome change from my regular running routine. The terrain usually requires me to hop, pull, bushwhack, scramble my way to my destination. Split times and pace are pretty useless indicators of performance on those occasions and more often than not I end up with my upper body being sore the next day rather than my legs. The change of scenery and general spirit of adventure of these outing help to keep things fresh and interesting. I am signed up for my third consecutive Frosty Mountain Ultramarathon this September and I intend to keep up that streak. For me it's a great indicator of what kind of fitness my random long run adventure summer routine has left me with.

Another big motivator for me is to meet and share the trails with like-minded people. Especially those long and wet workouts seem to go by a lot faster if you have someone to share them with.

Coming back to the book, the author seems to have the ability to find beauty and joy in each and any of his runs and rambles around his home regardless how grey, cold or wet the conditions. This is one of the things I aim to get better at myself. I'd like to tell you that my regular weekday runs involve gliding along in a meditative state while being totally present and alert to my surroundings. More often than not I start my workout -which I have been looking forward to- just to then be preoccupied with chores, blogging, my next workout or a million other things that pop into my head.

I really want to work on being more in the moment on and off the trail. How so? For starters I will ditch my GPS watch whenever I can (unless I am training of course). I will also incorporate some conscious breathing into my day (you can call it meditation if you like, but for now that's too big of a word for me). Whenever I notice my attention wandering to all the wrong places during a workout I will acknowledge the thought and try to let it go. Now that sounds relatively easy. I don't know if you ever tried though. It sure doesn't come easy to me. The best starting point I can think of is actively focusing on my surroundings rather than the incessant stream of thoughts in my head.

What motivates you and how do you manage to stay present or get in the flow as they say?

Now if you would excuse me, I shall attempt to bag a peak before going to work.
Have fun out there,

Marc

Guest Post: The Value of Perspective

This is a guest post by my friend Daniel. Find him at @lonewolfdisco 

My favourite run commute home from work takes me up the Capilano River, followed by finding my way on top of Grouse Mountain via the BCMC trail. I then get to enjoy a lengthy downhill on my choice of many paths before arriving at my door. On one such run I was mesmerized by Grouse as I crossed Cleveland Dam well below, and I began to envision myself on the steep trail climbing the mountain. I thought, make sure to do the opposite. Remember exactly how magnificent this mountain is from the vantage point below, as each of the many steps up become more strenuous.

In the many areas of our of life that we commit to improve upon, or endure, we have the luxury of changing our perspective. Maybe for you this is training for your first half marathon, or maybe it is eating more vegetables. Maybe you’ve decided, like myself, that working full-time, studying, maintaining a long distance relationship, and training for a 100 mile race qualifies as “balanced”.

Why is perspective important at all? Because we can be our own biggest obstacle. We can fall prey to perfectionism, worthlessness, and feelings of insignificance.

See the forest for the trees

Sure easier said than done, but attempt to remove yourself for a moment when things get tough. Picture yourself moving through the problem from a distance, imagine how less significant it is to others, or to yourself from another angle. Remember what the mountain looked like from afar. I want to emphasize this needn't be a life shattering crisis: with the amassed stress of modern life, making small changes can be overwhelming. Go back to the excitement you felt before you started. Go back to your reason. They will pick you up, they will carry you, they are what you will find when you look within and dig deep. It won't always be easy, but it can't always be hard: every achievement builds momentum. The steps you take today will make you stronger tomorrow.

Give value to your achievements

Pull a bill out of your wallet, and consider that its value is intangible. To some the paper might be more valuable for lighting a fire, however we all agree on what it is worth, and that is what makes it useful. Every single thing you achieve in day/month/year/lifetime can seem petty if you neglect to imbue it with significance. Or you can build up a wealth of currency that is truly your own. The next time you start to come down on yourself for slipping, thank yourself for being an active participant in your life at all. No one falls down standing still. Except me that one time trying to decide which fork in a trail to take, don’t tell anyone. As you advance through each mile of your race, embrace every step it took to get there. Do you eat better than you did a year ago? Can you eat better than you did yesterday? Yes, and go for it, you certainly are able. Your energy is limited, spend it assigning worth to the things you have achieved or can, then you will have less for bemoaning the slips and falls.

Be astonished

If your ancestors could see you, could see the world you live in, they wouldn't believe their senses. Yet it fails to impress us. Perhaps the fault of our own nature for having such a short attention span. Fair enough, but there is a detour. Allow taking responsibility for your own life to blow your mind. Become fully conscious. So many never will, or never even have the chance. The rest of us have silently agreed on waiting for permission to lust for that within the reach of our lives, instead of only that beyond our grasp. Hit pause on your struggle, look up at the stars, and curse out of astonishment. Here we are. No one is going to let you, but they don't need to, and they can't stop you.

These are all steps you can take today, without having to spend a cent loading your cupboards or obtaining gear. There is no obligation. Pick something and start. It won't look as you imagined entirely along the way, but step back, praise yourself, and give in to your instinct that finds this all absolutely incredible.

I want to hear what perspective means to you. How have you adapted to overcome obstacles on the path of being your ultra-self?

-dg

Breaking habits, initiating change and creating the best version of yourself

Individual change and changing habits is highly personal and what worked for me might not necessarily work for everybody.  For full disclosure I have to mention that I am not very good at doing things halfway. Moderation often eludes me, because it opens the door for my mind to negotiate and try to nag and talk me into "just this once, because ... (enter excuse here)".  Therefore quitting something altogether seems easier to me than doing less of it. I discovered though that a few strategies are constant factors in successfully altering my ways.

Don't get cocky

The first time around I managed to quit smoking in 2001 (after having been at it for about 10 years) I lasted for roughly 17 months. My relative success the first time around was largely based on the fact that I took myself by surprise. Managing not to smoke before getting out of bed (yes, seriously), for half a day, a day, a week, a month and then a year made me feel happy and elated. I didn't actually expect myself to be able to quit. In the end I made the mistake to consider it safe to smoke just a couple of cigarettes over some beers with friends. That assumption was very wrong. The biggest take-away lesson from that attempt was to never feel like a bad habit has no power over you anymore.

My idea of a good time back in the days.

Create a clear image of who you aspire to be

After a few failed attempts at quitting I finally managed to kick the smoking habit for good. I signed up for the Vancouver Sun Run. Exactly 3 months prior I smoked my last cigarette and from that point on I considered myself to be officially "in training". Could I have done the same run while still lighting up. Yes, I could. Maybe  a couple of minutes slower, but still. The main point was that I created an image of myself that was incompatible with being sedentary and being a smoker. I was an athlete now and that fact trumped the habit. And we're talking about a 10 km run here. Nothing crazy or extreme. It was not the goal itself, but the decision to strive to be better that helped me succeed. I had made up my mind about becoming healthier and more active.

My idea of a good time nowadays.

Identify your barriers and obstacles

Whenever possible, minimize the influence of people and circumstances that prevent you from creating the best, healthiest, happiest version of yourself. Cherish the people and situations that help you to lead a healthy and happy life. Commit to relentlessly working towards  a more positive self. Ask yourself: "What prevents me  from becoming my best version of myself?" Once you know the answer to that question, you are a big step closer to making a meaningful improvement to your life. Don't get discouraged by failed attempts. Think about what exactly prevents you from succeeding and try to eliminate this particular barrier.

Quitting smoking was the toughest habit for me to break, but there were, and still are, others to be tackled. I dramatically changed my diet and weaned myself off coffee and beer among other personal improvements.

What are the changes that you made or would like to make to your life and how did you manage to do it?

Have a happy healthy week,

Marc Schmitz