Self-indulgence

Please allow me a moment of self-indulgence!

Something a little different this week—a bit of self-indulgence from me.

On Good Friday (9th March), I took the line with 500 like minded runners and started my longest ultramarathon, the Manchester to Liverpool at 50 miles, with the route using the canal, the Irwell River, and the Transpennine Way. As time closed in on the start of the race, a little apprehension closed in as i was going into the unknown. Having run a couple of marathons and a 50km, I knew the fatigue monster would be showing it’s head at some point in this race. The day started off with near-perfect conditions, with cool but dry weather and a slight tailwind for a good portion of the route. The day went from good to great, i was looking for a completion time of around 8 hours, and as i ticked off checkpoint after checkpoint, my schedule keep getting faster, which concerned me a little as I expected to have a meltdown later on in the race. But to my surprise, it never came ? An issue with a hipflexer and very very tight calves were all I had to deal with. When you are running this long, I think it is just part of the course. So coming into the finish in 14th place with a time of 7.09hrs i was extremely satisfied and quite surprised at how well I felt after being on my feet for such a long time.

So will I do another, probably, and then the next question is, will I go further, 100km or 100 miles? I am not sure, but I am not ruling it out.

Reading: Finding Ultra - Rich Roll

Art of the Week: Ernest Eugene Barnes Jr. (July 15, 1938 – April 27, 2009) was an American artist, well known for his unique style of elongated characters and movement. He was also a professional football player. Playing for the Baltimore Colts, Titans of New York, San Diego Chargers, and Denver Broncos.

Quote: “The sport of running will teach you how to master and control your will-power.”
― Mwanandeke Kindembo

Words: Indefatigability- Incapable of being fatigued; Tirelessness; persistence; stamina

A minute of philosophy: “The Way of Excellence is going with the flow of things, dealing only with what is in your control in the present moment, having awareness if you need to commit to something, engaging whole heartedly in your activity, accepting and learning from an outcome and remembering and applying what you learned, and lastly, resting and recovering.”
― Tobe Hanson,

Task for you this week: Get out and run every day!

Be Kind.