Mindset

Well another week of training is done, 3 weeks from today I'll be out in the mountains of GA running GDR.  Hard to believe that winter is almost done (although you'd be hard pressed to believe that given the temps today).  At this point, I've done all I can to prepare physically for the run (I'm trying not to call it a race, as I only want to race against myself and the clock, not the other competitors).  

Now time to prepare mentally.

While running long distances is a physical activity that requires a strong body and endurance, it is also a mental challenge.  As you get to the longer ultra distances that I am participating in, the brain comes into play a lot more than one would think.  There's a lot that can go wrong and having the ability to think through those issues when you've been awake and moving for double digit hours is crucial.  Your brain can make a big difference in your finish.

Last I fall read the book "The Ultra Mindset" by Travis Macy after hearing him talk about mindset on Trail Runner Nation podcast.  The book speaks to endurance athletes, but can also benefit life in general.  It's about adopting a mindset of success.  In the book, Travis lays out different mindsets and offers reflections and challenges for each chapter.  When I ran Stillhouse 100k and was starting to get down on myself since I was slowing down and hurting, I tried to use some of the principles, and helping to reflect on some of the topics helped pull me out and keep me moving forward.

Travis offers an Ultra Mindset Academy, where you and others get to delve deeper into the book.  I decided to sign up.  I'm in the first week and it's been very insightful. The first assignment was to think about events in your life that shaped your current mindset and how using a philosophy of 'if-then' to deal with different situations.  As part of the course,  there's also time each week with Travis and the others to discuss not only mindset, but a plethora of topics.

One of the other weekly activities is journaling.  Again, Travis asks some questions that require deep thought.  My thoughts are are randomly scattered in my brain, in a word document, in this blog and now in my own handwriting.

As I started out this post, I'm officially tapering.  It's good timing: I start work again on Monday and am immediately traveling for the week.  Looks like I'll be on the pavement for a week and working on speed.

Weekly total:  ~10 hrs, 47 miles, 4600 feet elevation.  The elevation doesn't include the 1 hour on the treadmill at +10% grade.