Forward momentum is something I spend a lot of time thinking about. For whatever reason, I need that constant feeling of progress – the reassurance that I’m not wasting time, not moving backwards.

Moving forward is about never settling with where you’re currently at. Why should I settle when there is so much more out there? Bucket lists, careers, and living a life worth living.

I’m starting to contemplate how you only get one go at this thing. Why waste time on anything? Those 2 hours wasted online, that hungover day laying in your room with fans blowing in your face – whatever it is, you’ll never get it back once it passes.

Time is without a doubt your most valuable commodity.

For me,  I relish the present moment. I find myself more content with just being – not worried about the past, and not looking forward to the future.

The tricky part is that there is a fine line with this thinking. If you’re satisfied with being present, then how does ambition fit into the equation?

Ambition means planning and thinking big, and part of thinking big is positioning yourself for the future.

Accomplishment… then what?

Running my first marathon was the single most rewarding thing I’ve done in the last year. I look back on that morning and I’m pierced with this urge to get that feeling again.

Leading into it, I planned on taking it fairly easy for the rest of the summer because the time commitment is such a sacrifice.

Choosing to stay in on a Saturday night because of the impending 35km Sunday morning stroll is fine… but enjoying the fruitful Vancouver summer is a top priority as well.

The timing was perfect: I could bang out the marathon in early May without destroying my summer activities. But something happened.

After a month or so ‘off’ and taking care of a nagging knee issue from the marathon, I’m getting another itch. Life without challenges is boring.

I want to compete… to keep pushing my body and mind.

Pivot Time?

To satisfy said itch, I’ve decided to run an ultramarathon (ultra) this summer. Ultras are anything over the standard marathon (42km or 26 miles).

Setting goals is important. You know that so I won’t get into the kumbaya swan song because you’ve heard it before. What I will say is that I put a lot of thought into my personal and professional goals.

I regularly write them out and share them with those who’ll keep me accountable.

With that, I’m setting the goal to complete two ultras by the end of October. The reason I share this with you to keep me accountable (please do).

It’s easy to think big to yourself – much harder to let others in on your dreams and the accompanying uncertainty.

So over the next few months, in addition to my other musings, I’ll share everything associated with my lead up to run an ultra.

I’ll give you a snapshot of the training which you’ll be interested in because it is a bit different from the traditional schools of thought.

The training plan is still being put together, but I’ve consulted a couple of ‘experts’ and literature.  We’re going fine tune this machine.

Embracing Obstacles

I have some unique challenges in preparing given that I work a lot (who doesn’t?), am currently without car (makes it difficult to access local trails), and also love going to the gym. All of these potentially make things counterproductive.

The gym one is interesting because I’m stubborn and refuse to give it up. The feeling of lifting weights in therapeutic and stress relieving for me.

I also don’t want to shrivel up and turn into some malnourished looking marathon dude.

Another challenge is social activities through the summer. Thus far, I’ve been out of town on weekends for music festivals, stags, and weddings.

After I stopped playing field hockey competitively, I told myself I would never sacrifice experiences for sport. Life is too short and I already sacrificed too much.

These make training pretty difficult given that weekends are the logical time to get in the long, hilly runs that I’ll need to prepare my body for a long slogs through the mountains.

We’ll see how things play out, but I’m confident I can find a balance between getting my body ready without ruining summer festivities.

You’ll find out over the next month if I can indeed have my cake and eat it.

Sharing is caring!

The saying that ‘the journey is the reward’ doesn’t hold for marathon training. But, that is not to say that the journey is not a fulfilling process. Let me explain as I’m two weeks to marathon completion.

Marathon training over the past month certainly is a journey. Reward? Not sure about that one yet.

The fulfilling part is pushing my personal limits, both physically and mentally. You’d be surprised what thoughts creep into your mind three hours into a run.

Things from questioning my sanity for subjecting myself to this, to how fortunate I am in having the ability to run outside with such beautiful surroundings enter my thoughts.

The ultimate reward is accomplishment. Finishing my first marathon on a 42 day condensed training plan certainly is a nice feather in my cap.

Anticipating the finish continually cross my mind. As I’ve come to understand, your first marathon is about completing the 42 km slog.

It may sound a tad arrogant, but I already know I’ll finish – I have no choice in the matter. My mind won’t let me not finish.

If it were up to me, race day would be tomorrow. I’d finish the run, and plan out the next physical adventure.

Do you have any suggestions? I have a few in mind, but please leave a comment with yours.

Sore and Bewildered?

My legs go through weird cycles of fatigue and soreness. Through training for this thing, I’ve changed my running style a bit to accommodate the monotonous grind of 3+ hours on pavement. Don’t you worry, I won’t run barefoot or in Vibrams anytime soon.

The other interesting thing happened after the last long run. We set out on a brisk Sunday morning. Things went swimmingly aside from one hiccup at the end. We miscalculated the route, and ‘finished’ 6km short of the target (damn you google maps).

You can imagine the feeling: basking in the glow of accomplishment, only to find you are not done yet.

Cue the kick to the midsection.

Nonetheless, we tacked on the 6km to meet our milage… much to the chagrin of the wobbly legs and meandering minds telling us the contrary.

Walking home post-run felt like a dream. My mind wandered in this semi-conscious daze – my head was literally in the clouds.

Before you play doctor and chime in, I do realize this was a combo of fatigue, glycogen depletion, and low blood sugar. Nonetheless, I embraced the state.

The biggest takeaway from my meditation is how mindful you become throughout the rest of your endeavours.

Everything was so vivid, things literally slowed to a crawl.

Now with under two weeks to race day, most of the hard work is over. I guess it’s time to enjoy the rest of the short journey.

Image cred: Wallpapers

If you’re not moving forward, then what are you doing?

This is something I continually ask myself. Whether physically, emotionally, or spiritually, I like to think that I’m continually moving forward – working towards something and creating progress. This is part of the reason I decided to run a marathon.

I’m confident you might get similar feelings – you know, that awkward itch where you know you’re ‘spinning your wheels’ on something, but you’re not sure how to change it.

You may not even know what that ‘thing’ is (I sure as hell don’t). It’s fine if you can’t pinpoint the specifics, try changing small things one at a time and see if the feeling goes away. Focus on things you can control.