The Long Game — Issue #285
I wrote this on the plane ride home last weekend. It’s been a long week!
It’s been less than 48 hours since the most intense experience of my life. The Leadville Trail 100 was more mentally and physically taxing than I imagined. Going into this race, I a lot of people told me I was crazy or insane. Yes, running 100 miles might be insane. However, anything outside of your comfort zone can appear that way before you try it. What you learn from the experience is that you can do a lot more than you could ever imagine.
The race started at 4:00 am on Saturday. To earn a “buckle” (the race medal), you must finish by 10:00 am on Sunday. In sum, you have 30 hours to run 100 miles at a sustained elevation of over 10,000 ft and over 15,500 ft of elevation gain. The course is 50 miles out and back and is absolutely punishing.
During the first 40 miles of the race, I felt great; my legs felt good, I had a good pace, and was running with my buddies. When we hit Twin Lakes (about 38 miles into the race), I thought we’d finish well within the 30-hour cap. However, we had a lot of miles left and a climb up and down Hope’s Pass. As the saying goes, “everyone has a plan until they get hit in the mouth.” When we left Twin Lakes, we began an intense 6-mile climb over Hope’s Pass, 6 miles down to Winfield, the 50-mile mark and turnaround. It took us over 4.5 hours to get from Twin Lakes to Winfield (an hour more than planned). The 50-mile mark was a turning point. A lot of people who start the race quit at Winfield. We weren’t quitting. We had to get back to Twin Lakes before 10:00 pm or we would be taken off the course.
To continue reading, click here.
Seeking Wisdom — Lessons on Becoming an Outstanding Thinker | by Thomas Oppong | Personal Growth | Medium — medium.com
4 minutes 📖 Society values wisdom, knowledge and intelligence, but if you are ignorant and know the level of your ignorance, it can become an important stepping stone for acquiring relevant knowledge.
When Good Enough is Good Enough — The Growth Equation — thegrowtheq.com
10 minutes 📖 Let’s start with an interesting observation: so many “influencers,” “optimizers,” and “wellness” and “happiness” gurus don’t have partners or kids. Yes, strive to be healthy and excellent and all that, but sometimes the key to adult life — perhaps especially if you’ve got kids — is that you’ve just got to order a pizza and move on. To be…
Leadville 100 Ultramarathon | More Than The Miles — www.youtube.com
45 minutes 📼
_____________________________________
If you’re ready to get out of your comfort zone and do one thing that scares you today. Set up a FREE call and let’s chat.
I hope you enjoyed another edition of The Long Game, feel free to pass it along.
In Health,
Taylor
