What I learnt about taking my mind on and losing.
Answer: I won
Actually metaphorically speaking (I doubt that’s the right word but I don’t care about trivial things like proper use case for language) I did lose but I feel like a true winner.
Firstly I won because supplementary to taking my mind on and winning by losing I’m now standing in an alley near my studio that is fairly famous for stinking of piss writing this post on the fly. Because I can and because I feel high as a running Kite (I bet that’s spelt Kyte)
Yesterday I smashed the hardest kettle bell workout I’ve ever done. Core strength is so crucial to running long distance so I’ve been hitting the gym hard alongside the epic dream big little Man ultras (micro ultras as the best I’ve done to date was 17 miles on this last Saturday)
Anyway, I woke this morning at 4:30am – milkman delivering my cashew cream is yet to work out how to drive his tuck shop truck (electric I might add!) in a manner not attuned to a racing driver.
Usually I’d stay in bed but today I had better things to do – prior to a day of board meeting prep and said Meeting I wanted to take on my 36 year old me PB at 5km of 18:32mins. Basically madness as if I hadn’t put the paragraph above in I’d had continued talking about the fact the kettle bell workout meant I actually can’t sit down. My legs, my gluteus maxim-us was aching like crazy (Good sign) – basically not the right condition to take on a record I knew I wasn’t anywhere near beating.
FUCK YOU MILLS.
I took it on. I knew I could win. I knew the pain was going to only be for 18 minutes and I knew my mind could be beaten to believe it was possible.
I took it on.
I lost. 19:45! – but there lies the kicker – that’s a win.
I knew my body wasn’t able to hit that time. I’m months off that fitness but I took it on. Although it all about physical it’s actually all about owning your mind. One that for some reason always wants to default take the easy way through life.
While running my mind often told me to slow the pace (admittedly I did a few times but I also ramped it up when I was going to be sick and kept pushing hard – I was literally at the limit but now I think about it and I’m not thinking I would die I could have still pushed harder – lesson for next time millsy )
If I’d have listened to my kind I wouldn’t have even got out of bed. But instead I told my mind I was capable and even though I wasn’t I basically feel like I was.
This is how you drive towards ultra greatness.
Damn I feel good now. Smell of piss both from myself and the street is too much. Time to unleash the wetty (shower)
P.S not that it matters but it’s a gorilla filter on that pic at top – I’m literally as smooth as silk.
As always I want to hear from you if you can drive me further, or if you want to share your ultra ‘make that change’ life – mills@ustwo.com
