Absolutely OUTSTANDING post... Could not agree more with your perspective... Heckel's tears deomonstrated her commitment to the game and her teammates--NOT any sign of weakness. THANK YOU for writing this piece--and for sharing it so quickly.
The point here is that it can really only be understood by the only set of people who have given their all be it in any walk of life. When you give your all meaning all not on the D day but during the whole process for day in and day out for weeks on end for months & years and then you get smacked right in the face. it is quite a defeating feeling for sure in the very moment, it is no easy to swallow this tough pill where we imagined we could reach this and then fall short.
The amount of people who are giving their ALL in any walk of life are quite less. It just shows rest of the people are spectators and some turn into naysayers and some turn into appreciative people knowing they gave it their all. Everybody has their perspective regarding everything.
But the real point is we are not here to be-little each other, rather we are here to instill confidence in each other and walk each other home with full hearts.
All of this boils down to understanding of whether you gave it your all or not, how many times have you been MAN IN THE ARENA. Then only one can understand to the depths how much it sucks in the moment even though it dissipates and gets somewhat better with time as the bonds & relationships we make are fore worth than any single championship or missed layup or whatever you count. I know they don't play to lose but winning is a lot of things but not everything.
I have been running since June of 2020.
This is my recent story in correlation to running.
These are not out of the world numbers but I believe in this a lot. You got believe first that you can do this and then mind will somewhat follow.
I ran a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps) on 24th January in a time of 9:15 whereas the goal was 7:30. I blew up in the second half pretty badly and didn't consume much calories after 55 KM mark and around the 90 KM mark I was peeing dark brown blood and after the race I was having blood in my spits as well. Then I ran a 50 KM race on 8th February where I had goal of running it under 3:45 but ran 4:17 as I chose to run a 2.5 hour run on 7th February. Both of these times internal monologue choked me up big time as I was falling way off my expectations. But after this both the upcoming races I was able to maintain my sanity for long enough.
On 1st March I randomly ran my first ever marathon on fully flat surface and this was my first attempt at 42.2 since I started running. No specific marathon training, no specific speed workouts, no long runs on PMP. Ran a 2:48 on basically sheer aerobic base that I have built and ran 1:22 & 1:26 for 1st & 2nd half.
Then on 7th March(a couple of days ago) I attempted again a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps) at the same venue. Ran 8:12 for the 100 KM, improved by 63 minutes in a span of 6 weeks. Even though I had ran a marathon 6 days prior to this effort. My Coros Pace Pro clocked 70 Km in 5:01 but then I had to deal with the fatigue. Gut issues after 39 KM mark and still learning. I know I can run this distance under 7:30. Swinging for the fences approach and nobody lets to tell me that this can't be done. I believe now in taking shots because 100% of the shots not taken are missed, so better take it when the body is healthy. Sometimes we think next time and the next time never comes- might be family obligations/responsibilties, health issue, injury or can be any other thing. If time & health allows, go for the MF thing.
I know being humble has to be kept at the forefront. My mother keeps on saying to me this you are brash kind of person, it is just that I preach radical honesty because when I see people especially my loved ones or relatives say a lot of things but don’t practice in terms of reciprocation in relationships and then MF gaslight- I am like how the heck is this possible and you expect me to be humble. I am the one on the receiving end and you are the one doing these things to me, no way humble gets treated to you on silver plate. Rather being rude, I just try to not talk to these people and avoid them because being foul mouth is of no use. Just trying to keep my sanity in all forms and my nervous system under control.
This is my story from 14th to 20th March what I did.
I can walk off from the sport of running now as I have achieved my long term goal of running 175 mile week in training. In the last 7 days- I have run 294 KM(182.7 miles) and that only on singles. I am proud of myself. I don’t know if you can understand doing on singles this much of volume and that it was not slow and included fast paces.
The point is this wasn't even planned as I had 2 races in a span of 6 days. Marathon debut on 1st March for which I ran 2:48 and 100 KM for which I ran 8:12 on 7th March. Now I am thinking did I really almost ran 300 KM in a week span and don't feel much fatigue. I can run Sub-3 for marathon tomorrow. I don’t sell myself short in running now and have to apply this in other facets of life as well. And now again from 30th March to 5th April I ran 175 miles (281 KM) & 17000 feet of Vert on concrete roads.
I am pursuing this like my life depends on it.
I had a goal of wanting to get a qualifier for team India for 2026 100 KM World Championships. But I couldn't get it. The best part is I am self coached meaning I am my own guinea pig and run the experiments in the lab. Experiments can be done when A goal is not on the line. So I tried and learnt that psychologically is big limiter for what we can achieve in our lives. I have been running for 5.5 years and this 7 day training experiment/block has unlocked a different level for what I can do. Even though I don’t believe in limits and believe anything can be achieved but a lot of the times one can’t visualize or turn that into confidence when the work hasn’t been put or there is no proof/evidence of work. An hour back listened to Emily Saul(Sports Psychologist) on podcast and she also told this, you can’t trick your mind. Sometimes we need to I understand even if there is no prior proof that heck yeah I can do this.
If I wouldn’t have tried this, I would have the same belief regarding training and the amount of confidence I have for my own self.
My next race(56 KM & 3200 meters of elevation gain) is on 11th April and it is a trail race. I haven't run on trails since October and that too was for the race only. I train on roads and hop on to trails. No accessibility of trails doesn't stop me from doing trail races as I have just got one life and I can't let this being used as a crutch in this life span. I am planning to break the CR by more than 1.5 hours & will try to run this race under 6 hours, I know it is a tough task but I am going all in and willing to blow up because from now on I don't care about the results much. I have also understood that when you are super fit- you have to race like you are super fit and not just good fit. Then how would you know what the hell you can do at your best.
Just to tell you- I have thought of running Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB in December which will me my first overseas race ever and I have told myself to try for the overall TOP-5 even though my recent ITRA score is just 623 and that too because of the 19 KM trail race last year.
I don't MF care about my ITRA score, what people might think and what I can do. I know I have been putting in consistent work for years on end and right now I am putting some heavy load and I am not feeling the fatigue.
Absolutely OUTSTANDING post... Could not agree more with your perspective... Heckel's tears deomonstrated her commitment to the game and her teammates--NOT any sign of weakness. THANK YOU for writing this piece--and for sharing it so quickly.
Thanks so much! So glad it resonated!
I'm ready, tell me how to start and I never
Caring is SO cool.
Yes!
The point here is that it can really only be understood by the only set of people who have given their all be it in any walk of life. When you give your all meaning all not on the D day but during the whole process for day in and day out for weeks on end for months & years and then you get smacked right in the face. it is quite a defeating feeling for sure in the very moment, it is no easy to swallow this tough pill where we imagined we could reach this and then fall short.
The amount of people who are giving their ALL in any walk of life are quite less. It just shows rest of the people are spectators and some turn into naysayers and some turn into appreciative people knowing they gave it their all. Everybody has their perspective regarding everything.
But the real point is we are not here to be-little each other, rather we are here to instill confidence in each other and walk each other home with full hearts.
All of this boils down to understanding of whether you gave it your all or not, how many times have you been MAN IN THE ARENA. Then only one can understand to the depths how much it sucks in the moment even though it dissipates and gets somewhat better with time as the bonds & relationships we make are fore worth than any single championship or missed layup or whatever you count. I know they don't play to lose but winning is a lot of things but not everything.
I have been running since June of 2020.
This is my recent story in correlation to running.
These are not out of the world numbers but I believe in this a lot. You got believe first that you can do this and then mind will somewhat follow.
I ran a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps) on 24th January in a time of 9:15 whereas the goal was 7:30. I blew up in the second half pretty badly and didn't consume much calories after 55 KM mark and around the 90 KM mark I was peeing dark brown blood and after the race I was having blood in my spits as well. Then I ran a 50 KM race on 8th February where I had goal of running it under 3:45 but ran 4:17 as I chose to run a 2.5 hour run on 7th February. Both of these times internal monologue choked me up big time as I was falling way off my expectations. But after this both the upcoming races I was able to maintain my sanity for long enough.
On 1st March I randomly ran my first ever marathon on fully flat surface and this was my first attempt at 42.2 since I started running. No specific marathon training, no specific speed workouts, no long runs on PMP. Ran a 2:48 on basically sheer aerobic base that I have built and ran 1:22 & 1:26 for 1st & 2nd half.
Then on 7th March(a couple of days ago) I attempted again a 100 KM Stadium Run(250 laps) at the same venue. Ran 8:12 for the 100 KM, improved by 63 minutes in a span of 6 weeks. Even though I had ran a marathon 6 days prior to this effort. My Coros Pace Pro clocked 70 Km in 5:01 but then I had to deal with the fatigue. Gut issues after 39 KM mark and still learning. I know I can run this distance under 7:30. Swinging for the fences approach and nobody lets to tell me that this can't be done. I believe now in taking shots because 100% of the shots not taken are missed, so better take it when the body is healthy. Sometimes we think next time and the next time never comes- might be family obligations/responsibilties, health issue, injury or can be any other thing. If time & health allows, go for the MF thing.
I know being humble has to be kept at the forefront. My mother keeps on saying to me this you are brash kind of person, it is just that I preach radical honesty because when I see people especially my loved ones or relatives say a lot of things but don’t practice in terms of reciprocation in relationships and then MF gaslight- I am like how the heck is this possible and you expect me to be humble. I am the one on the receiving end and you are the one doing these things to me, no way humble gets treated to you on silver plate. Rather being rude, I just try to not talk to these people and avoid them because being foul mouth is of no use. Just trying to keep my sanity in all forms and my nervous system under control.
This is my story from 14th to 20th March what I did.
I can walk off from the sport of running now as I have achieved my long term goal of running 175 mile week in training. In the last 7 days- I have run 294 KM(182.7 miles) and that only on singles. I am proud of myself. I don’t know if you can understand doing on singles this much of volume and that it was not slow and included fast paces.
The point is this wasn't even planned as I had 2 races in a span of 6 days. Marathon debut on 1st March for which I ran 2:48 and 100 KM for which I ran 8:12 on 7th March. Now I am thinking did I really almost ran 300 KM in a week span and don't feel much fatigue. I can run Sub-3 for marathon tomorrow. I don’t sell myself short in running now and have to apply this in other facets of life as well. And now again from 30th March to 5th April I ran 175 miles (281 KM) & 17000 feet of Vert on concrete roads.
I am pursuing this like my life depends on it.
I had a goal of wanting to get a qualifier for team India for 2026 100 KM World Championships. But I couldn't get it. The best part is I am self coached meaning I am my own guinea pig and run the experiments in the lab. Experiments can be done when A goal is not on the line. So I tried and learnt that psychologically is big limiter for what we can achieve in our lives. I have been running for 5.5 years and this 7 day training experiment/block has unlocked a different level for what I can do. Even though I don’t believe in limits and believe anything can be achieved but a lot of the times one can’t visualize or turn that into confidence when the work hasn’t been put or there is no proof/evidence of work. An hour back listened to Emily Saul(Sports Psychologist) on podcast and she also told this, you can’t trick your mind. Sometimes we need to I understand even if there is no prior proof that heck yeah I can do this.
If I wouldn’t have tried this, I would have the same belief regarding training and the amount of confidence I have for my own self.
My next race(56 KM & 3200 meters of elevation gain) is on 11th April and it is a trail race. I haven't run on trails since October and that too was for the race only. I train on roads and hop on to trails. No accessibility of trails doesn't stop me from doing trail races as I have just got one life and I can't let this being used as a crutch in this life span. I am planning to break the CR by more than 1.5 hours & will try to run this race under 6 hours, I know it is a tough task but I am going all in and willing to blow up because from now on I don't care about the results much. I have also understood that when you are super fit- you have to race like you are super fit and not just good fit. Then how would you know what the hell you can do at your best.
Just to tell you- I have thought of running Chiang Mai Thailand by UTMB in December which will me my first overseas race ever and I have told myself to try for the overall TOP-5 even though my recent ITRA score is just 623 and that too because of the 19 KM trail race last year.
I don't MF care about my ITRA score, what people might think and what I can do. I know I have been putting in consistent work for years on end and right now I am putting some heavy load and I am not feeling the fatigue.
I’m a redsox fan. Complete disagree.