January Motivation

As I went out this morning for a hard five mile run my neighborhood was fairly quiet.  Most everyone was still sleeping and I had the two lane road to myself for about a mile before even a single car went past.  I was able to lose myself in thought as I chugged up the hill until I ran past the house with my good friend Mr. Pitbull.

I've run past this dog so many times I know every little quirk it has.  It sees me coming and crouches down, eyeing me until I'm at the closest I'll be to it's yard and then it sprints off at top speed toward me.  It knows how far it can go before the thick chain will jerk it backwards so it jumps into the air at just the right time.  It flies through the air before snapping backwards and then stands there growling at me until I disappear off into the distance. 

This dog easily weighs well over 100 lbs and I can see its muscles rippling when it runs at me.  It's a pure, unadulterated killing machine and would love to rip my head off.  Despite the fear of having my leg torn off on a deserted section of road, I love this dog.  It always provides me with a sorely needed surge of adrenaline and boosts my running speed significantly on a steep section of the road.

On the way back down the hill I'm running faster and can get past Mr. Pitbull's house before he knows what's going on.  Sometimes I taunt him just for good measure and payback.  "Hi, doggy.  Aren't you just a sweet little doggy?  See you tomorrow, enjoy that chain around your neck."

Sometimes you can find motivation in the most unusual things.  Search hard and use what you can find for mid-winter motivation.  Speaking of running, I put up a new poll in the sidebar.  Check it out. 

2011 Race Prep

With the Classic just a few weeks away, if you are planning to do the race, you should be mostly prepared by now.  Your physical training should be done and you should rest as much as possible the last couple weeks.  Short runs and hikes and very mild exercise should be your goal.  Aim for as little stress as possible. 

I’m not the race director so I don’t know the exact number of entries but based on the number of requests for information I’ve received, it looks there are an unprecedented number of rookies that are interested. 

Use the remaining couple of weeks before the race to prepare yourself mentally.  The anticipation is bound to be intense but you can use and direct the nervous anxiety to prepare yourself.  Accept who you are and where you are at this point in your life.  Center yourself.  This may sound a little dramatic and new age-ish but if you don’t think about it now, you will in the middle of the race as doubts fill your mind and you question why you started.  There’s nothing like a hundred or so miles of true wilderness to amplify your personality flaws. 

Anyway, back to centering yourself.  Meditation, yoga and tai chi are all excellent ways to center your mind and keep your body limber.  Spend part of your meditation time clearing and slowing your mind by focusing only on your breathing.  The rest of the time visualize yourself in the race overcoming difficulties.  It’s most helpful to imagine the feelings and emotions you will encounter.  For example:  imagine how cold and tired you will be and the despair that comes along with it.  Then spend several minutes feeling how satisfied, competent and proud you are when you continue hiking through the cold, exhaustion and feelings of hopelessness. 

Most of all visualize yourself as confident, competent and making intelligent, safe choices. You don't have anything to prove, just enjoy the experience and the journey.  

The Best Training Technique Ever - Visualization

If you've seriously participated in any sport for a little while, you've surely come across visualization techniques.  Even though visualization is becoming more common, most people still don't utilize it's full potential.

Visualization has been around for a long time.  People all over the world have successfully used it for thousands of years in everything from martial arts to business to medicine.  The power of the mind is extraordinary and you can also tap into it for any type of distance running or adventure racing.  Any veteran of the Wilderness Classic can tell you that the most important thing to finishing the Classic intact is mental strength.  You can and should use visualization to not only survive the Classic but excel at it.  You can also apply these techniques to anything else in life.

This post is just scratching the surface of visualization.  There are numerous books about the subject but many people still think it's only for Olympians or professional athletes.  It's more simple and more effective than you might think.  For more reading, take a look at Think and Grow Rich which, despite the title, is very applicable to sports visualization and was one of the original books about visualization.  You can also do a basic Google  search and you'll find more than enough books to keep you busy.

Here are the basics:  the power of the mind resides in focus and you can increase your concentration through regular practice.  (Slightly off the topic - fish oil and other supplements that are high in antioxidants like gingko biloba will also help.)  Since your mind has control over your physical body, your body will respond to visual images in your brain. The goal is to convince your physical body, through visual imagery, that it is capable of doing something. 

Start by maintaining a positive mindset about your racing and training.  Take some time and figure out exactly what your goal is. This could be anything from a specific race finishing time to a specific mental state after a hard 20 mile training run.  Write down your goal. When writing your goal, be specific and use the words "I will . . ." instead of "I want to . . . ".  Here's an example:  "I will run the Wilderness Classic in 3 days, 15 hours and 12 minutes". 

Memorize your goal word for word.  Read and recite it in the morning when you wake up and in the evening before you drift off to sleep.  If possible, say the words out loud. See yourself completing your goal.  Think about how it feels to have already accomplished your task.  Take your time and feel every aspect of your accomplishment.  Put some emotion into it.  Be proud of yourself and revel in the wonderful feeling of completing a goal. Convince yourself of it.

Play a video in your brain of yourself completing your goal.  Play this video over and over, particularly when you start the day and also just before you go to sleep.  Keep visualizing every day until it's time for your race and you will have the confidence you need to complete it.  Come back to it again and again and don't be discouraged if you don't meet your goal exactly or if you have doubts.  Simply refocus and bring your mind back to visualizing your completed goal. 

If you're new to visualization, all this may seem silly but this is what successful professional athletes do all the time.  Try it out.  You'll like it. Your confidence will grow and you'll be more successful in life. 

Subterfuge

The Classic is a race for the hardy. It's a test of willpower among the toughest of the tough. Subterfuge is a time-honored tradition in the Classic. It catches many novices unaware who don't think that there could be another level of competition other than merely finishing this grueling race. When the best compete against the best though, there is bound to be psychological trickery involved.

Consider the following true story: many years ago, an accomplished and well known Alaskan runner was competing in the Honolulu Marathon. He had trained relentlessly for it and was hoping to finish high in the overall standings. Even though the race started early in the day, at about mile 20, the temperature was searing. As he was struggling to not hit "the wall", a pair of runners slowly came from behind and pulled even with him.

He glanced over and saw that his competition was wearing full Ninja regalia and was dressed from head to toe in black. Despite the suffocating heat, even their faces were covered except for eye slits. As he marveled at their stamina, he also saw they were running in traditional wooden shoes. Their feet were bloody and they left tracks of blood on the pavement as they ran. As he studied them, he realized they showed no signs of being in pain at all. In the face of such willpower, our hero's concentration cracked, he fell off the pace and never regained his stride. He finished the race quite a bit slower than his goal time.

You can use similar psychological tactics against your competitors in the Classic and other adventure races. All of the following strategies have been successfully used in the Classic.
Start the race off running. Whether or not other racers think you're crazy, you'll be ahead of them when everyone is reduced to walking in a few hours.

If you happen to make a fire, put it out completely and leave it cold. If other racers see it still smoking and feel how warm it is, they'll know you are close and will speed up to catch you.
Leave tracks going the wrong direction. I fell for this trick my first race and my group dropped from a strong second place to a distant fourth after losing several hours in a box canyon that led nowhere. There are many other psychologically devastating tricks to play on other racers. Just keep it "above board" and use your imagination.

In a similar vein, imagine if you could add weight to other racer's packs to slow them down. This is exactly what the eventual race winner did in 2004 when he pulled a cooler full of cold beer into the starting arena only minutes before the race began.


After spending months paring down the weight of their packs, many people eagerly put one or two in their pack for later in the day.



Despite all this talk of deception and chicanery, helping other racers is common. There's an instant commradarie in coming across other racers in the middle of nowhere and sharing their experiences and close calls.