OMG TUM21 is so close

I'm under cooked - unsafe to eat

Jan 19

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In my last post about the road to the Tarawera Ultra Marathon 21km I celebrated a good training month. 100km of roads pounded in November was meant to set me up for a big December and an even bigger January.

I was going to make the start line feeling good, feeling fit and feeling confident.

That pretty quickly got chucked out the window.

I knew the move to Tauranga would put me out of action for a week or so but it gave me the speed wobbles. Packing, driving, unpacking, and the 10 days of rain in Tauranga meant I put my head down and just focused on getting settled in a new city.

Fair enough too - everything got unpacked, sorted, built, organised, and enjoyed. Like, in record time.

And of course, there was alway January to apply the polish right?

WRONG.

Sickness came to the house and instead of training, I was holed up in bed, unable to move my head because it would cause the room to spin.

I wasn’t fully well when I went for a run last week, and coughed up my lung every 1500m. It’s amazing how fast people ahead of you get off the trails when they think you should be in isolation.

Needless to say, being sick and trying to run isn’t a great combination. I’m still feeling the affects, but just having to push through regardless, so I don’t die in Rotorua.

Resetting expectations

I had a goal for this race. That goal is unachievable now.

So, is that a failure or does that just mean I need to adjust the goal?

It’s not like this is the first time I’ve had to do that in preparation for this event - see ‘we’re on the road, to nowhere’.

Goal setting is weird. It’s a black and white activity most of the time. Fail or succeed. Win or lose. 100% or nudda. Most of the goal setting I’ve done is like this. It doesn’t allow for any other possibility.

But it’s not really like that right?

Even if you don’t achieve the ‘goal’ there’s a bunch of good stuff that happens. Through this process I’ve learnt more about running, learnt more about training, and broadly had a good time getting out and about. Surely that’s not failure? That is success. It has to be - otherwise what’s the point of it all?

I’m no professional athlete, I’m not making a living from plodding on the trails, I’m not trying to be rich. So, the stakes for a wee little run through a forest are really low. If I don’t make it in a specific time or at a specific pace, the world will keep on spinning. My family will still have food on the table. I’ll still be alive.

So I have a new goal for the ‘race’. Have as much fun as possible. Soak up the atmosphere. Have yarns with other people. Embrace the hurt locker and smile.

That sounds pretty good.

I have three weeks left of ‘training’. I’m using that opportunity to explore parts of Tauranga I haven’t been yet. That sounds pretty good too.

And that training is going to incorporate surfing, kayaking, and a new sport - mountain biking! Maximum fun right?

Righto - more coffee.