I'm fresh off of my second 50 mile DNF (both coming the first weekend in February on my sophomore run of a course in my Santa Monica Mountains backyard). I know that my body didn't respond, part of which could have been just having an off day, and part of it definitely being undertrained. I don't regret being undertrained, as my focus is on Summer 2014, and I now know there's no way I'm peaking too early. But that's also my self-justification for not doing enough of the necessary grunt work, laying the foundation brick-by-brick. I'm out the door for a run in a few. One day at a time. All that said, until my body failed me, my mind was solid in spite of a great number of problems out there. That is one of my take-aways. I have 4 months (or 17 weeks) to get in peak 100 mile shape. I know my mind is ahead of that curve.
"Like success, failure is many things to many people. With a positive mental attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again."
-W. Clement Stone
Get to work on your mental game.
"Like success, failure is many things to many people. With a positive mental attitude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder, a plateau at which to get your thoughts in order and prepare to try again."
-W. Clement Stone
Get to work on your mental game.
It seems like a general and broad-sweeping stroke. But here's what I mean when I say that. Workouts and physical fitness are only about half the story when it comes to setting new personal standards in speed or distance (or both). You must develop the mental makeup so that you don't mentally breakdown. There are a lot of ways to get there, and generally speaking, a coach will implement these things into your training runs (sometimes overtly and often times, like in my case, covertly). You can always improve your mental game. I love reading inspiring books and watching inspiring films (they absolutely do not need to be about running to be good for your mental game).
Here's a list of a few movies that really stoke my mental fire. What I mean by that? I cry tears of joy, tears of anguish and tears of being moved by the human spirit each and every time I watch them:
THE DISTANCE OF TRUTH
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| Ferg Hawke running through the valley of death |
SYNOPSIS: This 90-min documentary features Canadian Ferg Hawke as well as Scott Jurek, Dr. Ben Jones, Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab, Monica Scholz, Pam Reed, Dean Karnazes, Marshal Ulrich and Mike Sweeney as they experience the BADWATER Ultramarathon. Footage from both the 2005 and 2006 races are included as well as interviews, course profile, blister care and finish line drama. The race itself is broken into the six legs and even after 90 miles three athletes are separated by only about a mile and a half. The finish is amazing with records falling and 11 athletes are shown crossing the line.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS: Because if you're reading one of my blogs, let's be honest, you're already pretty silly, and there isn't much sillier than running 135-miles through Death Valley in the peak of summer heat. In case of invisible self-limiting barriers, break glass (ceiling). This movie will leave you without valid excuses.
QUOTE I LOVE: "If you run long enough, something is bound to happen."
RUDY
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| How many setbacks must one endure to realize an impossible dream? |
SYNOPSIS: Rudy has always been told that he was too small to play college football. But he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS: You don't have to like college football, this is a movie about having a tenacious spirit and chasing impossible dreams.
QUOTE I LOVE: "In this life, you don't have to prove nothin' to nobody but yourself."
CHARIOTS OF FIRE
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| What inspires you to run fast? Old dares do it for me. |
SYNOPSIS: The story of two British track athletes, one a determined Jew, and the other a devout Christian who compete in the 1924 Olympics.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS: It doesn't matter why you run. It matters that you run (see: exercise). This movie will have you examining why you run and when you run and may enable you to get the most out of your mental game by determining your mental outlook.
QUOTE I LOVE: "I've known the fear of losing but now I am almost too frightened to win."
CINDERELLA MAN
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| Buoyed by great performances and Academy Award nom for Giamatti |
SYNOPSIS: Based on the true story of fighter Jim Braddock, who in Depression-era New York enters the boxing ring out of desperation to feed his family. He becomes a common folk hero as he battles his way up the ranks, vaulting from broken-down ex-boxer to living legend with a string of amazing upsets to his credit. As word of the scrappy underdog spreads, entire families stay glued to their radios, cheering, praying and experiencing his victories as their own. Their devotion reaches fever pitch when Braddock faces heavyweight champ Max Baer. That night, Braddock's dignity, courage and determination gives hope to a nation and earns him the nickname of Cinderella Man.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS: You don't have to like boxing, nor be a fan of Russell Crowe or Renee Zellweger. This movie is about choosing to get back up after getting knocked down (no matter how many times you hit the mat). Boxing may be a perfect analogy for life in the courage to get back up off the mat when life is punching you in the face. Give in to this movie.
QUOTE I LOVE: "For two hundred and fifty dollars I would fight your wife... and your grandmother, at the same time."
UNBREAKABLE: THE WESTERN STATES 100
http://www.ws100film.com/
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| Photo by Luis Escobar, RD of Born to Run Ultras and Red Rock |
MY TAKE: This is JB Benna's masterful weaving of a story about living outside the box, challenging one's perceived limits and going into that unknown void and seeing what part of you comes back from it. This movie inspires me for many different reasons.
SYNOPSIS: This is the story of the 2010 competitive men's race in the granddaddy of trail ultra runs, the Western States 100. In addition to following 4 of the top ultra runners in the world, it tells much of the story of how the Western States Endurance Run came into being.
WHY YOU SHOULD WATCH THIS: Because everyone faces their mental breaking point in a race that means a lot to us. Sometimes our expectations, our goals, or even the conditions in the race can break us. Sometimes it's our competition. But watch how these competitors respond to being broken, and what they do in the face of it. Warning: it might make you want to run Western States, or 100 miles, or both.
QUOTE I LOVE: "I can still take one more step. And so at that point I decided to take one more step until I could not longer take one more step."
THE BOTTOM LINE
We could all use a little (more) work on our mental game. These 6 movie-films will help you with that (and I threw in 5 more on the HM list a few sentences above this). Hope you enjoy them as much as I do. Let me know what you think, especially if you see them now (with new perspective).
If you have other films you love watching, post a comment below and let us know what films help you with your mental game!
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