New things, hard things, good things
The ultramarathon / Issue 1,423
Oh, hi friends!
On Saturday, I ran my first ultramarathon.
After running my Karathon in October, to prove to myself that I could do a marathon distance again, I started googling "ultramarathons near me." Literally on the same day.
An ultramarathon is any race that's longer than the 26.2-mile marathon. There's the 50K, the 50-miler, 100-mile races. And beyond.
I just thought…how far could I go?
I chose a 50K in Long Island, from the south shore to the north shore. 31 miles.
It was my first trail run ever. First time navigating and getting my shoes sucked by mud.
The trail is narrow so when you need to pass someone, you say "on your left."
Because concentration is, um, needed to know where you're going and to avoid roots and rocks, I didn't wear headphones.
For six hours, I heard robins and a pair of honking geese and runners saying "great job" and "keep it up" to each other. I chatted with new friends.
It rained a little bit. I drank water from my hydration vest and stopped at the aid stations every five miles. A glug of Coca-Cola at mile 25 was heaven.
Before I started, I told myself, "You're trying something new. The goal was to train, to not get injured, to run farther than you ever have before."
So I did.
Saturday was also the third anniversary of saying goodbye to my Grandpa, which felt like a natural kind of kismet. That morning I found an old newspaper clipping about when he bowled his third perfect game at age 79.
"Everything just fell into place," he said. "You just like get into a zone."
I get it, Grandpa. I understand.
And it was an absolutely perfect race because I did what I set out to do.
That is the sweet spot of satisfaction.
Deciding — then doing.
I am telling you this not because I think you should run ultramarathons or marathons or half marathons or 5Ks or even run to Target, not if you don't want to.
You have your own new things, hard things, and good things to do.
And pushing yourself to do them will make you nervous. Parts might be annoying. There will be metaphorical roots and rocks and mud.
But they will also make you grow.
They will also make you satisfied.
And still.
In this trail run, little pink flags were staked in the ground every couple hundred meters to mark the turns.
You can't think at the beginning about running 31 miles. That's overwhelming.
Instead, you can simply pass one little pink flag at a time.
That's all you have to do.
One flag.
Then another.
One turn.
Then another.
New things are hard things are good things.
And then you’ll keep asking…
What's next?
"You can't think at the beginning about running 31 miles. That's overwhelming.
Instead, you can simply pass one little pink flag at a time. "
Such truth here! Big things are overwhelming, so we make them small things, little pink flags, and pick them off, one at a time.
What an amazing achievement Kara! Just incredible. I'll be thinking of this come Sunday and my 5k ;-)
Proud of you and love this approach!