Thursday, September 15, 2005
Reflections on Life Gained at The HUFF
These comments were posted by ECO-LIPS organic lip balm President Steve Shriver following the 2004 HUFF 50K.
Lesson Learned at the HUFF 50k(31 Mile Race)
12/21/2004
Last weekend I ran the HUFF 50k (Huntington Ultra Frigid Fifty) in Huntington, Indiana. It is a little over 31 miles of trails, a truly beautiful course around the reservoir. Runnng on mountain bike trails, especially in the winter poses many challenges. Of course, Eco Lips protected my lips while my Patagonia outerwear protected the rest of my parts during this winter endeavor. My motto on long runs, thanks to my mountaineering mentor, is to pick an all day pace. A pace that wont wear you down gets you to the summit and/or the finish line. Well, I got over-anxious in the HUFF, and stayed in the top 20 for the first 22 miles, then it hit me! I had 9 miles to go and just felt terrible. I havent done a long race in a while, so I had forgotten about all of the variables involved that can either help or hinder you. I finally worked through the mental and physical challenges and finished in 4 hours, 39 minutes.
Ok, so I can learn from this, and apply it to my next race (and other aspects of my life for that matter):
Start slow
Choose a sustainable pace
Keep the end goal in mind, and visualize finishing
Persevere; dont listen to the voice in your head telling you to give up!
Finish strong!
Now I have to go sign up for another race, to give this strategy a try!
# posted by Mitch : 3:41 PM
