Finding inspiration in the people that do it tough and go long

Another great day in Melbourne, the day started of nicely.... I had sleep-in specifically planned on my training program. So I did. Great stuff.

When I was a student, sleep in, meant 10:00am or 11:00am, now I am stoked with 7:15am. Its funny how your perception changes with your reality. Take for example my 1:20:00 run tonight, it didn't enter my head that it was a particularly long run, my focus was more on the intervals that it included and cranking it out before it got too dark after work (side note: it was a shambles, it got dark, I couldn't see my watch, cars tried to run me down and it blew a gale). This time last year, my perception of 1:20:00 run would have been very different. I would have stressed about it beforehand and felt and behaved like an invalid afterwards. I can imagine my perception of long, tired and pain will continue to shift as my road to Ironman and Ironman racing career continue.

On the subject of perception of long distance, it makes me think about a friend who is an inspiration to me, and who's perception of long will probably always dwarf mine in comparison. This friend has done 18 official and 1 unofficial (didn't enter in time, but did it anyway) Comrades Marathons. Described as the world's greatest ultra-marathon, 90kms long, the Comrades is a South African institution, internationally recognized for the body-sapping challenge it poses and the camaraderie it fosters among its thousands of participants. It is run between the capital of the Kwazulu-Natal province, Pietermaritzburg, and the coastal city of Durban, the race alternates annually between the up run from Durban and the down run from Pietermaritzburg. For someone to have run 90km nonstop and to have done it more than once makes my perception of long seem minor in comparison. I hope that one day, after a long Ironman career, I will be able to compare my experiences with his and have great stories as he does about what it takes to go long like that.

More recently this friend did a regular 42km marathon, on less than ideal training and with several other non-running related stresses in his life. He did a time which, I can guess, as I haven't discussed it with him, he would not be impressed with. I find this more inspirational than the professional athletes out there that fly through and win races in mind blowing times. The time he did indicates that he did it tough, that impresses on me that he's made of stern stuff. The fact that he kept on grinding away and didn't call it a day, makes me look inward and ask whether I would keep on grinding. I haven't done it that tough yet, but the time will come in my career I'm sure. I hope one day I will have the opportunity to do it tough and come out on top.

I guess the morale of my little ramble is. that it is great to see professional athletes that push the boundaries and keep outdoing themselves in sport. But, it is the back of the packers that finish when most people have gone home or in the case of Ironman its gotten dark, that are the heart of the sport and often have shown more guts and determination than the winner on the day.