The Aftermath Of My Second 48 Hours Run
A few hours ago, the second 48 hours race that I ran for the last 2 days ended.
Let's start with the TL,DR (Too Long, Didn't Read):
zero damage, 123 kilometers covered, more than half of the time I was in resting mode, to keep some incumbent injuries to become more serious (for comparison, my last 48 hours race, which I considered ridiculous, was 203 km).
And Yet, I'm Very Happy :)
I write this from a very friendly eating place in Timisoara, called Bio Fresh (mostly raw vegan) and I do feel extremely well. Like I wasn't in an ultra-marathon for the last 48 hours (on and off, but still), but in some very silent and balanced spa.
There are 2 reasons for that:
- first: the zero damage policy that I started to apply to all my races functioned 100%: I actually have no injury, not even a blister and I feel like I could run another 10km right now.
- the "scooping event" went really well.
Now let's take them one at a time.
1. The zero damage policy
After I got some really nasty blisters 2 years ago at a 222km ultra-marathon, I decided I will change my running policy. If the race is not super-important, like, for instance, a one in a lifetime event for which I should really push beyond my physical limits in a brutal way, then the primary goal for all my races will be zero damage. That means that if I feel, during the race, that pushing will create some medium or long term damage, I will simply stop.
That's what I did here. The first quarter of the race went absolutely great: I covered almost 80km and felt like flying. But soon after that, my soles and ankles started to send me some very clear messages that something wasn't ok. After trying different walking-running strategies for like 3 hours, I decided it's time to rest. And I did so, for a few hours, until I was able to run again.
I continued to run for a few hours, and then I felt the same thing. So I stopped again.
All in all, I rested for about 24 hours and run the remaining 24.
But I'm completely uninjured and that's all that matters.
2. The "Scooping Event"
When I started to run ultra-marahons, in 2015, I made a surprising discovery: if I run long enough, like longer than 70-80-90 kilometers or more, something happens with my mind. It has this kind of intuitions or altered states of consciousness in which I discover a lot of stuff about myself. It's like running that far touches some very hidden points, most of the time unconscious habits or reactions, which are normally hidden by my conscious masks.
These points are painful. And shitty. Like stinky shitty, if you know what I mean. I don't like them at all.
But as stinky as they are, they are also true. Like completely, unalterably true. Because when you run that far, and you get into that vulnerable place where all your defense walls are destroyed and there's only you, well, from that place you can't run anymore from yourself. Because you're already running. So you're there, forced to take yourself in, forced to accept the "real" reality, not the one carefully built by your mind, in order to protect you from suffering or to project a different image of yourself, or... You got the idea.
I call these situations "scooping events" because I associate running with a spoon scooping down my fears, my vulnerabilities, my collection of lies that I call "reality".
These scooping events are unfolding in two stages: the first one hearts like hell and it's really, really shitty, and then the second one is liberating. You know that meme you see all over Facebook or Twitter: "The truth will set you free. But first it will piss you off"? Well, that's exactly how it goes for me and that's exactly what I mean by "the mental benefits" of ultra-running.
In this race, the "scooping event" unfolded really fast, just after the first quarter. It was a moment of lucidity, emerging gently, right in the middle of the dark that I was running through (after 13-14 hours since start it was almost midnight).
I won't disclose the exact implications (it's personal and you won't even understand it without knowing all the facts) but I will give you a more general translation: "sometimes pushing through is not the answer. Sometimes letting go is the answer".
So, all in all, it was a good weekend for me. Now back to Steemit. :)
Note: while writing this article I managed to drop my lemonade over my laptop, but, somehow, I also managed to recover the laptop without any significant damage. That thing has nothing to do with the "scooping event". This is just a fun fact. :)
I'm a serial entrepreneur, blogger and ultrarunner. You can find me mainly on my blog at Dragos Roua where I write about productivity, business, relationships and running. Here on Steemit you may stay updated by following me @dragosroua.
https://steemit.com/~witnesses
If you're new to Steemit, you may find these articles relevant (that's also part of my witness activity to support new members of the platform):
I've never heard of these types of runs before but my goodness would it test your metal. Your zero damage policy sounds like an excellent outlook. Pushing yourself to cause physical damage wouldn't be worth it unless the stakes were extremely high.
I'm quite intrigued by how you described the long runs really forcing you to face yourself. I'm all for making yourself uncomfortable to encourage growth both spiritually and mentally. I've found it builds character and forces you to look at everything in your life through a different lense so to speak. This prolonged running is something I'm going to look into. Thank you very much for sharing this and congrats on completing the run!!
good on you for adopting that "zero damage Policy" a lot of people wouldn't allow their ego to get the better of them. I know people who have pushed through that level of pain/damage and caused themselves long term injury, that takes a significant amount of time to recover from.
Your "scooping event" description is interesting.
It reminds me of accounts of ayahuasca that I have heard on podcasts.
Moments of introspection and self discovery brought on after trials and suffering.
Interesting stuff
I know them too, as a matter of fact, I've been one of them :)
Good to see you learning from past mistakes 😁
Congrats @dragosroua! You finished it without any damage, much better than the race in the UK this summer. Did you run with toes cut off from your shoe?
Interesting thing about the scooping event. I had something like that when I played water polo and between seasons we did some weeks with very long swims, like 10-15km in a training session.
Maybe it was a laptop compatible lemonade ;)
Thanks, yes I ran with the toebox cut off and it really worked out as expected. As for the damage, it was zero. Nada. Zilch. Much better than the race in UK, which, to be honest, was planned as a training event for this one.
Nice post.. zero damage!!! @wordsmith777
Have you tried listening to music or something else to divert your mind while running? I generally run alone but at public places so whenever I feel that I'm thinking about really unnecessary things like embarrassing stuff that happened years ago, I try to focus on other people walking/running.
I do a lot of stuff while running: I have a few podcasts that I juggle with based on how I feel and the moment of the race. But I also meditate a lot and when that "embarrassing stuff" emerges, I learned how to let it unfold, so I can heal the wounds it created.
its fantastic description about your entire journey, you have taken care nicely of your health during the marathon race, thanks.
A whole new world to me... I didn't know this sort of ultra-marathon event existed. Are there many people doing it?
Not too many. At this race there were 13, and at the previous one, in Athens, 12.
fantastic achievement @dragosroua, i am glad you finished your 2nd marathon successfully and with out injury that's great and i really like your tip while running that don't force yourself when you feel tired, i think this is great suggestion, every thing has a limit even a body parts foot legs also has limits if we use them with in limits we should feel good and also able to run more, have a very happy rest of the week end my friend and thanks for sharing.
its a great achievement,i am very glad for you my friend,i wish one day you will be top
The altered state of consciousness is fascinating. I only run 10ks (20k at max) so I've felt the endorphin buzz and the general glow of well-being it brings but never more than that. It almost makes me want to take up ultra-marathons to experience it. Almost, but not quite!