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Week 25: Constantly Moving the Goalposts on Happiness and Fulfillment
Welcome new subscribers and welcome back old friends!
Last week I was still licking my wounds from the ultramarathon, but now we’re back in the saddle!
4 weeks until the next one!
Enough with the exclamation points!
And here we go!
Leadership
I got my first work kudos of 2023 on December 28th.
I’m not complaining, my parents were great growing up, so I don’t need validation from my boss. Except, you know, when it comes to keeping my job and stuff.
My team had a great year despite challenges, and it was a great few days of basking in that glory.
Except in sales, the scoreboard goes back to zero at the end of the month and year.
And like most things, when you have a good year, expectations rise. Greater results are demanded while fewer resources are given. It’s a “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” kind of world.
And it’s not the worst problem to have.
It means last year was chock full of progress and learning, that elusive sacred ground.
Rising expectations also mean another chance to level up.
Progress. Not perfection.
Philosophical Dad Stuff
Mommy got back from Spain, and all was well again.
It seemed like a lot happened since she’d left. The youngest is about done with potty training. The oldest got a great report card. I became an ultramarathoner.
And all weekend, the boys snuggled up with their mother, just as it should be.
They went sledding in the snow. They watched movies. They ate popcorn.
I smiled a lot as I watched them.
Despite the challenges that pop up from striving for more in our lives, it was a reminder that it’s all more than enough.
I kept thinking how lucky we were. All too soon, those kids will be too cool for school. We’ll be annoying and bothersome instead of the sun and stars of their lives. They soon won’t give one iota whether our attention is given to our phones, instead of them.
And we’ll then realize that we miss it so much; that it all happened so fast.
Enjoy this ride.
It might just be over before you know it.
Couch to Ultramarathon…and Beyond
Like Forrest Gump, I guess I’ll just keep running…
With more time to reflect on my experiences in the cold last week, the true learning is now beginning to be apparent.
And with it, the fear.
I now know what that takes. The “lowest” viable ultra distance.
And I’ve already signed up for twice that distance and four times the elevation in the Fall.
A singular thought rattles in my brain when I think about this, “How in the heck am I supposed to do that?”
Then again, with even one long, cold day in the woods, I now know how to better prepare.
You can read all the articles and watch all the how-to videos in the world, but until you get in the arena, it’s all pointless speculation.
I now know I need to up the volume in the hills, get off the road and on the trails, through rough terrain and away from the beaten paths.
I have to execute better when it comes to nutrition, diet, and hydration.
I have to come up with better contingency plans.
I have to get stronger in the weight room. Running is good, but I’m still too weak to handle the increased demands on my body.
I have to be more mindful of rest, recovery, and sleep.
And I have to subjugate a stupid ego that takes over when “race day” is here and makes me do idiotic things. I was usually better prepared for 10-mile training runs than I was for a 50k at 7 degrees in the woods in every way except clothing.
How that happened is absolutely baffling to me.
But in the end, I made terrible decisions and still finished. This also gives me some confidence because then you start thinking, well what if I get it right? Then what could I do?
Maybe 100k is doable after all.
Once again, I’m pretty sure there’s only one way to find out.
“Life affords no higher pleasure than that of surmounting difficulties, passing from one step to another, forming new wishes and seeing them gratified.” - Dr. Samuel Johnson
Live triumphantly. See you next week.