Day 73 : Enjoy the Pain

Enjoy the Pain
By David Goggins

A lot of people think that I have been running my whole life. The fact is that I hadn't even ran a marathon until November 2005. I came off of a deployment from Iraq and I heard that several SEAL/s had been killed in a combat situation. I wanted to do something to raise money for their families.

Being a SEAL, I knew that selling hot dogs and having a bake sale wouldn't do it. So, I googled the 10 hardest events in the world and the Badwater 135 came up. I called the race director and explained the situation. He was somewhat amused that I had never even ran a marathon and wanted to attempt one of the hardest foot races in the world.

After talking with him he made it very clear that this race wasn't to be taken lightly and that I would have to qualify in order to participate in the race. I had to qualify by running 100 miles in 24 hours. It just so happened that there was a race in San Diego the following weekend. It was a 24 hour race where your run straight for 24 hours around a 1 mile track.

So, six days later my wife and I grabbed a lawn chair, lunch box cooler, Myoplex, and Ritz Crackers to take to the race. That's right... only those items. Also keep in mind that I weighed a lot at the time.

I took off running and felt good for about 70 miles. Then I stopped to take a break. That was the first problem....I sat down in the lawn chair and my blood pressure went crazy due to poor nutrition. I sat there for about 10 minutes and I had to go to the bathroom really bad. When I attempted to stand, I quickly realized how bad of shape I was really in. I was so dizzy that I couldn't stand for a second. So, after retaking my seat in the chair I looked at my wife and told her that I had to go to the bathroom. She looked at me confused. So, I told her more clearly... "I'm going to take a s*** on myself in this chair."

And so I did...

I then saw the blood running down my leg when I urinated.
My wife being a nurse informed me that my kidney's were shutting down and that I needed to go to the hospital. I told her that I had 30 miles left. She helped me up and we started walking around the track at a 35 minute mile pace. I asked her If I would complete the 100 miles in 24 hours at this pace and she said no. So, I did what I had to do and some how by the grace of God started running again. I completed 101 miles in just under 19 hours. I had broken all the small bones in my feet and my kidneys were failing.

My wife drove the car onto the race course and put me into the back of the car. We live on the second floor of an apartment complex and we had to somehow get up the stairs. So, I draped my arms around her neck from behind and she had to practically drag me up the stairs. After she put me in the shower and she saw that I was urinating dark dirt brown, she begged me once again to go to the hospital. I looked her in the eye and said...

"Just let me enjoy this pain I'm in."

And I did. I enjoyed how hard I had just pushed myself and I wanted to feel every bit of that.

Day 72: Running in the Rain

Some hate it. I like it. The rain brings a tranquility to a run. I pull the headphones out and listen to the rain hit the ground. Some have said to me that they hate it because they get wet. I don't mind it.

I definately layer up if its cold. UnderArmour and a rain layer usually allows me to stay warm. The reality is there will come a time when you have registered for a race and it will rain that day. Then what?

You definately don't pull out of the race. Do you? But if you have never made peace with the rain, you won't enjoy the run.

Consider the alternative...the heat in July.

Your call..heat or rain.

I'll take the rain.

Jas

Day 71: Taboo Tuesday: Chaffing

Running along, I could feel my UnderArmour under shorts rubbing oddly on my inner thigh. I know, taboo topic. Yet, I could feel the hot spot of chaffing starting to occur. And at some point it will happen to you.

This past weekend, I was approaching my Mile 2 of Way Too Cool 50k. Down a steep grade, each runner waited patiently to cross a rushing creek. Knee deep run-off was freezing and splashing. The next 28+ miles would be ran in sloshing shoes, wet shorts, and an anxiety riddled question that kept bouncing in my mind "how many creek crossings would there be?"

The bigger question was actually, "will I be running in wet clothes all day?" Yet digging deeper was I was really asking, "will I blister and chaffe on my feet, legs, thighs, etc?"

I know taboo to talk about.

Chaffing is the skin's natural reaction to prolonged exposure to surface irritation such as friction and/or pressure. Typically, chaffing can be caused by a variety of normal activities and should not be cause for concern unless it is extremely severe. We have many layers of skin, and while our cells regenerate and repair themselves over time, chaffing can occur over the space of a day, or even hours. Add moisture from creek crossings and you are in for a long day.

Chaffing can be brutal. (Not for the faint hearted. This is a Western States Runner's Chaffing.)

So how to fix it.

1. Don't cross the creek.
That is not an option but often you can follow a path that others won't look for and move up or down creek a bit and often find a place that is a little more shallow. Stay dry above your waist at all cost.

2. Carrying a dry pair of socks?
If it were only one crossing, perhaps. However, by race ending, we had crossed at least ten creeks...or it seemed. If running in dry shoes is not an option, prepare to doctor blisters on the fly. Two things we can talk about later....blister care and dry fit socks.

NEVER WEAR COTTON SOCKS. COTTON IS ROTTEN.

3. Carry a Glide Stick.
Perferred is Body Glide.
Body Glide is the best remedy for chaffing and possibly blistering.

Regardless, just keep running.


jas

Day 70: Post Race Recovery

For many runners, today represents the day after the big race. Locally, here in Sacramento, many of our Be Change runners ran Saturday in the Way Too Cool 50k. Yesterday, a whole slew of runners ran the Shamrock Half Marathon.

Regardless of distance, anything over a half marathon requires some recovery strategy. Sedentary post race sulking won’t get work. All of the below are under the assumption, you iced quickly post race. (IE: Ice Bath, Acute Ice Stick, Ice Packs, etc)



Here are three tips to consider.

1. Assess Your Body
Seated or standing flew your lower body. Flexing your legs and buttocks will help identify areas of soreness. Ice there again. An ice bath on Day 2 post run will help lessen any stored up swelling.

2. Run ASAP
Your body wants to sit around, but your legs need to get moving. Ironically, the only things that will make your body feel better is a run, or should I say, some type of movement. Lactic acid has built up in the muscles and movement causes blood flow to increase to the muscles that are broken down. A blood rush will flush the lactic acid into the circulatory system and help minimize soreness. Get moving. Two miles slow that mix jog, walk, jog.

3. Search Out Your Next Race
To avoid post-race mental meltdown, start searching for your next race. Get online and register for something of equal or longer distance in the next 30 days. Yes its possible. Continue to build on your running plan. Take the distance you ran and insert that into an equivalent running plan that has that distance as the long training run. If you did a half marathon, use the 13 as the long run of an 18 week training plan for a 26 miler. If you did a 50k, that was a 31 mile training run as you ramp up for a 50 miler.

Remember the best is yet to come.

Recap: Ice, Assess, Run, Register, Repeat.


JAS

Day 68: Race Day

Its a great day for a 50K. The Way Too Cool 50 in an incredible race that occurs just a few miles from where I live (15ish). Its the closest race and I love the fact that I get to be home afterwards.

Yesterday I posted some pre-race thoughts. After talking to a friend, they had pointed out I over looked the most obvious. What do you do when race morning comes and you feelings are engulfed by thoughts of insecurities. Those thoughts can strangle a great day.

THOUGHTS

1. "I am not ready"
Trust your training. The mind is already trying to throw a mutiny by shaking the hours and miles of faithful training. Remedy is to go back and replay the days you ran and didnt want to. Remember the days you ran fast and personal bests were shattered on days you werent trying to go fast or far. You are ready.

2. "I may want to quit"
Of course you will. Your running far. Your mind will want to quit but your will is stronger than your mind.

3. "My training was insufficient"
Your training won't cripple you. Your thoughts will. Most of the time, people go into races having overtraining or they are too tired. For the desire to get a little bit more training, they ignored the proper taper and ran to much in the days leading up to race day. The body holds on to endurance as does the mind. The worst possible deficiency is going in to race stressed.

4. "What if I feel crappy?"
Chances are the first few miles will feel like garbage. Its your nerves that make you feel like crap. Settle down. Settle in. Embrace the pain. Run to gain.

Gain greater depth.
Gain greater perspective.
Gain greater hope.
Gain greater strength.
Gain greater confidence.
Gain greater control over your mind through your will.

Now go.

JAS

Day 67: Pre-Race Calm

Tomorrow, Saturday, at 8AM is the start of the Way Too Cool 50K. After being on the waiting list, I got in. I am stoked that so many of my friends are running it. Be Change will have 10 registered runners, people in the aid stations and folks at the finish line.

On the day before the race, if I don't guard my heart and mind, I can get stressed and filled with anxiety. Yet, if methodically, I process my thoughts and keep the right perspective, I remain calm and I am able to fully absorb the race and its value.

Here are the four key anchors that I rehearse in my mind.

1. Ignore the Phantom Pains
On the days and hours leading up to the start, your body will have twitches and aches that are non threatening and often imagined to be worst than they are. Known as phantom pains, they are real feelings amplified by anxiety. Give them ZERO VALUE.

2. Race Against Yourself, Dominate
Lining up at race, I sometimes head to the back of the pack in the starting shoot. Dead last. In that, I relieve the pressure of being hunted and become the hunter. One by one, I can chase the person ahead of me. Doing this, its allows me to race against myself and my close the distance on my terms. I am not a runner. Sometimes I am a jogger, mostly I am a plodder. If I set my goals and pursue them, then I win regardless of the outcome.

3. Set and Chase Micro Goals
I choose to look at the race as a series of smaller goals. First goal it getting up on race day morning. Then getting checked in. Then to start and then through the first mile. By the time my nerves settle at mile 4 or 5, I have already had 6 or 7 wins. These small wins linked together give me a the confidence to keep moving forward. Late in the game, when I am feeling tore up and exhaustion is strangling each breathe, a win or an accomplished micro goal can be the next step.

4. Finish
Although I seek to do the race in the smallest amount of time, that is secondary to the overall experience of the race. If for some reason, medical, cramping, or just plain old "This Day Sucks" cover the distance by readjusting your time goals to be a few seconds faster than finish.

DFL is better than DNF. DNF is better than DNS.
(For newer racers: Dead Freakin Last is better than Did Not Finish. Did Not Finish is better than Did Not Start.)

Now, run, jog, or walk. Just move.

Whether 5 Steps, 5K, 50K, or 50M and beyond...

Jas

Photo: At Mile 46 of 52 on the Double California International Marathon

Day 66: Get To It

"We are now faced with the fact, my friends, that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there is such a thing as being too late. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. The tide in the affairs of men does not remain at flood -- it ebbs. We may cry out desperately for time to pause in her passage, but time is adamant to every plea and rushes on. Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, "Too late."

- Martin Luther King

Day 64: Taboo Tuesday:Rotting Clothes

Amazing enough, but occasionally, you hit the trail with a group of guys. They are your buddies and they are runners. But as you head down the trail, the smell invades you. You pause and try to hold your breath, but its impossible to do that and succeed while running. At first you think the rot smell is someone having ripped off some gas. But as the yards turns to miles, the smell is constant.

Arriving at the out and back turn around, you each pause for a moment. And what you thought was a fleeting passing smell is actually a lingering smell hanging off of one of the guys, choking all who are around.

Its always a guy. Never a woman. But why?

Because realize the need to wash the running gear daily. But guys, no. They will peel the clothes off and throw them in the corner and wear them for each of their five weekly runs. By day two, they are ghastly. Buy day four, ghostly. By day five, deadly.

Taboo Tuesday talks about remedies. From "runner's tummy" to bloody nipples, solutions are offered.

The same is true today. Regular Tide may not work. Once the funk has set in, it is steeped in the clothes...

HERE IS YOUR SOLUTION

If you see people running far from you, take a whiff.

JAS

Day 63: Running Tough

At times, repetition can be an enemy. The same running routine over and over can cause boredom. When I am bored, I shut down. For those that enjoy running and are beyond the basic entry level, here is a resource that can help mix it up.

Jump on Amazon and pick it up. If your happy with your current running routes, stick with it! You are doing great! Keep it up.

Today, run.

JAS

"If I look at the mass, I will never act. If i look at the one, I will." -Mother Theresa. #bechange

Day 58: Mind Tool: Adversity

I can here the rain pelting the roof. I know the trail awaits me. Mud. Wet. Cold. It is one of those mornings that running is difficult. My mind says "postpone til the sun comes up." The reality is that its usually the rain that slows me.

Cold, you layer up and can run warm most of the time. But with rain and cold, you are drenched within minutes. Then for the rest to the run, you slosh and slip.

The reality is that your next race day could be in the rain. I've never met a runner who showed up at a race and said, "Though I have trained for 18 weeks, its drizzling to I am going to sit this one out." I am sure its happened. But, really?

The rain is there and so is the run. Unless we have practiced adversity, we wont be willing to dance with it on race day. Embrace the rain, the sloshing, the mud, the cold. Know that every step in your soaked shoes is a step further the day it rains on your race. Adversity amidst the cold. Adversity amidst the rain. Aversity amidst the run.

Now, listen the rain outside. Its calling your name. Listen to the frost covered fields where you live. The sub-zero temps have showed up and want to pick a fight with you. The bookys are betting you will call the run off.




Lace up. Line up. Live.

Jas

Day 57: Taboo Tuesday: Bloody Nipples

Guys forsure dont want to talk about it. But if not careful, it will cause pain and uncomfort. Nipples, rubbed raw from shirt contact can distract runners from a great finish.

Causes of Bloody Nipples:When men run, their nipples are constantly rubbing against their shirt. Over the course of a run (especially a long one), this sensitive area can be rubbed to the point of bleeding. It most frequently happens when a man runs in a cotton shirt because the rough material rubs the nipples raw. Because women wear tight-fitting sports bras, this shouldn't be an issue for them.

Prevention of Bloody Nipples:Some men learn the hard way how painful it can be, but it's actually very easy to avoid that problem. Generously apply a lubricant like Vaseline or Body Glide to the nipple area before a long run and you should be fine. Some men will also wear products such as Nip Guards or Band-aids to protect the nipples. Also, for longer runs, make sure that you wear a synthetic-material (Dri-Fit, not cotton) shirt closest to your body. Cotton shirts will cause chafing. Women should make sure their sports bras are not cotton.

Without Body Glide used, the solutions become more extreme to obtain comfort.



Spare us all. Use Body Glide or wear Under Armour.