You know what I do when I can't run? I think about running. I read about running. I dream about running (yeah, ok, so I sleep too, and I work and I read books and I do other sports. YOU'RE MISSING THE POINT).
So when I'm kind of ill, like I am now, I miss running and, like an alcoholic that doesn't have access to a real drink and has to resort to sucking on hand antiseptics to get his fix, I make do with reading about other people's running. Big mistake. Because, while I'm busy being kind of ill, people everywhere are busy logging kilometres and getting better and better. And some people are really good.
Quite obviously, while I slept or worked or did any of those other things last year, those people were out running. You know, those people. Those ultra running types. The real ultra runners, not the fake wannabes like me wasting time on trivial things like sleep. Those people logged crazy distances in 2011. Some had run 5000, others 6000, and some over 7000 km. I wonder when they even have time to actually log these kilometres in their diaries. Do they do it while they're actually running?
So when I'm kind of ill, like I am now, I miss running and, like an alcoholic that doesn't have access to a real drink and has to resort to sucking on hand antiseptics to get his fix, I make do with reading about other people's running. Big mistake. Because, while I'm busy being kind of ill, people everywhere are busy logging kilometres and getting better and better. And some people are really good.
Quite obviously, while I slept or worked or did any of those other things last year, those people were out running. You know, those people. Those ultra running types. The real ultra runners, not the fake wannabes like me wasting time on trivial things like sleep. Those people logged crazy distances in 2011. Some had run 5000, others 6000, and some over 7000 km. I wonder when they even have time to actually log these kilometres in their diaries. Do they do it while they're actually running?
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| Memories of August's ultra session |
I'm trying really hard not to compare myself with others here. Because, after all, I love running no matter what the distance, even if I prefer the longer ones. It doesn't really matter what the total adds up to at the end of the year, as long as there is a progress from one year to the next. But I can't help wondering if that's what it takes to run ultras. Is that how much work you have to put in to become good? And by good I don't mean win events, of course. I mean just being able to survive an ultra without inflicting permanent damage to your body. Is that how many kilometres you have to put in in order to be able to call yourself an ultra runner in good conscience?
As much as I love running, I have no intention of spending all my free time doing it. So where does that leave a wannabe ultra runner like myself? Is it a question of patiently climbing the ultra distance ladder? Or can I only ever run ”shorter” ultras?
I really need to stop reading about running and go for a run instead.
As much as I love running, I have no intention of spending all my free time doing it. So where does that leave a wannabe ultra runner like myself? Is it a question of patiently climbing the ultra distance ladder? Or can I only ever run ”shorter” ultras?
I really need to stop reading about running and go for a run instead.
Dessa ultras är helt klart bättre än vad jag var idag... Vilken seg dag. Fick ihop mina 8.5 km, men det var bara pannben :D
ReplyDeletesv: Brödet är jobbigt gott. Jag måste helt enkelt baka det själv.
sv: Nej, vad som helst då det gäller bilder :)
ReplyDeleteOch ja, visst är det bra att bygga pannben. Sista uppförsbacken grät jag nästan i. Det gick inte snabbt kan jag säga. Kanske hade gått snabbare att gå, men jag sprang (om man kan kalla det springa)