Now I know why I’m not an endurance athlete
It’s because I’m too introspective.
Introspection is a no-no for extreme athletes, according to this article on the subject.
Oh, there are a few other reasons, too. One is that I’m not crazy, and another is that I don’t like pain and when my body says “stop” I’m inclined to say “sure thing.”
Of course, blogging is a sort of marathon, and requires more than a little bit of OCD. But not like this:
Five weeks in [trying to set a new record for traversing the Appalachian Trail], [Jurek] was down more than a dozen pounds, and his ribs were visible. His eyes bulged, feral and unfocused. His body reeked of apple-cider vinegar as his sweat excreted excess ammonia. And his mind was beginning to crack. Late one night, he was mystified by the lights of a house he spotted on top of a mountain. A running partner had to explain that what he saw was the moon…
Just seven days into navigating the rocky, often rain-soaked path , Jurek was already overcome by doubt. In agony, one quadriceps torn and the kneecap on his other leg severely inflamed, he was overtaken by the demon that success had so long shielded him from: “Why was I even out here in the first place?” he asked, hobbling beneath a canopy of oak branches. A mantra favored by one of the many veteran ultra-runners who accompanied Jurek for parts of the trail provided his answer: “This is who I am, and this is what I do.”
In other words, don’t ask why. Breaking through his own limits makes Scott Jurek Scott Jurek, for whom the mantra served to help reaffirm the value of his long-guarded myopia. Damp and miserable in North Carolina, he wrapped athletic tape around his battered legs and limped onward.
He set a new record at 46 days, 8 hours, and 7 minutes, beating the old one by three hours. However, his record has since been broken twice.
To someone like Jurek, it matters very much who holds that record, and he held it for a little while. Plus, he knows he endured, he stayed the course, he accomplished what he set out to do despite enormous obstacles. That’s a personal achievement.
But to the rest of us, do we really care who is the record-holder, Jurek or somebody else?
I always wanted to hike the whole Appalachian Trail. Probably too old and too messed-up in the sense-of-balance department now.
If you haven’t read Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” — his hilarious, entirely shambolic attempt at the Appalachian Trail with a bizarre old friend — you’ve got a treat in store.
The movie, unfortunately, is not a patch on the book.
I managed to complete my first full marathon early this year so I like to think that I understand what makes Jurek tick. There are many things that make endurance running worth it. I like endurance training if nothing else for the satisfaction of knowing that I can endure and perform when most others cannot. I don’t have any first place medals and hold no records but I run anyway. No runners that I know (and I do know many elite and Olympic class athletes) are worried that anyone will know if we win anything. Most run for the love of it.
I personally feel good about myself after long runs. Many times I feel like h3ll while running but usually feel very good afterwards. While running I feel like my brain can go on autopilot and I find that I have greater clarity of thought. So believe me, I am introspective while running….I have to be to know when I am approaching my physical limits and if I can push past them. I do know that you have to shut off the part of you that keeps telling you to stop because that mental beating can start at the beginning of a run for very trivial things. You have to know when to really listen to that nagging (dare I say quitter) part of yourself and when to not.
Obsessives like Jurek ( not enough to do it, they must be the best) seek to convince themselves of their worth.
A lack of introspection guarantees that they fail to grasp that they have demonstrated to the more perceptive… just how insecure they really are but if Hemingway’s fate is any indication, even belated introspection can be fatal to that type of psyche.
Endurance athletics. It’s a thing.
There’s a peculiar exhilaration to reducing the world to just your pulse, breath, pumping limbs and sheer will. I loved it but I wasn’t good at it and I was prone to injuries.
My best was 10 miles in 76 minutes, which is nothing to serious runners, but I’m still proud of it.
ArmyMom: Congratulations on your marathon!
ArmyMom:
Congratulations also.
Those who don’t do the endurance sports haven’t a clue what goes through your mind during the event or during the long training required to complete such events (marathon and beyond). Speculaton from the armchair isn’t worth much.
Huxley – A 7:30 or so pace is outstanding!!
I am a very slow runner but am determined to get the distance done. I actually had terrible calf cramps at mile 16 and had to painfully walk 10 miles to the finish. Not the marathon that I had hoped for and pain was off the charts. Not sure how many times I cried during that long walk. But, I was GOING TO FINISH dang it!
I am going to sign up for another marathon to prove to myself that I can actually run the whole distance.
The “”endurance sports” seem yoga-like and “pure” from one angle — yet these people require invidious comparison between themselves and others for the fulfillment of their pleasure. So, there is a strong exhibitionistic element at play.
It’s not enough to just enjoy the experience. One must afterwards boast of one’s “time.” A long walk or run through the wilderness serves no purpose unless it conforms to some arbitrary ideal.
ArmyMom:
Good luck to you in training for the next one.
I had to walk in a marathon once also. I passed out at mile 22 running the Nappa Valley Marahon. Got right back up and walked it off, but whenever I tied to start “running” again, it felt kind of strange, (a.b. normal) and ended up walking in the last 4 miles to finish at 3:22, about 30 minutes slower than the prior year.
It’s funny. When I was young I was a star in, for one year, football, as well as baseball for several years. Now when I watch sports on television and become vicariously involved in a particular contest, I sometimes call out “Fuck yoo!” in joy if my team unexpectedly wins. (Supposedly my brain is experiencing a little jolt of dopamine as a result of my vicarious involvement in the spectacle meanwhile.)
This replicates exactly how I felt when I was a high school starting pitcher on the baseball and I struck out the side. The animal-like competitive ferocity was more or less unveiled.
In boxing what is going on is entirely naked. You cannot box without an opponent — whom you seek to destroy.
How different is Mike Tyson (at his best) from someone who wins a marathon?
They are races – timed, measured aginst a standard. The participants are in competition with the other entrants, or trying to better their own performance.
Does a author or artist pursue an ideal or goal or just do the minimum? Are they exhibitionists too?
Reminds me of the documentary “Ride the Divide.” It covers the annual mountain bike race from the Canadian boarder to the Mexican boarder along the Continental Divide.
It’s not a great documentary though it kept my interest. Some poor lady racer had severe inflammation of her leg muscles about 25% of the way through the race, yet she never quit.
TommyJay,
I saw a documentary on PBS a couple years ago about a group that hiked the Continental Divide Trail from New Mexico to Glacier. Took a few months and they were people of all ages and some had to quit due to injury. The doc was a little hokey at times but I had great admiration for these people.
Here’s some research on what western exercise does to people.
https://youtu.be/S-Pu7Mv-8Qo
Ever try, as a 15 year old, to spend 8 hours in the hay loft stacking 60 pound bales where the temperature is 110+ and the humidity is around 90%? You are soaked with sweat, chugging water, and covered in hay chaff, and there is still 5 more acres of alfalfa to go.
om – Sorry you passed out during your marathon. You are a super fast runner to have walked 4 miles and finished with a 7:45 average pace! And wow….your regular pace is about 6:30….man I would have to wear skates to even get near you for a few minutes. Have you ever run Boston and did you see the awful conditions this year? I have several friends who DNF Boston this year because of hypothermia. I never will make it to Boston since I am a 10-11 min pace runner. I am a proud Turtle runner. 🙂
ArmyMom:
I was younger then. I’m slower now.
I’ve never run Boston, but my older brother did, he was faster than me, now he’s into Tango dancing for fun and exercise(?). I did have finish time in 1990 at Napa Valley that was fast enough to qualify for Boston. All my marathons have been in CA or the northwest. I’m trying to get back in shape for another, as the last one was Portland in 2001.
Hypothermia, yep, that would do it to you.
Time files. Keep after it!
parker,
Now that’s a marathon…
ArmyMom, don’t worry, there are lots of people who run the Marathon here who don’t qualify for a number. For starters, there are the Reserves who start at 5am and do the course wearing 60 pound packs. They walk. Even if you don’t make it very far, so what! You’ve had fun. There are always lots of people and runners who straggle in all day long. The route is a party with the Wellesley girls handing out kisses (at least they used to) and the Boston College kids reviving the runners at the top of Heartbreak Hill. There are lots of vendors and families yelling encouragement to runners. I live close to HH and used to take my boys and their friends and lots of pocket change for goodies and balloons and junk food. Great fun.
And then there’s Boston, a beautiful old place with lots to see and do. Visit the USS Constitution, the oldest ship in the Navy. Wander around the North End and follow the Freedom Trail past the Old North Church, one if by land…, to Paul Revere’s House plus a ton of really good restaurants. Then follow it into Boston to see the places where the Revolution began.
Get off your feet and go on a whale watch, then follow it up with seafood straight off the docks at one of the many restaurants right on the harbor.
There’s lots more to Boston than getting out of breath and sweaty.
om,
Yes, artists and authors and most musicians are exhibitionists. Absolutely.
“Art for art’s sake,” no so much?
GB,
Manuel labor under adverse conditions is different than ‘working out’ or even runnining/jogging a marathon. I am not saying running a marathron is no big deal, it is a real accomplishment. Hard manuel labor is a horse of another color.
Jaurek also earns income from sponsors of products sold to trail runners and ultra runners. Being at the top of the game has monetary compensations.
It may be hard to make a living as the top player in Frisbee Golf? 🙂
I think it’s an entirely personal thing. Some folks have the bug, others do not. Neither side can likely understand the other.
I read David Epstein’s, “The Sports Gene” and one chapter (I’m fairly certain it was chapter 14) gave me insight into this. The chapter begins with the story of a woman who simply must move, nearly all day long. The chapter gives other examples of such people, many of them athletes to some extent and I saw myself in the description. I don’t have the traits of ADD or ADHD at all, but I loathe sitting still and love to be active, preferably sweating to the point of exhaustion. It’s simply how I’m wired and it’s likely genetic.
Like all human traits there are almost certainly many reasons some folks choose to subject their bodies to tests of endurance. No matter what my tempo or pace I always find it interesting to learn what I am capable of, although I am critical of people who take it to the point of selfishness or a high risk of harm.