what's the problem

I always joke that my foray into the ultra trail running space started at urgent care...

I was hooked up to a saline drip, nursing a bag of doritos in a small town i barely made it to consciously, and couldn’t help but think: this could be better. i had finished the first trail running race i had ever signed up for - a 27K on a mountain town ski hill - going full send on a hot summer day, all in the name of training for a hefty backpacking trip (the goal i actually cared about at the time). before my body crashed on the journey home, i remember thinking, this trail running thing is pretty cool. you could say i was in the trail-running-curious camp. but after urgent care... well maybe give me a couple days but eventually...my mindset shifted.
challenge accepted.

i reflect back on that now, as i sit in “race week” of the first event i will bib up for this season, a 50k. where i sit now, the 50k is actually just a training run for the big goal of the year - my first 50 miler.
yeah i know, that escalated quickly.

and yet, the things i think about and am trying now are simply small steps down a long path in the same direction. wrapping my head around a 50k, and ultimately a 50 mile day on trail, comes from many days and many iterations of 5k’s and many, “just a little further” moments. having the confidence to do 50 miles may in part be simply the confidence to run 1 mile, 50 times.

diving into the headspace, a mantra i have been practicing is, “this could get better.” long days on trail are actually many highs and lows all in one, so the minute my legs start fading under me or i feel tired - the story doesn’t have to be, “welp, i’m done, not strong enough today.” but maybe - could this be better?

i am learning to build the rapport with myself that i’ve been here before, and i’ve solved this before. if we solved the smallest unit version of this, maybe the larger doesn’t happen, or maybe once we’re there, we have the tools we need to solve that version...when we get there. i won't be ready to run mile 47 until i've covered the 46 miles before.

i’ve learned the easiest way to prevent big problems is to solve small ones often.

headache coming on? drink up and salt up.
legs feeling like jell-o? slow down and carb up.
feeling strains or niggles? pause and stretch.

adjusting my pace to pay attention to the cues, and then addressing them accordingly. because if current results are not optimal, i must need a change in inputs. and with a change in inputs - this could get better. now the posture can be forward leaning, looking and waiting for that come-back, versus, slowing down, looking for the excuse to call it quits. because our brains are always looking for confirmation of our narratives.

and breaking it down even smaller - problem solving is a lot easier after proper problem defining. and problem defining is easier before there are too many variables at play.

first notice.
then define.
assess options.
take steps.
all easier at early stages with small stakes.

“You don't become confident by shouting affirmations in the mirror, but by having a stack of undeniable proof that you are who you say you are.” - Alex Hormozi

another side-effect of solving small problems while they are still small is that i get to slowly and steadily build evidence for myself that i am a problem solver. my rap sheet says, i’ve been here before, and we made it through - it got better. i either conquered or i learned. i won or i grew.

“Getting better at anything is like building a mountain, one layer of paint at a time”. - Joe Rogan

so what drew me to more after i picked my blood-sodium levels out of the gutter and shuffled out of urgent care? i think part of me was curious whether i could uncover the small problems that led to this big problem...solve the puzzle of carrying my feet further and further, stretch my limits mentally and physically, one small step at a time, building an undeniable stack of proof.