Friday, May 14, 2010

The Bright Side of Ultra Running

Back in February, I did a post called "The Dark Side of Ultra Running" where I empathized what KG went through at RR 100.

I guess the "kids" at Letsrun.com had fun with it and kind of poked fun at us. They said "Is there a bright side to Ultra running?" I am not sure if it was the moderators, but I hear that site thinks ultra runners are just slow.

So this week is the perfect week to respond with "The Bright Side"

I had a bad week.

Those of you who know about the looming dark cloud which has been hanging over my head for the last 6 months know what I am referring to. It did not work out the way I had hoped.

But the events of this week are met with the same mentality I had at mile 20 last weekend, and mile 70 at Superior 2 years ago. I actually take on the persona of Al Pacino at the end of Scarface and yell "I'm still standing" as he has a handful of bullets in him.

Ultra Running has taught me to hand difficult situations a lot easier than I used to.

I was with a distributor on Wed when the bad news came down, and he said "damn, you are taking this well". I said, "This aint' nothing, try getting through Crosby Manitou at 3 am when you are at the end of your rope".

So, I actually feel a giant weight has been lifted.

Being tuff, handling adversity, daring to go big and take risks professionally and personally.

That, my friends, is the Bright Side of Ultra Running

8 comments:

SteveQ said...

Crap. Been a rough time lately on and off the trail for you, but you'll tough it out.

Time for me to "go big." See ya on the trails soon.

Steve said...

Sorry to hear the bad news, Matt. I've been there myself, and it was a relief to get the inevitable over with and move on. You are one tough mutha, so I'm not worried about you getting through this. Enjoy the "down time", relax, rest, recover, and reload. Savor the extra time you will have with your family for a while. Take care, bud, and see ya on the trails sometime soon!

Julie said...

Hi Matt,
It sounds like you are going through some bumps in the road. I am sorry to hear about your sad/bad news. I hope that your days will brighten up soon:) Take care of yourself.

Helen said...

That's too bad Matt. I'm sure you'd get an interesting reaction to the Crosy Manitou comment! Hope things start to look up soon.

Anonymous said...

Hang in there Matt.

Christine

Psyche said...

I agree with Steve, you are one tough mutha, and you'll get through this rough patch.

As in running, remember- it never always just gets worse:)

Also- Even though I've never met you, I draw both inspiration and strength from you through your blog and kind words. Thank you for that.

Dave said...

I am thinking about you. Now is the time to step back and reassess where you are and need to go in the future. Introspection is easier when you are out of the battle. You will find where you need to go and get reenergised!

nwgdc said...

I hope things are looking up and going better! I always enjoy your insight and posts, so come back soon!