What are you doing to test your limits?

While I was reading a blog that I have been following for quite some time I came across a blog entry that I had to share with everyone. First, here's some background. The blog's author, David Goggins, joined the military at 290 lbs. and eventually became a Navy Seal. He wanted to find a way to raise money for the children of other Navy Seals who had been killed in a mission that went bad in Afghanistan after 9/11. He chose to do it by running ultramarathons (any race longer than 26.2 miles). His resume is quite impressive. Check out this video and you'll get a taste of what this guy is made of. I mean, just imagine yourself running the Badwater Ultramarathon, "the world's toughest footrace", starting at Badwater Basin in Death Valley and finishing 135 miles away at Mount Whitney. And to top it all off, elevation at the start of the race is about 280 feet below sea level and rises to about 8400 feet above sea level. So, to put that into perspective, that's like climbing about 1.6 miles!

Anyway , David Goggins was recently diagnosed with an atrial septal defect. Basically, this guys has been doing all of these races with a congenital heart defect all along. David recently had surgery to repair the defect but has had some complications which have put his endurance sports career in jeopardy. His most recent blog post was extremely inspiring for a beginner endurance athlete like myself. Now, I doubt I'll ever do anything like David Goggins, but you never know.


Anyway, on to a quote from his post.....

".....One thing that always comes back to my mind that I am going to share with you is this..... What good does all of this actually do. What does running ultras, biking, lifting, etc. What does it do for you? Where does it get you? For me, the answer is this. It's not about what you do in life. It is about what you don't do. The truth is running has not gotten me anywhere in life. I don't enjoy it. I hate it really. It certainly hasn't made an income for my family. And it definitely takes up a lot of my spare time. So why do it then? Because I can. When I was running 100 mile races back to back weekends, people never understood. They thought I was crazy. They told me how injured I was going to get. But I didn't care. I still don't. Tomorrow is never promised to you. If I looked back on those times now and didn't do the Plain 100 because it was to soon after my other race, I would kick myself. Now I can look back and say. I'm glad that I did what I did when I could. I am not saying that this is how everybody should be. What I am saying is that I believe everybody should push themselves to their limit. Whether it be in life or in sport. If not, you will wake up one day and your limits will have been determined by other factors. Health, family, work, etc. Why you have it in your power to do something, do it. Don't wait until that opportunity gets taken from you. I know I'm not."

Those are powerful words from a man who can look back without regret and say he did it while he could. So now I ask you this.....are you testing your limits? I haven't tested mine either....YET!

Speaking of limits, I just ordered a book called Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner written by Dean Karnazes. If you ever get a chance to check out what this guy has accomplished, you should! Amazing!.....50 marathons in 50 states in 50 days, 350 miles in 80 hours and 44 minutes without stopping, single-handedly completed the 199-mile Saturn Relay six times, 148 miles in 24 hours on a treadmill, winner of the Providian Badwater Ultramarathon in 2004... I can't wait to read his book and find out what goes through a man's mind at mile 100 of a 199-mile race!

So, on to my training update. Overall, training went well last week. I had a couple of really good bike rides. I had one bad and one good swim. I think I am going to be adding another swim to my weekly workouts (somehow) because it is clearly my weakness! The runs went OK, but the heart rate issue that I struggle with incessantly is really going to be the limiting factor in improving at running. It doesn't take much time or effort for my heart rate to get far over my recommended aerobic maximum. The plan for this week is as follows:

Monday..........16 minute swim, 30 minute bike trainer ride
Tuesday.........Rest Day
Wednesday....29 minute swim
Thursday.......20 minute run
Friday.............58 minute bike ride (hopefully outside for once!)
Saturday........Rest Day (extra swim workout??)
Sunday...........26 minute run

You are probably wondering why such weird times for my workouts. Why not certain distances? Well, the training plan I chose is based on time and time increases every week by about 10% (except every 4th week is a recovery week). Most of the reading I have done suggests that this is a healthy amount when trying to increase workout volume and avoid injury. I am just trying to make sure I make it to the starting line!

Lastly, I need to give credit to my wife, Amanda, for putting up with me while I'm taking this journey. It requires some commitment (and tolerance) from her and I appreciate her for giving it to me.