LIFE LESSON: GOAL SETTING - LIVING LIFE IN TIMES OF THE UNKNOWN
©Nicki Lange
One cannot deny that it has been a year filled with plenty of ups and downs, and a need to adjust, requiring patience, while facing the unknown. I began to note a number of similarities between running an ultra-marathon and living life amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It has become clear to me that having a defined goal, offers purpose and direction, while navigating towards an unknown future.
I left 2019 behind with a 100K run on a treadmill, little did I know that a few months later, social distance was the new normal and all of my races would have been cancelled. I was supposed to run the Paris Half-Marathon at the beginning of March. At that time, Coronavirus was only starting to sneak into Europe, yet it seemed far away. I had picked-up my bib number and prepared for race day, when I received a notification about the cancellation of the event in the evening. At that time, face masks had not been a part of our daily outfit and no-one could have foreseen that a couple of days later we would go into lock-down.
While isolation at home offered us time to reflect about our lives, as well as reconnect with friends and family via Zoom, many also found joy in physical exercise. Digital fitness has been experiencing tremendous growth in recent months. Out-of-studio experiences and connected devices, such as Peloton and Mirror, have been gaining traction and influencers became your personal trainer, offering fitness classes via Instagram and YouTube, pushing you towards your goal of being fit and healthy. Yet, given the uncertainties around Coronavirus that remain to exist, race after race continuous to be called off until today. In my case, it started with The Speed Project in March and continued with the Mozart 100 as well as Oman by UTMB. With that being said, I do wonder whether it is safer to play football, celebrating goals and sharing a locker room, cycling in a peloton around France, or running solo across mountains in the wild?
I run 100 kilometer around Englisher Garter in Munich by myself as well as participated in a variety of virtual races, which had been put in place to imitate the experience and connecting us with like-minded individuals across the globe. I took part in Scotty Hawker’s Run At Home Run As One challenge, as well as I run the virtual edition of the Seawheeze Half Marathon, which I had already run last year.
Nils, Blue, Scotty and the almighty team at The Speed Project, set up what must have been the most insane virtual race to date. TSP DIY blew my mind away, as I was hooked to my screen throughout the event, following a bunch of renegades all over the world running for more than 31 hours. I was hoping to be able to head out on a solo adventure, but early on I had to accept that my stress fracture would require more time to heal, so that I could only log a few kilometers on Saturday and Sunday morning.
I had put my hopes on Camí de Cavalls, which was supposed to be an epic ultra trail around the entire island of Menorca. The team behind the race kept our hopes up high until the end, but eventually also had to give in to COVID-19. I was hoping to re-qualify for Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc in 2021, instead with no feasible alternatives in-sight, I have to accept that it will be a year without racing and I have to postpone my goal at least until 2022. Nevertheless, given that I have only recently started to recover from my injury, I must admit that running 180 kilometer would have proven to be a big challenge. Only today did I run continuously for more than ten kilometer for the first time, participating in Keller Sports’ 21K challenge. I guess that I have become accustomed to these virtual events, offering additional motivations to go out for a run. Although I am still working to get back my fitness, I felt good throughout the run, completing the distance in 1:50 hours.
Time has flown past us like a 100-meter sprint as we are running towards the end of the year. During the last months, I have often felt like a headless chicken wondering around, being stuck in my thoughts, not knowing what the future will bring. The main difference between COVID-19 and an ultra-marathon is that an end is not in sight, so it does feel like a never-ending treadmill. Before I enter a race, I do not know what awaits me, yet I know that there is a finish line, or a cut-off time that determines the end of the race. The latter is what you do not want to consider as your way to end a race, but I had to experience twice at Ultra-Trail Du Mont Blanc in 2018 and 2019.
As much as I have learned to be patient, I have really struggled with facing the unknown during these days on all levels in life. Normally, I always find a way and discover a solution to an issue. I am leaving no stone unturned, until I get what I desire. Some say I am stubborn, but at last, I can prove them wrong with a result in the end. Besides, it did not help that my regular outlet to collect my thoughts had been taken away due to an injury. Going into lock-down, I collected more than 100 kilometer week-after-after, before being stopped by a stress fracture in my left foot. It took a few days, before I was able to see the positive, shifting my focus on strength training, which is I have neglected in recent years, due to limited time and a sole focus on running.
I understand that my feelings are relative in regards to much bigger issues that our society is facing today, but in my own little world, the last few months have been tough. With this in mind, I only recently re-discovered the importance of setting a goal. Ever since I witnessed the start of the UTMB in 2015, I carry that dream of finishing that course with me. One may say that I have become obsessed with the idea of running around Mont Blanc, yet, whenever I train, or struggle to do so, my mind envisions crossing the finish line in Chamonix. UTMB provides an answer to “why” I train and in times of uncertainly, having a clearly defined purpose, offers motivation and a direction to run towards.
With the 2020 NBA Finals about to take place, no day passes without the mention of the great Kobe Bryant. Kobe had the highest standard of work ethic. From shootarounds after games to grueling training regimes, there was nothing he would not do to strive to get better every single day. After all, getting better can mean just about anything, it is not only about that one big goal, but about feeling more accomplished today than yesterday. Like all things in life, success is just a factor of compounding little things and achieving little goals incrementally. The mountain is a blur if you stare at it as you climb. It only makes sense from further out during the process. Having a goal in mind, allows you being comfortable with the uncomfortable, and pushing onward, appreciating the journey.
Controlling the variables that lie in our hands, while accepting the variables that we cannot direct, may be easier said than done, but remains the only way to keep your mind at peace in times of uncertainty. John Wooden, one of basketball’s finest coaches, once said: “The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.” Work ethic, patience and faith in the journey, are the things that we can call certain in our lives, while staying positive and know that everything else will follow. I finished my run with a smile, knowing that I got just a little better today, moving one step closer towards Mont Blanc.