This weekend my godson ran in a 100 mile trail race in Dubuque, Iowa and Dr. Jean and I decided to drive down Friday night to cheer him on. We arrived around 7:30 pm and Luke would be coming through his 3rd of 5 laps at about 8 pm. After the runners ran the first 60 miles, pacers (people running along side) were allowed.

I hurried up and got ready when I found I could run with him. I figured I could keep him company for a couple miles until his younger brother joined him at mile 80.  When I told him that I would run with him, he replied, “but you hate to run!” Even though it’s true, I love that young man and know that support under duress is extremely important.

So what I thought was going to be a couple mile run turned into 10 miles of running in the dark on rocky and root filled trails. I would love to say I paced him but I was just happy staying with him even though he had 60 miles on me! As we ran, we chatted and I inquired into how you train for a 100 mile race. Luke said his longest run was 30 miles. That doesn’t seem adequate to condition yourself for a 100 mile race…

How could you prepare yourself for something so extreme? Physically you can’t and as I watched these athletes and talked to Luke about his race, it became very apparent that this was not a physical race as much as a mental race.  Luke finished 9th out of 100 people! Yes there were 99 other crazy people. No one was physically prepared but some, like Luke, had a very regimented plan.

He had his nutrition planned, his running pace planned, his rest stops planned, and his clothing planned. It was all thought out. There where those who didn’t stick with their plan and went out too fast or ate too much or didn’t have enough clothing etc. and 30 couldn’t finish.

“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”

-Amelia Earhart, Aviation Pioneer and Author

The above quote explains how breakthroughs are made and it isn’t through common sense moves. This race wasn’t about doing a healthy exercise, it is extremely tough on the body. Yet, we as humans are wired to see what we can accomplish. This would not happen if you are paralyzed by inaction due to fear. What you should be afraid of is what you miss if you do not act.

The opportunity here is to make a health plan and act on it. Set goals that are just enough outside the box so that they make you a little uncomfortable. It doesn’t have to be a 100 mile race but for some, it might be walking 15 minutes, doing a 5k race, or whatever it is that gets your blood pumping. Heck, I haven’t been running more than 3 miles at a time during the last year or so because, as Luke said so eloquently, I hate running. Jumping in with Luke helped me break through a limit that had been self imposed.

So listen to Amelia and take a page out of Luke’s book and act tenaciously. If you are an athlete who wants to support your  muscles, joints, and inflammation, Standard Process has the perfect mix of nutrition to help you preform your best and recover!

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