After a wicked case of nerves for the better part of the day ( starting around 5am ) I am finally at peace again about what ever is going to happen tomorrow. I'm not worried about being in a race - I'm just going for an ultra long hike in the mountains. I'm not concerned about my time, I'm preparing for a 24 hour journey. If it takes less time than that , bonus!!
The only way to finish this event is if finishing is more important than the pain,, which it is.
Also, now that I've been to the mandatory pre-race meeting and seen the 36% finish rate prospects, I really do believe I will be in that number.
GO DEATH RACERS!!!! Via con Dios.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Gone Mental - Now Spiritual
Previously I've looked at some basic mental attitudes and strategies to get you through the relatively easy portion. ( hopefully at least half!!! )
Now, how do you hold on to your sanity as you attempt to push your body WAY beyond what it is agreeing to??
1) You need a higher purpose.
2) That purpose has to mean more to you than temporary physical pain.
DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse doing permanent injury for the sake of any sport. You take all responsibility for pushing past temporary pain and causing permanent injury to yourself.
Many runners, simply love to run. And that love of running turns into a talent for long distance running. But, in order to continue on despite even temporary agony, you need more than a love of running; you need to believe there is a higher purpose for finishing the race. Something that continues and even grows stronger in the face of pain, when love of running has become a string of profanity in your memory.
For some that higher purpose may be strictly glory and fame, but honestly I have never met anyone like that. For some it may be a simple exercise in determination or self affirmation. Some people do see a metaphorical higher purpose like the race representing life's struggle that we are all faced with together on our collective journeys.
For myself it has elements of the above, but more importantly to me it is an expectation - an expectation that as I become weak, God becomes stronger in me.
Let me try to explain.
As I become physically, mentally, emotionally and yes even spiritually weakened, ( by 6, 12, or 24 hours of running) God is there in a way that is not possible when my defenses are at full strength and all my favourite comforts and distractions are freely available. I hear Him speaking to me, causing me to reassess my priorities in life and appreciate all the little things.
Just as Isaac Penington advises in "Letters on Spiritual Virtues" I subscribe to the philosophy that when and if you are seeking God, you should "Keep yourself where you have felt the Lord visit you in the past." and that has been good advice in my experience.
I recognize that this is still not a complete answer to "why bother?" or "what makes that sufficient motivation?" but the reality is it gets much more difficult to convey beyond this point. I continue on....
The main motivation beyond this initial simple answer is a desire to be changed - changed by God, not by myself. It is my expectation and experience that this becomes increasingly more likely as my physical strengths are sapped completely away from me over the hours and miles.
My character flaws become more obvious to me and are easily scrutinized and let go. The things I have that I need to be more thankful for also become that much more obvious and important to me. The result is that as I let myself be torn down, God is able to put me back together is a way that is not perfect but is a bit closer to His intention of how I should be.
With only 4 full days to go before the death race, I think I have finally been able to turn some of the key driving elements into words. As I do so I realize that just like in appreciating a sensitive physical phenomena, setting up a measurement construct to monitor or measure that phenomena will negatively affect the thing being measured.
I expect to be changed by this experience. Please don't try to measure that.
Now, how do you hold on to your sanity as you attempt to push your body WAY beyond what it is agreeing to??
1) You need a higher purpose.
2) That purpose has to mean more to you than temporary physical pain.
DISCLAIMER: I do not endorse doing permanent injury for the sake of any sport. You take all responsibility for pushing past temporary pain and causing permanent injury to yourself.
Many runners, simply love to run. And that love of running turns into a talent for long distance running. But, in order to continue on despite even temporary agony, you need more than a love of running; you need to believe there is a higher purpose for finishing the race. Something that continues and even grows stronger in the face of pain, when love of running has become a string of profanity in your memory.
For some that higher purpose may be strictly glory and fame, but honestly I have never met anyone like that. For some it may be a simple exercise in determination or self affirmation. Some people do see a metaphorical higher purpose like the race representing life's struggle that we are all faced with together on our collective journeys.
For myself it has elements of the above, but more importantly to me it is an expectation - an expectation that as I become weak, God becomes stronger in me.
Let me try to explain.
As I become physically, mentally, emotionally and yes even spiritually weakened, ( by 6, 12, or 24 hours of running) God is there in a way that is not possible when my defenses are at full strength and all my favourite comforts and distractions are freely available. I hear Him speaking to me, causing me to reassess my priorities in life and appreciate all the little things.
Just as Isaac Penington advises in "Letters on Spiritual Virtues" I subscribe to the philosophy that when and if you are seeking God, you should "Keep yourself where you have felt the Lord visit you in the past." and that has been good advice in my experience.
I recognize that this is still not a complete answer to "why bother?" or "what makes that sufficient motivation?" but the reality is it gets much more difficult to convey beyond this point. I continue on....
The main motivation beyond this initial simple answer is a desire to be changed - changed by God, not by myself. It is my expectation and experience that this becomes increasingly more likely as my physical strengths are sapped completely away from me over the hours and miles.
My character flaws become more obvious to me and are easily scrutinized and let go. The things I have that I need to be more thankful for also become that much more obvious and important to me. The result is that as I let myself be torn down, God is able to put me back together is a way that is not perfect but is a bit closer to His intention of how I should be.
With only 4 full days to go before the death race, I think I have finally been able to turn some of the key driving elements into words. As I do so I realize that just like in appreciating a sensitive physical phenomena, setting up a measurement construct to monitor or measure that phenomena will negatively affect the thing being measured.
I expect to be changed by this experience. Please don't try to measure that.
Going Mental (Part 2)
Back to running for a few moments..
It is hard to convey the mental difficulty presented in running an ultra. As with the physical challenge, the mental effort increases exponentially with time. It is not a linear increase or simple matter of "keeping it together" till the end.
As early as the training runs right up till the finish line, the mental obstacles appear non-stop and it is a constant struggle to deal with them.
First of all, when things are good this is all furthest from the mind; which is exactly the way it should stay as long as possible. How do you do that? Simple - run your own race. Run your pace not someone else's. Stick with your strategy and listen to your body for making adjustments to that strategy. Remember that part of listening to your body is what your body has told you in the past as well. (what works and what doesn't work; what happens when you've gone out too hard, gotten dehydrated, etc.. )
Staving off mental obstacles by feeling good should get you approximately half way if you've put in the physical preparation, but inevitably things will get tough and those first few realizations also need to be accepted and embraced and not allowed to turn into doubts. At this point it is a simple matter to think about how great it is to be healthy and strong and able bodied when there are so many people who are not so fortunate. Maybe you are even running specifically for a cause (large or small) Maybe you have thought about dedicating a run to someone battling cancer or other debilitating disease. Think about how they struggle through weeks of treatment or therapy which are MUCH more grueling than any ultra-marathon.
If focusing on the dedication of others does not get you through to the end, chances are you are going to turn to a self-motivated approach for the final stage of the mental battle....
It is hard to convey the mental difficulty presented in running an ultra. As with the physical challenge, the mental effort increases exponentially with time. It is not a linear increase or simple matter of "keeping it together" till the end.
As early as the training runs right up till the finish line, the mental obstacles appear non-stop and it is a constant struggle to deal with them.
There are so many other things I could be doing right now.
That was far enough.
I don't belong here with these people.
I didn't train enough.
I didn't recover enough.
I didn't drink/eat/sleep enough.
Maybe today is just not my day
My feet hurt.
My legs feel like cement.
My stomach hurts.
I think there's something wrong with my knee.
I don't need this in my life right now.
First of all, when things are good this is all furthest from the mind; which is exactly the way it should stay as long as possible. How do you do that? Simple - run your own race. Run your pace not someone else's. Stick with your strategy and listen to your body for making adjustments to that strategy. Remember that part of listening to your body is what your body has told you in the past as well. (what works and what doesn't work; what happens when you've gone out too hard, gotten dehydrated, etc.. )
Staving off mental obstacles by feeling good should get you approximately half way if you've put in the physical preparation, but inevitably things will get tough and those first few realizations also need to be accepted and embraced and not allowed to turn into doubts. At this point it is a simple matter to think about how great it is to be healthy and strong and able bodied when there are so many people who are not so fortunate. Maybe you are even running specifically for a cause (large or small) Maybe you have thought about dedicating a run to someone battling cancer or other debilitating disease. Think about how they struggle through weeks of treatment or therapy which are MUCH more grueling than any ultra-marathon.
If focusing on the dedication of others does not get you through to the end, chances are you are going to turn to a self-motivated approach for the final stage of the mental battle....
Sunday, July 10, 2011
The Reason for God - Timothy Keller (Part 2 The Reason for Faith)
After a short intermission explaining exactly what he is referring to with terms such as Christianity and Rationality, a key step which is often skipped by those doing the opposite, Keller concludes the book with the remaining chapters grouped together as "The Reason for Faith"
In the remaining chapters, Keller shows that Christianity actually provides a better explanation for people's inherent moral beliefs and ideas about the universe.
In the first chapter of part 2, Keller gives the most significant "Clues of God"; The mysterious bang from which everything is contingent, yet must have some supernatural, non-contingent explanation; That the odds of a life supporting world like ours being produced are infinitessmal; That science can not prove the continued regularity of nature, it can only take it on faith; That the hunger for beauty and truth point to their existance in the same way that physical hunger points to the existence of food; That evolutionary biology can not invoke the power of reason even as it destroys it, or explain aspects of human nature that do not conform to survival of the species.
Basically the fact that this debate exists at all, that people have thoughts and concepts of good and bad, and beauty and truth, moral obligation, of human rights, of God - is best explained if God actually exists.
For example, if you believe there are some universal human rights, that belong to your friends as well as your enemies, this is not supported by a world view that says they are a random collection of atoms.
Keller's challenge: If a premise ("There is no God") leads to a conclusion you know isn't true, then why not change the premise? We do this when we live as though our lives and the choices we make have meaning, or when we believe that some things are always wrong yet we fail to acknowledge that meaning and universal morality can not be found in naturalism or evolution.
It is dishonest to live as if he is there (giving us meaning and morality) and yet fail to acknowledge him.
In the remaining chapters, Keller shows that Christianity actually provides a better explanation for people's inherent moral beliefs and ideas about the universe.
"The story of the gospel makes sense of moral obligation and our belief in the reality of justice, so Christians do restorative and redistributive justice wherever they can. The story of the gospel makes sense of our indelible religiousness, so Christians do evangelism, pointing the way to forgiveness and reconciliation with God through Jesus. The gospel makes sense of our profoundly relational character so Christians work sacrificially to strengthen human communities around them as well as the Christian community, the church. The gospel story also makes sense of our delight in the presence of beauty, so Christians become stewards of the material world, from those who cultivate the natural creation through science and gardening to those who give themselves to artistic endeavours, all knowing why these things are necessary for human flourishing. "
In the first chapter of part 2, Keller gives the most significant "Clues of God"; The mysterious bang from which everything is contingent, yet must have some supernatural, non-contingent explanation; That the odds of a life supporting world like ours being produced are infinitessmal; That science can not prove the continued regularity of nature, it can only take it on faith; That the hunger for beauty and truth point to their existance in the same way that physical hunger points to the existence of food; That evolutionary biology can not invoke the power of reason even as it destroys it, or explain aspects of human nature that do not conform to survival of the species.
Basically the fact that this debate exists at all, that people have thoughts and concepts of good and bad, and beauty and truth, moral obligation, of human rights, of God - is best explained if God actually exists.
For example, if you believe there are some universal human rights, that belong to your friends as well as your enemies, this is not supported by a world view that says they are a random collection of atoms.
Keller's challenge: If a premise ("There is no God") leads to a conclusion you know isn't true, then why not change the premise? We do this when we live as though our lives and the choices we make have meaning, or when we believe that some things are always wrong yet we fail to acknowledge that meaning and universal morality can not be found in naturalism or evolution.
It is dishonest to live as if he is there (giving us meaning and morality) and yet fail to acknowledge him.
Saturday, July 09, 2011
The Reason for God - Timothy Keller (Part 1 The Leap of Doubt)
The first half of Keller's book is an engagement to dialog about the most common and typical barriers people have towards Christianity. He has had many years of dialoguing with people face to face and now extends that dialog into book form. Here are the main points raised raised in the first seven chapters. Obviously to get the full treatment of each topic, you need to read the book. Essentially the first half is a challenge to those who doubt (do not half faith) to see that their doubt is based on a leap of faith or ignores significant evidence that is readily available. The first half is titled "The Leap of Doubt".
If you think: There can't be one true religion.
Consider: Which fundamental beliefs will lead their believers to be the most loving and receptive to those with whom they differ?
If you think: How could a good God allow suffering?
Consider: Is suffering bad? Where do concepts of "good" and "bad" come from?
If you think: Claiming "truth" is restrictive and exclusive.
Consider: What is "the thought" that stops thought? Is a community with no boundary still a community?
If you think: The Church is responsible for so much injustice.
Consider: What is better; an ethic of status and self, or an other-regarding ethic?
If you think: How can a loving God send people to hell.
Consider: Separation from God (in hell) is simply one's freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity.
If you think: Science has disproved Christianity because miracles don't exist.
Consider: Must all things science can not prove as fact necessarily not exist?
If you think: You can't take the Bible literally.
Consider: How do you empirically prove that no one should believe something without empirical proof?
If you think: There can't be one true religion.
Consider: Which fundamental beliefs will lead their believers to be the most loving and receptive to those with whom they differ?
If you think: How could a good God allow suffering?
Consider: Is suffering bad? Where do concepts of "good" and "bad" come from?
If you think: Claiming "truth" is restrictive and exclusive.
Consider: What is "the thought" that stops thought? Is a community with no boundary still a community?
If you think: The Church is responsible for so much injustice.
Consider: What is better; an ethic of status and self, or an other-regarding ethic?
If you think: How can a loving God send people to hell.
Consider: Separation from God (in hell) is simply one's freely chosen identity apart from God on a trajectory into infinity.
If you think: Science has disproved Christianity because miracles don't exist.
Consider: Must all things science can not prove as fact necessarily not exist?
If you think: You can't take the Bible literally.
Consider: How do you empirically prove that no one should believe something without empirical proof?
