Got some momentum going now. First 80 mile training week since last July. Very happy with that. Now I just need to hold on to this consistency and let it all sink in.

John Nevels posted the following on one of the email lists I subscribe to. He was helping a runner friend prepare for a 50K race when the topic of ‘what is the secret’ came up:

many explanations, some passive, some rigorous, some rather mystical, have been
put forward to describe this supposed secret, but i don’t think that all of it is warranted.

i think it can be summed up in one word:  consistency

it’s no secret, and it’s painfully obvious, but it’s also so incredibly
difficult, if not impossible to live by.

day after day after day after day is the easy part.
week after week after week a little more difficult.
month after month and year after year… this is when the idea is lost.

the tendency is to assume that something isn’t quite working right after a
year(s) of training without a pr or a win.  clearly some “trick” must be missing
from the training regimen, some miracle product, shoe, gel or mantra everyone
else has that i don’t.

but, as with most aspects of the ultras, patience – utter, total, mundane,
and relentless  patience – seems to be the key to this consistency.

determination, heart, drive, spirit – call it whatever buzzword you like, but
when it comes down to it, consistently, patiently, unrelentingly placing one
foot in front of the other.

this may seem obvious to many, but its simple, yet all-encompassing nature bears
repeating from time to time.  i know i need to hear it, and i suspect others do
as well.

I really liked that and wanted to post it as a reminder that I can refer back to in the future. Especially the “relentless patience” part. Just keep at it.

Pic of the week:

This week’s all-star cast, in order of appearance.