Play for keeps
Go after what is crystal
Last week I ran the Hida Takayama Ultramarathon. I am still in recovery mode right now and want to take some time to get myself together and write a race report. So I’m just going to write a short article today to keep the momentum going.
When it’s use it or lose it
When we are young we get exposed to a lot of different subjects that we are obliged to learn. For instance, I used to play a few different musical instruments when I was young. But decades of totally not touching a musical instrument means I have absolutely no idea how to play. I can’t read music at all either.
Languages as similar to this. I learned French and German when I was in secondary school. Right now I cannot speak German and my French is very inadequate. (I tried to rekindle the French a little last year for a trip I took).
It’s a fact of life that many things we pick up operate on this “use it or lose it” system. But there are times when we can make something more.
When experience crystalizes
Even things that are generally regarded as “use it or lose it” have a tendency to crystalize over time. Repetition of things that seem mundane will end up producing something that is almost impossible to lose.
It becomes almost as natural as breathing.
Back when I worked in a lab I needed to make sure my samples didn’t get contaminated. It was essential for me to learn how to unscrew bottle tops and pour liquid with one hand so I could reduce the chance of anything falling into whatever sample I was working with and contaminating.
I don’t work in a lab anymore but I still have this weird skill of being able to hold and open bottles with screw tops using one hand. The skill crystalized due to repeated practice.
This is a minor example, and a relatively worthless crystal. But there are more valuable ones out there.
When the crystal feels magical
Experience being crystalized is when your body remembers something and makes something yours to keep. Getting to that point can require you to have repeated, sometimes grueling exposure to something before it finally sticks.
The first time I every ran a marathon I was in so much pain it was unbelievable. It took me months to recover properly. But every marathon I run becomes easier. It’s like my body just remembers that I’ve done it before, and recovery has reduced from months to days.
I will never forget the first time I ever ran 100 km. It was actually a 118 km run. For more than a week after I felt like I had powdered glass in my quads. But every time I run that distance it gets easier.
A day after the ultra I was walking a bit funny. Two days after I was normal. Three days after and I was back to running again.
It’s almost as if my body has remembered and crystalized the experience. It’s mine now. And that’s precious to me.
Final thoughts
I’m the kind of person that worries about things sometimes. It’s not so much that I worry about how I will be perceived, but I worry about how I perceive myself. It took me many marathons before I started calling myself a “marathon runner.” Because I thought maybe running a marathon once might have just been a fluke.
Of course, you can feel free to call yourself whatever you like. If you have run a marathon once, you’ve earned that title. But I am very strict with myself.
The more ultras I run the more it turns from me saying, “I’m an ultrarunner” to my body reacting like one.
And that, to me, is cool.
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