ANSWER pain.

"What does it take to become the best at something?"

Common answers: passion, integrity, accountability, accuracy, discipline, focus, etc.

My answer involves the above, but can be precisely answered with three small phrases:

Enjoy Pain.  Pain only hurts.  Choose to live or die.  Many slowly choose to die each day with poor decisions disabling their mind, body and soul.

Learn How to Lose.  Have the patience and humility to understand you are small, but can become remarkable if you learn from the greats before you.

Do what you feel is impossible.  Expand your limits gradually by taking on tasks you may call crazy.  You have exposed your weakness when you judge someone as crazy for doing something remarkable.  Fix it - do it.

I am on an honest quest to become the best ultramarathoner I can be.  I just had a baby, I lead or co-lead two organizations 6 days a week (a college and coaching business) and enjoy creating happiness for/with my wife.  Being rationale promotes low risk, status-quo living.  I would rather break convention and take on the greatest challenges and show my daughter what a gift life can be when you PUSH LIMITS.  The day Gwyneth was born, gave me a gift - her life and my new life.  Seizing every moment.

Onward

 I have devised a plan involving 3 key races with nearly all training done as a mode of transportation to work or coaching.  Until 2011, I had convinced myself I was a natural half-miler.  Two years later, I have learned I was wrong by 100-fold!  I am a natural 50-miler.  I can ANSWER pain.

So ANSWER pain.  Accept it, Need it, Sooth it, Welcome it, Engage it, Reward it.  IT enables you to achieve beyond you yesterday.

Training

I plan to run to work daily (15k average) and work my long run into coaching on Saturdays ~ approx. 105k.

Racing

I plan to ANSWER:

1) IAU Trail World Championships - July 6th, Llanwrst, North Wales,
2) TNF 50 mile (Wisconsin - hope for 6:20h),
3) Chicago 50 mile (PB - celebrate my hard work with a 6-6:10h PB).

Find your passion, work with integrity daily and ANSWER your call.

Return to your evolutionary roots, life's only necessary sport.

Rob