On a current weekday, I headed out at 1 a.m. for a 65-mile journey run round New Zealand’s Lake Hawea. As I ran down abandoned Freeway 6, I thought of what I’d hearken to as I handed the early morning hours. Surprisingly, I settled on David Goggins’ e book “Can’t Damage Me.”
Whereas I had downloaded the e book greater than half a decade earlier, I had by no means listened to it. Varied clips of Goggins on social media prompt I wouldn’t resonate with the brash machismo he makes use of on these platforms. Nevertheless, I loved spending 10 hours working with Goggins that day. Certainly, whereas he and I come at issues from seemingly completely different views, I think we’d discover a lot overlap in our underlying approaches.
Getting underway with Goggins alongside Freeway 6. All photographs: Bryon Powell
Working example, the “cookie jar.” In Chapter 6 — Calloused Thoughts, Goggins discusses accumulating and recognizing wins from all through our lives the place we’ve scored a private victory, massive or small. That may be carried out by means of energetic evaluation of our pasts. We’d discover cookies in overcoming household obstacles, bullying, a incapacity, or the like in our little one. These cookies may come from more moderen occasions in our lives the place we’ve achieved the promotion, labored by means of a tricky relationship subject, or overachieved in a race.
Why accumulate these cookies? So we will confer with them in future moments of issue. They’re a spark to refire our motivation and dedication when we have now self-doubts. When we have now these inevitable psychological stumbles, these cookies can put us again heading in the right direction. They break us out of any negativity spiral in our inner dialogues and the chemical responses they set off within the physique.
Lake Hawea by night time.
In the identical chapter, Goggins additionally addresses the concept of the calloused thoughts. With this idea, Goggins advocates for repeatedly exposing oneself to uncomfortable conditions in order that we turn out to be accustomed to being uncomfortable — in order that we callous our minds. Specifically, he means that bodily coaching provides a fertile area for callousing the thoughts.
Now, right here’s the factor, I’m a wuss. Regardless of how profitable callousing the thoughts may be — and I feel it’s! — I’ve little want to look out distress purely for distress’s sake. I’m no sadomasochist. No, thanks!
The pinnacle of Lake Hawea within the early gentle of day.
That mentioned, as people and, notably, as ultrarunners, we repeatedly expose ourselves to loads of uncomfortable conditions. As such, I’ve been contemplating an idea that mixes the cookie jar and callousing the thoughts for a few years: accumulating energy.
For instance, throughout my weeklong 237-mile San Juan InFINity Loop final summer time, I ran the ultimate seven miles on the third day in an absolute wrecker of a thunderstorm, even by San Juan Mountains requirements. I imply, the county shut down each roads northeast of city, and I used to be working on a type of very roads not figuring out of the closures, as a result of climate’s results on them. I ran over a contemporary particles move that reshaped the Animas River beneath it. Lightning in all places. Torrential rain. Bountiful hail. Yeah, it was one thing.
This stormy run and that week have been all part of my ultimate coaching push for final yr’s Extremely Gobi. Simultaneous with my thoughts being blown by this storm being attainable, I believed to myself, Regardless of how unhealthy the situations are in Extremely Gobi, I’ll have been by means of means worse on this storm. In Goggins’ parlance, I’d discovered a cookie, whereas on the identical time callousing my thoughts. I’d discover a number of extra cookies within the insane storms that had me balled up on the facet of a number of roads within the coming days.
A have a look at the homestead on Hunter Valley Station from throughout the lake.
This wasn’t the primary time I’d collected energy. In working the 2015 Extremely Gobi, my toes blistered to hell within the ultimate 100 kilometers. Add to that plentiful sand and stretches of a horrendous substrate we’d earlier coined “camel crud.” Evidently, I used to be in agonizing ache throughout the race. Nevertheless, I rationalized my means by means of it, That is solely short-term. This isn’t an harm. This may harm whether or not you stroll or run. I used to be happy with this feat within the second, whereas additionally noting it for future use. I cultivated this reminiscence within the months main as much as the 2024 Extremely Gobi. If issues received actually powerful on the upcoming race, I wished to have the ability to use that have as a backstop. I may overcome new discomfort as a result of I had overcome that prior ache.
In mulling over this idea now, I’ll file away my Achilles tendons rehabilitation within the accumulating energy cupboard. Gosh, my easy rehab can actually harm. Particularly, after I return to it after any breaks or if my Achilles are aggravated from coaching. Even when I’d desire to not have to do that rehab, it actually falls into the class of callousing the thoughts, and doing that rehab sufficient to enormously enhance the state of my Achilles forward of final yr’s Extremely Gobi certain was a cookie I may assume again on positively.
Nearing the homestead on Dingleburn Station.
Even throughout final yr’s Extremely Gobi, I collected loads of cookies alongside the way in which. Whereas I can’t say it’s unattainable to run 250 miles whereas pondering of it as one integral size alongside the way in which, that’s actually not how I run that form of distance! No, I’m both making an attempt to only run alongside within the second or from checkpoint to checkpoint. Though seemingly inconsequential, a phase run properly generally is a cookie. I simply ran from the final checkpoint to this one. Cookie. And I ran properly to that earlier checkpoint, too. One other cookie. And the identical for the phase earlier than that. Name it two cookies, one for that part and for working three good sections in a row. These small wins reassure us that we will succeed on our strategy to the subsequent checkpoint.
Now, let’s go accumulate some energy!
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What do you consider the ideas of callousing the thoughts, accumulating cookies, and accumulating energy?
The place and when have you ever utilized a few of these ideas, even underneath completely different phrases?
Nearing the tip of my lengthy lap round Lake Hawea, the place I’d collected a cookie or two for future use.
