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InnerFight hell week #1: don’t think about the pain; and don’t think about failing.

Tomorrow I will begin my first, and easiest hell week of my 6 month InnerFight challenge that my coach Marcus Smith organized for me.  I like hell weeks, and asked him to organize a hell week every 6th week of training.  In a few hours, I will begin my first hell week.

Friday:  50km run in the desert, and must be done on sand

Saturday:  180 km bike (3 x jebel jais, 90km climbing)

Sunday:  recovery

Monday:  1,000 burpes for time

Tuesday:  hour cross fit class and then a full marathon row (42km)

Wednesday:  hour cross fit class followed by 1 mile sled pull for time with 75% of my body weight

Thursday:  hour cross fit class followed by a full marathon skierg

I have been training consistently, doing cross fit, rowing, ski-erg and push ups and pull ups, in total about 3 hours a day, but I am not in running shape, and I haven’t ridden a bike much since I crashed out at RAAM back in mid June 015.

One of the points I often discuss in this blog is my opinion that too many people think too much.

What I mean … is I think too many people think too much about what they are going to do tomorrow that they do not go after something they really want to do. Maybe its a fear of failure or a fear of the pain.  Don’t tell yourself you cant do something because you are scared of the pain.

This week, I met a great guy who is training to run across Canada … and he runs 10-20km a day.  The guy is in great running shape, and he must have almost zero body fat; lean and thin.  Compared to him, the guy looks like a world class ultra-runner,  I look like an American football player…

I invited him to join me on my 50km/31 mile run tomorrow, but he told me he couldn’t because he didn’t feel that his body was ready for a 50km run.  He basically said he didn’t want to overdo it.

When I met the guy and we discussed my hell week, he asked me “are you sure you are ready to run 50km?”

And with a big grin on my face, I said, “this Friday I will find out..”

If I sit around and think about it … no, I am not ready to go for a 50km run across the desert…

But, I am sure physically my body is prepared to endure a good 50km run.

And since I have a GPS watch, and Marcus will see my timing, heart rate, etc … I will make this run happen.

It is going to be fun 6 days, and on my 6th day … I will go directly from the gym to the airport because I have to go to Nigeria for a dinner and meetings in Lagos on Friday.

First things first, I must make this premier hell week happen.

I hope some of you think about me this weekend … and think about your own goals and aspirations…

Don’t sit around and think about how hard something is going to be; don’t sit around and think about if you are ready to go after something.

Just try to do it.

I am 45 years old … if I can go after physical challenges and stuff like this, you can too.

…but we have to make it happen.