Gobi Runner. Stefan Danis

Counts

      Another of Donna’s key insights was that walking should also count as mileage since there would be times at which running was not possible during the race. All of a sudden, I was at 25 kilometers and felt better already. My first decision to focus on walking was to get rid of my car and become a commuter/walker. This added two to three kilometers a day.

       Life’s Enjoyment Grows with Better Health

      Before the December holidays, my weekly distance was relatively low, between 25 and 30 kilometers a week, including walking. My body was adjusting well. An unexpected benefit was my performance at Monday-night hockey: I went from being a journeyman and fourth on my team in scoring to first. I had never been a “go-to” guy in hockey; apparently miracles can happen even at 45. (It does help to play in the appropriate-level garage league.)

      The training was to follow the proven easy-hard marathon training rule of mixing slower and faster runs to build performance and keep things interesting. As the training continued to deliver stronger legs and increased vascular capacity, I continued to climb in the hockey standings and ended up winning the scoring championship in March. I also played tennis and realized I was chasing down balls and return shots that I used to give up on. Despite not truly enjoying the running itself, these early measurable successes in the two sports I loved made it easier for me to continue my training.

      The change from being a two-way player to being the lead offensive contributor on my hockey team opened my mind to the fact that change was possible, even at my age – change that might even help me reset an abysmal business year, which was the reason for signing up in the first place; change that might even reset my life.

       Picking a Theme Song

      Music can change the world because it can change people.

      —BONO

      When I had been having a particularly difficult time of getting motivated to exercise, during the social and alcohol-laced holiday season, Donna suggested I choose a “pick-me-up song.” I thought of “Rocky” but was never fond of drinking raw eggs. I went for safety and chose “Beautiful Day” by U2, which was my Pavlovian bell, especially during the holidays, to get up and get running in the morning or to lace up my shoes and get out the door at midnight. I frequently found myself running well past midnight, after one too many cocktails. Not being a morning person, I was beginning to fall into the unproductive habit of running before my increasingly later bedtime.

       Freedom Comes from Building Your Own Plan

      Listen to everyone, follow no one.

      –DEAN KARNAZES

      (RAN 50 MARATHONS IN 50 DAYS IN 50 STATES)

      I struggled to follow imposed routines and calendars and discovered that it was easier to follow a self-imposed one. Looking ahead at the March and April training schedule was overwhelming; the mileage targets were beyond anything I could conceive of doing. And the plan was for a big push in May before tapering down before the race itself. The calendar looked like this:

      Winter running included various road risks, but running in the snow was the closest I’d ever get to running in the sand.

      A key component of my plan was that I would not run a marathon until the Gobi March itself. That way completing the first day – the first marathon of the race – would have even more significance for me. Another component was my decision, since I was not a runner, to leverage my other athletic endeavors as cross-training for the race. I couldn’t prove that cross-training would produce a faster time, but I knew it would help me minimize injury and would hedge the monotony of training. I also decided not to run long distances in my training – all of my training sessions would need to be under two hours so I could maintain my other commitments. I kept my distances under 20 kilometers, saving my legs from a steady diet of pounding. I decided I would just have to live with the risk that my legs might be under-prepared for the challenge.

       Follow Your Plan but Listen to Your Body

      I built a schedule and did my best to follow it. I focused on building my capacity to do what I said I was going to do and honor my promises to myself, as opposed to listening to my body’s aches and pains. Some hockey nights my training earlier in the day made me feel like I was the slowest guy on the ice.

      The repetitive nature of running is fraught with risks, if you do too much, too quickly. Over time I would learn about recovery, rest, and sadly, over-training. While the science of recovery is simple and you can find an expert at every street corner, finding out what works for you and executing it is a process of trial and error. The demands of an over-scheduled and over-committed life meant I could get to the training, but not to preventative care, nutrition, good sleep, and adequate rest and periods of recovery. My head knew what to do, but my calendar had a life of its own. Fear of failure was what drove me most. I ran as much as possible, breaking the ennui with hockey, tennis, and personal training. Yoga found its way to the calendar, too, once a week.

       Winning Compromises to Break Up the Routine

      I quickly fell in love with not having a vehicle. I created a pick-up schedule to get me to hockey, a compromise that helped me get to know my mates better. As February rolled in, it was time to invest in a treadmill and alternate between indoor and outdoor activities. While I loved its benefits, I grew bored of running, especially on the treadmill. It pained me more, mentally, to run on the treadmill than to deal with wind or cold temperature outdoors. I got myself through by watching TV, an activity I was trying to eliminate from my life, and by listening to audio books while running outdoors.

      The audio books were great. I could now torment my colleagues with the latest idea that I had heard the night before while running or walking. Looking for efficiency, I migrated to book summaries, which yielded ideas five times a week and lengthened everyone’s project list. A few of my colleagues hoped I would stop running soon.

      The book summaries produced another good idea: I built a digital library of a few hundred titles and book summaries that I had heard on my runs and custom-loaded them on iPod nanos, which I gave to clients.

      I’m known for being competitive, but I don’t see myself as athletic. Nothing has come to me easily; I’ve had to work at it. I realized how little I knew about running – such as pacing, running hills, or buying the right shoe – and probably even less about everything else involved in the event, from what clothes to wear, to layering, to nutrition, to sleeping in a tent, and being forced to interact with strangers throughout the run.

       Family Agreement