Hey Reader,

On this week’s pod, a listener asked if we’ve ever run a race that turned out longer than we planned.

One race came straight to mind.

It was a 50K trail race outside Denver.

50K is about 31 miles, so that’s where the finish should have been.

Around mile 26 or 27, I came into an aid station, one of the food and water stops along the course.

I was sure we had about four miles left.

It turned out to be six or seven, including a climb.

I was already hurting by then.

My watch hit 31 miles, and I still wasn’t done.

Some of that might have been GPS drift, but it ended up being about 33 miles.

And that race freaking crushed me.

I got passed by so many people at the end.

That experience taught me something.

🧠 We love to predict

As high performers, we’re very good at planning.

We like to know what’s coming, how long it’ll take, and how much it’s going to cost us.

And we pace ourselves around that timeframe.

Honestly, as humans, we’re just not great at predicting things.

But we want to anyway.

So when something goes on longer than we thought, or still doesn’t come through after so much effort, it can start to feel really personal.

Like we got it wrong somehow, or we’ve failed.

Or it just crushes us.

Picking up the momentum to continue can be hard.

We may spend too long spiraling and almost lose all the motivation to push through.

And that’s usually where the thought of quitting creeps in.

As Mike Tyson once said, “Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

❤️ Facts are friendly

It helps to keep a little mental note that you can’t fully control how things turn out.

You can plan well, do all the work, and there might still be an extra lap.

Knowing that before you go after a goal makes a big difference.

That uncertainty gives you freedom to think and act out of the box.

It's a gift to explore untapped strength, ideas, and potential.

When things go off plan, you may still feel disappointed, and that’s fine.

But you’ll be able to pick yourself back up quickly, deal with what’s in front of you, and see it all the way through.

That’s very confidence-building.

Talk about being unfuckwithable and unstoppable.

So, what are you chasing right now?

What if it takes longer than you think?

Prepare for the uncertainty.

Whatever comes, you’ll handle it.

You’ve got this.

With appreciation,

Huw

P.S. We talked more about this on this week’s pod.

We also talked about checking your ego when setting a big goal, plus my plan for my upcoming 100-miler. Then we answered a listener’s question about how long it takes to recover after a big effort, and loads more great topics.

Worth a listen.

Ep 32. Recovering from a mar... Oct 27 · Two Average Runners 37:26   ​

Huw Edwards Founder & CEO, h3.xyz​

Our next episode drops on Tuesday

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