12/08/2024
I am coming home…
As I carry a big heavy bag on my back after a great summer with my family but a not so great summer of racing with 2 DNFs and an injured calf, it’s time to reflect on where I am and where I want to be in 6 months!
For all who know me, I don’t shy away from putting myself out there, and taking on a challenge. In my personal life and my professional life, I choose to be adventurous, I choose to take calculated risks and sometimes I even choose to take a leap of faith.
For all who know me, setbacks have come to me on countless occasions, and yet I still get up and try again.
I always tell those in my situation that failure is to be treated as a lesson, to learn from and improve. I strongly believe that to be true, but lessons are only good if you choose to learn from them.
Ultras are uncertain - and the longer they go, the bigger the risk that things will go wrong. My first race was my own fault - I misjudged and I paid for it. And though I probably could have broken myself more to finish, I chose not to.
The second was bad luck. With an injury progressively putting me out of commission, despite having such a great race up to that point, 104km to go with some tough terrain ahead and a high risk of making my injury much worse, I chose the path of least resistance, but a sensible one I think, and DNF’d for the second time in 3 weeks.
410km planned, 252km completed. Elliot, you can do better!
But either way, the failure came well before my two races. My failure came from my lack of preparedness for both races.
I call it failure because I did not take the lessons from the past to arrive at the start with the training that I needed for such mammoth races.
Reflection: Since I have made running my livelihood, it has been hard to train day in day out, to get out the door when it is still dark or cold or hot or wet.
Going into my summer racing, I relied on minimal maintenance training but with the many miles I banked in from previous years, knowing all too well that the past could only take me so far.
But for all of you who know me, I try not to look back, because looking forward is what drives me and keeps me hungry.
And despite the setbacks, I see the coming months with plenty of enthusiasm! Personally, I have the support of my family to do what I love and that in itself is such a great feeling!
Professionally, I like where this is going and I am excited!
As for my ultra running, I sit here typing this message on a stone bench as I wait for my train for the long trip back home to Hong Kong, smiling and excited about my next set of challenges, to treat my failures as lessons and try to learn from them.
Remember! Ultrarunning is like life! Nothing is handed to you, nothing is certain, and sometimes luck is not on your side, but giving yourself all the tools in your possession to help you get back up when you get knocked down is ultimately what it’s all about.
So, on that note, I am coming home a little broken on the outside but feeling stronger and motivated than ever on the inside!
Gar Yau!
