“Endurance Sports are About Not Quitting”

“Endurance Sports are about Not Quitting”

By Kathleen Lisson

I was reading 'Mastering the Marathon, Time Efficient Training Secrets for the 40 – plus Athlete' by Don Fink and the following sentence captured my interest – “Endurance sports are about not quitting.” Fink has written an excellent chapter on mental training for endurance sports titled ‘Racing Strategies and Mental Approaches.’ He shares that a famous athlete once told him that if a runner doesn’t think about quitting at least three times during a race, they are not running hard enough. Fink also explains his “humble happy warrior” approach, the “relaxation – focus – competitive” approach and tips on using the posting of goals to increase confidence.

My goal isn’t to achieve a certain time, it is to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, so I am using this poster as a way to ‘post my goals.’

Though I will not be using the strategy of running at different paces during my hike and will have to accommodate the change in altitude, I will definitely use Fink’s top strategy of not going out too fast. I will be excited on the first day of the hike, and will have to remember to hike slowly so I am able to hike, over a series of days, all the way to the top.

Peekamoose and Table Mountains Catskills hike report

Peekamoose and Table - Catskills Hike Report

by Kathleen Lisson

Arun and I hiked Peekamoose and Table Mountains. This time Arun came down with 'summit fever,' the irresistible urge to hike past overlooks in search of the summit before stopping for a break. We ended up enjoying the overlooks on the trip back to the trailhead.

Lessons Learned:

• Camping is better than dayhiking - we didn't start hiking until the afternoon because we could lounge around our house. Waking up in a tent ensures we get an early start.

• There are several parking lots on the way to the trailhead. Luckily we asked a local for directions and she pointed us further down the road. 

• The DEC didn't put enough sheets in the trail register! Arun had to sign us in on the back cover. When we signed out, we found that other hikers had followed our lead and signed in below us. Signing in at the trail register ensures that rescuers have basic information about you and your planned hike in the event you get lost. It also helps the DEC allocated funding for trail upkeep.

Peekamoose and Table Mountain hike information from New York New Jersey Trail Conference:  http://www.nynjtc.org/hike/peekamoos-and-table-mountains

How to Increase Pain Tolerance for Endurance Athletes

How to Increase Pain Tolerance for Endurance Athletes

By Kathleen Lisson

In the Runner's World article ‘Three Workouts to Increase Pain Tolerance,’ Alex Hutchinson writes about a TransEurope study which found that “athletes can endure the discomfort at higher levels and for longer times than nonathletes. They have a higher pain tolerance. And it's a learned skill: Research suggests that the harder you train, the higher your tolerance rises.” 

Hutchinson goes on to profile three workouts that increase pain tolerance for long distance running.

Much is made of altitude sickness as a factor in summiting Mount Kilimanjaro. I will be taking medication and understand that I have no control over how my body will react to the altitude. I do have control over how I react to the hikes each day. Hopefully increasing my pain tolerance will make the trek less unpleasant.

Check out the 'Three Workouts to Increase Pain Tolerance' article here:

http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/three-workouts-to-increase-pain-tolerance?cm_mmc=Facebook-_-RunnersWorld-_-Content-Training-_-IncreasePainTolerance