5 Life Lessons from Ann Trason, the GOAT

Ann Trason.  They call her the GOAT - 'Greatest ultra-runner Of All Time'.  

Wikipedia says, "She has broken twenty world records during her career", "fourteen time Western States Endurance Run winner and former female course record holder; 2-time winner of the Comrades Marathon; formerly or currently holds numerous American and World Records; American 100k record holder" and more...

Ann Trason recently came to the mid-west to run the Hennepin 100 mile ultra marathon on October 6th near Sterling, Illinois.

I got the wonderful opportunity to spend a couple hours with Ann at my friend Scott Kummer's place in Chicago on the Thursday before the race weekend.  And I also spent over 4 hours pacing Ann at the Hennepin 100.  I kept telling to everyone I ran into leading up to this weekend, "If you don't know who Ann Trason is, Google her!!"

During this time, we had a great conversation - from witty banter to jokes to race talk to personal deep conversation.  I told her that I have so many questions for her but don't know where to start.  She was very open and kept our conversations flowing.  I wanted to capture some of the wisdom I gained from Ann Trason when it is still fresh in my mind.  

1. Don't give up

Ann had not completed the first two Western States 100, the first Leadville 100, the first Comrades marathon (54 miles/largest ultra-marathon in the world) that she ran.  

But then, she returned to win Western States 14 times, set a course record at Leadville that still holds good as of this writing for almost 25 years, and won Comrades twice! BOOM!!!

Now you know why they call her the GOAT, but she never gave up when she didn't finish those races during the initial attempts.  

DON'T GIVE UP.

2. Do what you love

Me: "Did you go to these races to win?"
Ann: "Nah! I just loved running, I just went to these events and ran these races."

Ann had been running since she was a baby.  Her parents would tie bells to her shoes to know where she is or if she is trying to run away.  She never aspired to be a champion but she loved running and ran for the love of it.  And as they say, the rest is history.

DO WHAT YOU LOVE.

3. Gratitude is beautiful

Me: "How did men treat you?"
Ann: "Actually, they treated me very well.  I trained with men all the time, we had a nice group that got together on Wednesdays to run, they treated me like a little sister".

It was rather refreshing to hear this from Ann, especially with the media filled with news and revelations from the past when men may not have treated women well.  Ann had nothing bad to say about the other gender.  She mentioned jokingly, "there are always guys trying hard to run faster than me, but I didn't care much.. he he", she has this genuine funny laugh, when she is sarcastic and funny.

During our conversations, Ann had acknowledged and expressed gratitude for many people in her life.

Ann expressed great love and respect for her mother.  She now runs a non-profit scholarship fund after her mother's name.

She also acknowledged her ex-husband Carl, who helped her train, supported her endeavors and running career. 

Ann is one of the most humble people I have met, with such great accomplishments. She gives little credit to herself but ensures to express gratitude for people in her life.

GRATITUDE IS BEAUTIFUL.

4. Personal values matter

Story-1: Ann was offered a $10,000 prize money if she broke the world record in a 50-miler in February in Houston in 1991.  She had another race director who welcomed her for another 50-miler in Dallas in January of the same year, no such prize money though.  

While she was advised not to run the January race in Dallas and to focus on the prize money in February in Houston, she just went and ran the January race because she had given her word to the race director and broke the world record in January. 

Then she again ran a 50-miler in February 4-minutes faster, thereby breaking her own world record yet again within a month!  

I had no words to explain my thoughts when I heard this crazy and unbelievable story, but I dug deeper into her thoughts on running the first 50-miler. 

Story-2: In a different conversation, she mentioned that Chris McDougall, author of the famed running book 'Born to Run', never talked to her about the book, and that she never read the book either.  

But Ann never went around rebutting the contents of the book, nor did she write or speak about it publicly.  She insisted that she didn't care and from what she heard, Born to Run is a work of fiction, she let it go.  (As a side note, this article is Ann Trason approved :-)

It always works out in the long run by taking the high road, and she proved it here.

PERSONAL VALUES MATTER.


5. Money is not everything

Me: "Did you ever want to write a book or look for a big sponsor?"
Ann: "Nah! I am low key. I just like to run".

Ann mentioned being a Nike runner for several years.  Listen to this crazy story... when Nike first recognized Ann's talent, they offered to give her 6 pairs of shoes for a year (just that??!!).  Luckily, her then husband Carl, who was also an accountant and her manager, negotiated a decent contract with Nike. 

If it was up to her, I am guessing she would have gone for the 6 pairs of shoes, and even now while telling the story she was excited for that offer :-)

I kept asking Ann about social media, books, publicity, merchandize, etc., most of the questions were answered as "I love being in nature", or, "I just like running"...

How puking, pepto and pizza led to a 100-mile PR... ?!

It happened all of a sudden!  I was feeling good at mile-25, the sun had gone down, just passed an aid station with some crackers in my hand, shoved some aid station food (PB&J) into my mouth to get some calories in me, talking to Lynn who I had met around mile-18 and started running together... And then I just turned towards the side of the path and projectile threw up the entire food I had at the aid station...!!!

PREMISE:
I was contemplating to do a 100-miler in the fall of 2018 to measure where I am with my training and 100-mile running fitness.  I haven't run a 100-mile race this year, though I tried other distance races.

I was looking at Mogollon Monster 100 (MM100), but I knew it is a tough mountain race and I am not ready for it. I also wanted to do Hallucination 100 which happens to be the week before MM100, as is was also on my birthday this year (September 7th), to get in some birthday miles.  My friends Scott and Adam have signed up for Mogollon Monster 100, and I decided to go with them for a vacation and possible crew or pace.

RACE DETAILS:
Hallucination100 is at Hell-Pinckney area in Michigan (near Ann Arbor). It is a 16.67 mile loop, a total of 6 loops. The race start time is unique, as it starts at 4 pm Friday and goes until 10 pm Saturday. The course is mostly single track trails, with a flat towpath for about a mile and a portion of roads for about a mile, you go through the road section twice (out and back).  The aid stations are approximately every 4 miles, with the main aid station at the Start/Finish campground. The aid stations, volunteers, food supplies are all good.

TRAVEL TO RACE:
My friend Johnnie agreed to pace me at the race. He is from St. Louis, he was going to drive to Chicago, and we both were going to drive to the race. We decided to camp at the Campground which is also the Start/End of the race.  We started at 7.30 am CT Friday and were at the campground by 2 pm ET.  We stopped a couple times for breakfast and lunch at McD.  I also bought an extra sandwich for pre-race meal.

NEW STRATEGY:
I decided to experiment a few things for this race.  No crew, no pacer, drop bags, not changing much clothes, etc. Usually I had a friend who crewed me, I have run with and without pacers, never had a drop bag, and I may change socks, t-shirt or shorts.  I had 2 pacers, Andrew and Johnnie, who volunteered to pace me and I took them up.  Usually, I carry a hydration vest, decided to carry two handhelds - one with water and another with tailwind. (this was not a good idea, as I had not trained with it, and tailwind gave me nausea later).

PRE-RACE:
When we reached the campground, we met friends from Chicago - Linda, Holly, Lisa H, Lisa K, Melissa, Carleen, Ken... I am sure I am missing someone.  Also met Dan Slater, who I knew only from Facebook and had just finished Big Foot 200 three weeks ago, he was running the half marathon (which he can run in his sleep).  Met Amy R from Indiana, who had a goal in mind.

I was trying to rest my eyes before the race as I had woke up early in the morning, but couldn't sleep due to all the activity around me.  At about an hour before the race, I changed to running clothes, and got ready to run.

I met Bill. He did not remember me, but if you google Hallucination 100, his video will show up. He is the elderly guy who I met in 2015 during my first 100, which was also Hallucination. We took a picture, and I showed him my picture with him from 2015.  He was pleasantly surprised on this encounter.

RACE:
The race started at 4 pm, and ran in a good pace for the first loop. I felt fresh and happy with how I felt. It usually takes around 10 miles for me to warm up.  I finished loop-1 in 3.5 hours.  Put on the headlamps, and started loop-2.  I met Lynn from Pittsburg and we ran together... this is where it happened.  One moment I was feeling good, and the next moment, I was projectile vomiting. I felt great in my head and stomach, but my throat was having a bad sense of nausea.

I finished loop-2, Andrew joined me as pacer in loop-3.  I ate some food at the main aid station, and as soon as I started running, I started throwing up on the side of the campground. We were 20 feet from the aid station. I asked if Andrew can check with the Chicago friends if they had any medicine for nausea.  Johnnie had pepto tabs, he brought it from the car and caught up to us to give me those. It was a life saver.

I continue to have the nausea, ditched the handheld with tailwind, and ran just with water the next loop.  I was starting to feel hungry but was also feeling worried about throwing up.  When we reached an aid station, I asked the volunteers if they had any hot food.  They didn't. There was a pizza box, I asked if they had pizza. I think it was for the volunteers.  There were some leftover slices of pizza -  a couple slices of veggie, a slice of cheese and a slice of pepperoni.  I just took a slice of pizza, sat on a chair and ate it until all the food went down, worrying on when I am going to throw up.  Once the food went down, I started moving.

I did the same two more times, i.e. ate a slice of stale pizza sitting down.  I spent a total of 15 minutes each time.

Daylight started coming in loop-4 around 7 am, and the 50 mile and 50k runners started passing us. I started feeling good, with mile sense of nausea.  I put on some Bollywood songs, and started picking up my pace.  Something got into me, and I started running faster and faster.  The aid stations started having food, I sat for 10-15 minutes in each main aid station (8 miles apart), and ate some solid food before moving.

Loop-4 and 5 flew by.  Johnnie started loop-5 with me.  I was hitting a low in loop-6, and now there was a real possibility of finishing the race below 26 hours, Johnnie started pushing me a bit.  I was getting a bit annoyed internally but kept my cool and told Johnnie "I know you want me to finish before 26 hours, but I am in pain, let me keep moving and see how it goes".  I did appreciate him keeping me on my toes. We passed a lot of running in the last 3 loops, said Hi to a few known faces and I was totally enjoying the run.

My time in this same race last year was 28:35.  My 100-mile PR was 28:22 at Kettle100 in 2016.  We kept moving at a decent pace in the last loop and finished at 26:08, a 2+ hour PR for a 100 mile and I was happy with it.

As we neared the finish line, I was getting emotional, and tearing up.  When I finished, I couldn't hold back and was bawling.

POST-RACE:

I have to sincerely thank my pacers, Johnnie and Andrew.  Johnnie for also driving me there.  All my friends who cheered me, and folks I met on the trails along with the wonderful volunteers and the race team.

There were several encounters with Ten Junk Mile fans, including the Race Director Gary :-) who came up to me and chatted a bit when I finished loop-5.

WHAT WORKED:
When I think of a better timing for this race, several things worked in my favor including the good weather (it was cloudy the entire time, no rain or sun).  The two key things that I think that also worked well is my consistent training this summer and a positive mindset.  I didn't run high volume for training, but I ran 4 to 5 times a week, peaking at 65 mileage week, with a 50-mile race end of July and a few other 30 - 38 mile runs.

WHAT DIDN'T WORK:
I still need to figure out hydration (tailwind gives me nausea), and food intake. I have never focused on this, but its about time now to figure this out...

39 Problems, This Ain't One

This title makes no sense!  But its catchy and rhymes with a famous hip-hop song, just keeping it G-rated here.

So, what's here?  Random thoughts. Nothing fancy. Just jotted down. Its fun to read. More fun to try.  Its positive. Its gratitude. Its being nice. Its calming down. Its being good. Its being human.

If you have random thoughts like this, let's keep adding to the list.

And before you go, try one thing today! You can thank me later :-)

1. Smile.
2. Take 5 deep breaths.
3. Ask someone, "How is your day today?"
4. Say "Thank You" to someone who helped you.
5. Say "Thank You" to the person cleaning the streets, or your office hallway, or anyone who is just doing their job that makes your life a little better.
6. Say "Good Job" to a someone you know (a coworker, your kid, partner, whoever...).
7. Say "Good Job" with a follow-up comment, like "Good Job on getting me this document. You are a life saver".  You are assured to make a difference.
8. Write someone a 'Thank You note'.
9. Pick up a piece of trash. 
10. Sit still for 5 minutes without doing anything.
11. Try to avoid electronic devices for an hour.
12. Give a hug.  (If at work, ensure it doesn't violate your HR policies).
13. Make a meal on your own.
14. Look away at the distance for 2 minutes.
15. Close your eyes and keep it closed for 2 minutes.
16. Read one page of a book.
17. Read an entire book.
18. Drink water.
19. Drink more water.
20. Go for a short walk with no purpose.
21. Stop worrying about something for an hour that is bothering you.
22. Donate small amounts to charity.
23. Donate unused stuff to charity.
24. Declutter your space.
25. Clean that one room today.
26. Go for a walk, or run or workout.  If nothing else, just stand up for 15 mins.
27. Sleep for 8 hours.
28. Wake up without an alarm.
29. Splash cold water on your face.
30. Don't waste food for a day.
31. Mentor someone.
32. Give feedback for something or someone you liked.
33. Ask for feedback.
34. Laugh at a joke.
35. Pass on the joke.
36. Listen. Just listen to someone for few minutes.
37. Disconnect from social media for a few hours or a day.
38. Turn off your TV and leave it off for a few days.
39. Stretch.

5 Life Lessons from Rocky movies

I had a few days off around the Christmas holidays and binge watched the Rocky movies, primarily for entertainment but also for motivating myself for the upcoming New Year to get in shape for a big race that I had signed up for.  

You know you are in a downward spiral with fitness when you watch movies for inspiration... But hey, whatever it takes :-) 

As I started watching the first Rocky movie, I realized the movies had a few life lessons.  When I continued with the series, it had a handful of life lessons... I realized the 5 life lessons from the Rocky movies that are applicable to one's personal life as well to one's work life too.  

Spoiler alert: If you haven't watched the Rocky movies, and really really don't want to know anything, stop now and come back later.  There may be some minor spoilers here.

1. People matter

Rocky is who he is due to the people around him.  They make sacrifices for his success. They pushed and pulled him.  They yelled at him, fought with him, embraced him, argued with him, stood behind him, loved him, hated him but never gave up on him.  Whether it is Adrian, who unconditionally loved him with all his imperfections. Or his coach or his friends or even Creed, who started as his opponent, became a friend, and a coach and later motivated Rocky to take on a Russian champ upon his death.  

Rocky's success is not Rocky's boxing skills but the people around him.

2. Winning is not everything

Rocky doesn't always win a boxing match in these movies.  In fact, he loses the first one to Creed in Rocky 1.  He also fights his protege in Rocky 5 in a parking lot.  While Rocky movies are about boxing, it is not about winning. It is about the heart behind the sport, the toil it takes to get to the rings, the grit one exhibits, and the desire to push oneself, even if you get beat down.  It is about persistence, passion and purpose. 

Winning is not everything.

3. Do something you love

Never once in these movies, does Rocky say "I love boxing".  I can imagine other actors or movies adding a scene where Rocky stands in a boxing ring or at the top of the stairs in Philadelphia and shouts "I LOVE BOXING!!". It would have been a great 'punch' line, pun intended.  It would have made a great t-shirt slogan or a funny meme, similar to "I will be back" from the Terminator movies (Side-note: Look forward to the "5 Life Lessons from the Terminator movies", COMING SOON). 

Rocky really loved boxing, hence he gained the respect and love of not only his friends, but by the fans all over the world, including Russians in Rocky 4.

In the climax scene of Rocky 3, you see Rocky and Creed throw their first punch in a friendly match when all the media, cameras and fanfare is over, in their gym, when no one is watching, thats true love of the sport and sportsmanship.

Do something you love.

4. Money is not the only motivator

Rocky dabbles with money throughout these movies.  He is initially poor, then rich, then super rich, then poor again, but his love and passion for boxing is constant. He doesn't care if he has money or not, but he continues to do what he loves. He also doesn't take decisions for the sake of money.

Money will come and go, do what is right, it will all workout at the end.

5. It is OK to be imperfect

With the social media platforms, and filters for our photos, we are moving into a world where one wants to always exhibit their perfect side to the outer world. I have seen couples posting happy and funny pictures in their social media feed, and breaking up days after those happy posts.  I can go on and on about these social media posts not reflecting the reality, but a good lesson from Rocky is, he is very imperfect. That's what makes him the best.

Rocky didn't have money, he can't read or write properly, he f**ks up the TV commercials that he auditions for in Rocky 2, he doesn't manage money well, he can't express his feelings properly but he continues to be who he is, and he is greatly loved for that.

It is OK to be imperfect, be authentic.

I hope you enjoyed some of my thoughts watching the Rocky movies, one of the greatest movie series of the 20th Century.  The 5 lessons were derived to be from the 5 original parts of the movie.  Hopefully, one day I can revise this blog post for more lessons from the Creed movies.  

Cheers!