inside excellent life
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One day at the Rome marathon (www.maratonadiroma.it) and it’s time to free your mind from all the uncertainties about the performance, some ideas:
The marathon as life metaphor.
“… if me too and, like me, thousands of normal persons can run more than 42 km, then all is possible. Also to stop the wars.
(Alessandro Bertani, Emergency vice president)
The activity-tracking app – Strava – has released some information looking at the habits and activities of London Marathon runners from last year. And it’s good news for the most experienced runners.
Ultramaratoneti e gare estreme
Matteo Simone
Roma Prospettiva editrice, 2016, p.298
Parlare di ultramaratona è difficile perché con facilità si può scadere nella retorica del sacrificio, del no pain-no gain. Questo libro, invece, parla di questo tema dando voce alla esperienze positive e negative di chi corre. Infatti si parla all’inizio della corsa, anzi del movimento, e di quanto sia importante muoversi quotidianamente scegliendo la misura che è più indicata e piacevole per la persona. Successivamente il lettore è condotto nel mondo della corsa di lunga distanza e quindi anche in quello dell’ultramaratona. Qui il racconto assume sempre più una dimensione narrativa in cui Simone Matteo fa parlare i diretti protagonisti attraverso le loro esperienze. La maggior parte di loro sono persone comuni, non atleti professionisti, che parlano delle ragioni che sottendono a questa scelta sportiva. Sono in generale motivazioni che nascono dal desiderio di migliorare la conoscenza di se stessi, attraverso la conoscenza di quali siano i propri limiti e come superarli. Il corpo parla continuamente a questi amanti dell’endurance, poiché la distanza determina sollecitazioni che le corse brevi e di media lunghezza non arrivano a determinare. Ascoltarsi vuol dire anche sapere quando fermarsi dando retta proprio ai segnali che provengono dal fisico. Non ascoltarli significa andare incontro a problemi fisici anche gravi, come viene raccontato da alcuni runner. Il libro scorre in modo interessante poiché Matteo Simone narra delle storie personali senza avere la pretesa d’insegnare cosa sia l’ultramaratona ma lasciandola scoprire al lettore attraverso le parole di chi la pratica. Ognuno di noi se ne farà quindi un’idea personale, basata su cosa riteniamo sia la corsa, la corsa di lunga distanza e il nostro rapporto con il movimento. E’, quindi, un libro aperto a diverse soluzioni interpretative dettate dalle esperienze di chi legge e credo che questo sia il suo pregio principale.
A 92-year-old cancer survivor has become the oldest woman to finish a marathon. American Harriette Thompson ran the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon in San Diego in seven hours, 24 minutes and 36 seconds. Having survived three bouts of oral cancer, Thompson crossed the line accompanied by her son Brenny, 56. Aged 92 years and 65 days, Thompson took the record of 92 years and 19 days set by Gladys Burrill in the Honolulu Marathon in 2010. ”I guess it’s sort of unusual now,” she said. “But in 10 years it won’t be ususual at all. People are living longer … I guess the secret is just keep going and pleasant thoughts.” Thompson, a two-time cancer survivor, runs to raise awareness and funds for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
Many people ask me what is the marathon and if it’s a pleasure in travelingto run all those kilometers. This thought by Mauro Covacich, Italian writer and runner, is one of the possible explanations.
“The marathon is a kind of permanent faith: just to have finish it only once to feel marathoners for a life. It’s like psychoanalysis. Yes, I consider it a form of martial art, an inner discipline. It’s intrinsically. For workouts that it requires, for the way that leads you to perceive the environment, for the effort that demands on your body. The marathoner is a samurai with shoes instead of the sword: he’s extremely severe with himself, not never forgives, he is constantly struggling against the limits … it’s a mistake to think at the marathon as a sport, it’s a discipline maximally aesthetic. It’s a vision of the world: not only those forty-two kilometers from running in the shortest possible time, it’s the idea to resist, to go further … “
The champions’ world are of unbelievable value. Lornath Kiplagat, Olympian and world road record-holder, talks about the running. Nature, individuals and atmoshere. Fun and performance. Amazing: we have to learn a lot from her. atleta olimpica e record mondiale su strada, parla della corsa fata di natura, persone e ambiente. Divertimento e prestazione. Incredibile: impariamo da lei.
“Where’s your favourite place to run? Definitely Iten in Kenya. Because of the natural trails, the people living around there, the atmosphere and the runners. Everyone is a runner. If you aren’t running, it’s like: “What are you doing?” You don’t struggle to run – it’s just a part of life there. The morning, the middle of the day, the night … no one minds. That’s the best place. Competition-wise, it’s the London Marathon. It’s a pity I’ve never really had a chance to win it, but I’ve always had fun there. London has always been good to me over the years, even if I didn’t perform. Many athletes think you need to win, to be top-three. I never won but I still think it’s really special. I really appreciate the way they treat the athletes here. It’s amazing.” (by The Guardian)
Yesterday there was the webinar titled “The marathon mental coaching” and one question concerned the use of mindfulness in the marathon. If we mean with mindfulness “to allow the present to be as it is and to allow us to be, simply, in this present” (John Teasdale) this mental condition can certainly be useful to the marathon. During the long distance running the present is the stride or the breath. Learn how to listen it’s especially useful in the early pahses and in the end of the marathon, in which for the athletes is important to be aware of the reactions of the body. During the run the mindfulness can be differentiate from non-judgmental acceptance of the present, because the athletes may be aware that they are in trouble. For example, they realize that breathing became too frequent or the heart rate is too high, or even that the stride is becoming increasingly heavy. In these moments, the runners have to go in a state of mind more active, with the aim to reduce or counteract these feelings that are undermining the run.The runners maybe short the stride or slow down a few seconds the speed or shift the attention to other aspects, distracting from these debilitating feelings. Many runners use a dissociative strategy allowing to be focused on anything else but your own body. Paula Radcliffe said that in these moments she counts to 100, knowing that after she counted three times she ran another mile. Every runner has to find solutions during workouts. The marathon training is very challenging and difficult times met are used to find these answers and begin to put them into practice, so as to arrive at the day of the race the runners will be mentally prepared.
Some top marathoners seem to make greater use of awareness of the work done. Rethinking the training they’ve done and from these exeperiences come the confidence and motivation.
For other the goal setting strategies are the basis of their experiences and skill to motivate themselves.
For others, it seem to dominate more the emotional component in driving motivation.
