Ultramarathon Man
A few weeks ago, I finished up “Ultramarathon Man” by Dean Karnazes. It’s an excellent memoir by a regular guy who picked up and fell in love with beating the hell out of his body through endurance running. I highly recommend it to anyone who’s looking for inspiration for their workouts.
Here are a few quotes I jotted down from the book.
“If it felt good,” [my coach] said, squinting like Clint Eastwood, “you didn’t push hard enough. It’s supposed to hurt like hell.”
“Go out there and run to the best of your ability,” he replied. “Don’t run with your legs. Run with your heart.”
“This was an exploration into the possibilities of self.”
“Throeau once said that a man’s riches are based on what he can do without.”
“Most dreams die a slow death. They’re conceived in a moment of passion, with the prospect of endless possibility, but often languish and are not pursued with the same heartfelt intensity as when first born. Slowly, subtly, a dream becomes elusive and ephemeral.”
“What [the supporters] cared about was that a person had taken the time to train, and sacrifice, and dedicate himself wholeheartedly to the pursuit of a dream. It was a powerful message; I was just the host.”
“Yes, I had failed - but it had actually been a sepctacular failure, gloriously disintegrating every aspect of my body and soul until I literally fell over in the dirt.”
“People think I’m crazy to put myself through such torture, though I would argue otherwise. Somewhere along the line we seem to have confused comfort with happiness.”
“You only live once, but if you work it right, once is enough.”