Relentless Forward Progress_ A Guide to Running Ultramarathons - Bryon Powell [79]
Call for Feedback on and Supplements to Relentless Forward Progress
We can all learn something from one another. That’s why, as this book wraps up, I’m calling for your feedback. Please take the time to send me an email at:
relentlessforwardprogress@gmail.com
letting me know what you liked about the book and what you felt was lacking. Was there too much information on a subject or not enough on another? Were you left with any questions the book never answered?
Not only will your thoughts help me learn, but you may help other readers, as I will publish supplements to Relentless Forward Progress on iRunFar.com based on reader feedback. You can find them at www.iRunFar.com/rfp/resources. For more immediate answers to your ultrarunning questions, direct them to the entire iRunFar community at www.iRunFar.com/ forum.
Ultrarunning and the Internet
While it’s great to learn about ultrarunning directly from those around you, the Internet provides a nearly limitless set of ultrarunning resources and encouragement. You can find training plans for specific races, injury information, race description and reports, training tips, gear reviews, and many other information sources. If you’re interested in seeing how the elites train, many share their training logs and running journals on the Web. For every elite blog, there are many middle- and back-of-the-packers sharing their personal running journeys on the net. You might better relate to the training volumes and concerns of these runners, so their blogs are worth checking out. What’s more, connecting with other runners via blogs, ultrarunning forums, and email listservs provides you with a ready source of encouragement and reassurance when those in your everyday life might think you’re crazy. Given that the Internet is so dynamic, a list of useful websites, blogs, and additional online resources will be maintained at www.iRunFar.com/rfp/resources.
At its core, ultrarunning is an individual sport. Training requires many hours spent out on the roads or trails. You might enjoy this solitude; however, it is enjoyable to share your experiences and connect with other like-minded runners. The good news is that it’s easy to do so even away from races and running clubs. Blogs and social media allow even the least tech-savvy among us to embrace a community of runners around the world.
My own running-related writing career began by starting a personal running blog, like so many thousands of others. I found that I was able to easily share my running with my family and my running buddies. Over time, I connected with other ultrarunners. They gave me support and feedback regarding my running on my blog, while I returned the favor on their blogs as well. Those relationships further grew in online forums before resulting in in-person meetings and friendships. Although I belonged to both a road and a trail running club at the time, I could rarely meet up with those runners more than once a week. My small online running community kept me fired up the rest of the time.
Ultrarunning as a Family Affair
What about your own family and close friends? Unless they’re runners, every time you head out for a run, you’re spending time away from them. That’s time away from helping with housework, running errands, watching the kids, or spending quality time with loved ones. The point of this is not to make you feel guilty; rather, it’s to remind you that your own family makes many sacrifices to accommodate your ultra training and racing.
Including your family and friends in your ultrarunning