How to overcome any obstacles: learning from the example ultramarafontsev

American Scott Jurek - one of the most renowned in the world ultramarafontsev. He did not just win in the grueling marathons, and has written several books about running.

But in 2015 he had especially hard when he tried to break the record of the passage of the Appalachian trail. This tourist route length of approximately 3.5 thousand kilometers. It stretches across 14 US states and the Appalachian Mountains. All the way there are no signs of civilization, but it is possible to meet bears and poisonous snakes.

I walked 38 minutes a day Jurek attempts to break the record. He suffered several injury legs, suffered the wettest June in the history of the state of Vermont in the last century, has overcome the most difficult part of the route - Mountain White Mountains in New Hampshire.

Being in a delirious after two hours of sleep and 26-hour transition, Jurek was faced with an insurmountable obstacle - tree roots on the road. According to him, then he just could not figure out what to do to get around the root, or step over. He was so tired that I forgot how to lift the legs and run like a normal person. As a result, he came to this root and fell.

Scott Jurek and previously held extra-long distance, but Appalachian Trail squeeze out of it all. In the fifth week, he lost more than five kilograms, look became wild and unfocussed. The mind could not cope with the load. One night Jurek puzzled by the strange fire on the mountaintop. It turned out it was the Moon.

Jurek described this the hard way in the book North: Finding My Way While Running the Appalachian Trail. According to him, bringing myself to the limit, clear, and you experience a spiritual transformation. "The soul of man finds solace in the beauty of nature, but it is tempered in the fire of pain," - he writes.

Jurek is not the only athlete tells about the amazing features of human aging. Diana Nayad swimmer on long distances, wrote a book Find a Way: The Inspiring Story of One Woman's Pursuit of a Lifelong Dream. In it she tells how in '64, she realized her dream - sailed from Cuba to Florida. She became the first swimmer in the world to break this distance without a protective shark cage. Nayad floated 180 kilometers for 53 hours.

Such books help us understand how and why the hardiest people on earth to persevere when others in their place would have long given up. The reader thinks, how far can he go. And more importantly - is it worth doing it. Athletes ultramarafontsy - not the most reliable source wisdom, But that's what makes them so interesting experience for others.

However, the desire to overcome yourself is not the best slogan for motivational posters. It often ends tragically. For example, a climber Aron Ralston was forced to amputate his arm to get out from under a fallen boulder on him. Each Jurek Dean Potter, engaged in base jumping, was killed during a jump.

I knew ultramarafontsev, who finished the race, when they denied the kidneys, or died from a brain aneurysm after a 160-kilometer marathon.

Scott Jurek

He and other athletes skillfully learned to go to the limit. And the secret of such exposure can not experiment with vegan or code of the samurai, who are addicted to Jurek. Most of his career, he just did not think that makes him engage in such heavy exercise. "When you win a race, rarely ask themselves, why"- he writes in his book. For athletes, its level endurance itself serves as an excuse. The main thing for them - do not give up.

Science confirms that the unwavering commitment ultramarafontsam forward must be no less than the talent. "Psychological and physiological side endurance inseparable - writes journalist and former marathon runner Alex Hutchinson book Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance. - Any problem lasting more than 10-12 seconds, the brain needs to decide how much to persist. "

Brain regularly checks reserve of physical strength and asks the body, but the fact still hold. Physiologists agree that brain It affects the sense of its own limits. He interprets the body's signals. This will determine how much effort you'll be able to make a particular point. If a little correct way of thinking, you can change the perception of their own physical limits.

Hutchinson advises for this very traditional ways: positive thinking and visualization. But there are less than the usual methods. For example, brain endurance training. Within a few weeks, you need to perform tedious tasks on your computer. This program teaches deal with psychological fatigue.

The main incentive to overcome their own barriers - it's good old-fashioned belief in yourself.

Nevertheless, one of motivation will not go far. But unshakable faith in their ability to helpThe Relationship Between Confidence and Performance Throughout a Competitive Season. Athletes "turn on" additional speed. "The training - it's cake, and a belief in themselves - icing, - says Hutchinson. - But sometimes even a thin layer of glaze is crucial. "

Such belief is formed a unexpected manner. It turned out, the main thing - not to engage in soul-searching. Hutchinson spent a lot of time examining the bones of their victories and defeats. But it did no good to his career. But Jurek, according to his book, even to the Appalachian Trail never occurred to doubt yourself. But this marathon was given to him the other difficult.

In 2015-m Jurek was 41, a year before he was going to finish the running career. But because of family difficulties I decided to participate in one of the toughest races. He had hoped to look inward, but this self-examination is only impeded the passage of the way. Already on the seventh day Jurek hesitated. He tore a quadriceps, and he strongly inflamed knee. In this state, he first began to wonder, why bother at all it is trapped. helped him mantraThat repeats one of the runners-mates: "This is me. This is what I do. "

No need to think about what you need to endure and move on. It is overcoming your own barriers makes us ourselves.

This helped Jurek did not give up. He wound aching feet with adhesive medical tape and, limping, went further.

Farr Jennifer Davis, the previous record for the passage of the Appalachian trails, confirms the importance of such an intrusive determination. She talked about her experiences in the book "The Pursuit of Endurance: Harnessing the Record-Breaking Power of Strength and Resilience. It athlete shares the secrets and useful habits, which helped her to achieve success in the hiking and cross-country running.

Davis twice passed the Appalachian Trail and set the fastest time of the women. "Endurance is not just a human quality. it the main thing human quality - she writes. - We exist only as long as persist. "

Davis wanted to prove that he can overcome this route. Usually men performed better on all cross-country distances. But when it comes to extreme distances, both on the Appalachian Trail, a greater amount of light and strong muscles do not give men the benefits. Women can counter this more appropriate physique and ability of the body faster burn fats. As well as the desire to prove what they can do. That it helped Davis to put the record.

However, achieving the desired, it is left running. According to her, after the birth of the child she can not pass ultramarafonskie distance. But an obstacle - not the body after birth. Motherhood has affected her not so much physically as emotionally. Now she can not as much as 46 days to think only about themselves and their interests.

Although Davis lost Competitive and spirit, she agreed with Jurek that extreme endurance - this is more a vocation than a choice. She still appreciates such exposure. And even he admits that a little bit jealous of those who do not abandon this way of life. But Davis realizes that extreme physical exertion require sacrifices. Most people find it in the life of something else that is worth to stop.

But not Scott Jurek. Tripping over a root of the ill-fated, he again rose to his feet, and a week later broke the record by Jennifer Pharr Davis.

He walked the Appalachian Trail in 46 days, 8 hours and 7 minutes. Endurance helped him to overcome all obstacles, including himself.

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