What is the “4x4x48”?
– It’s a challenge that you can complete at any time throughout the year BUT….. David Goggins schedules a world wide even in early March. It’s a 4 mile run every 4 hours for 48 hours. So, you run 48 miles in 48 hours. While it’s advertised as a run, rest assured, you can do ANYTHING every 4 hours. The idea is to push your self to do something difficult, and live to the other side and see that it wasn’t impossible.
I did it this year (2021).
– My husband did it last year and I just couldn’t live with myself knowing he did something I know I could do too. So, we did it together this year.
– I did not train. Not even a little bit. I couldn’t have told you the last run I did before embarking on this great adventure. Not a good idea. The physical therapist me was very disappointed. But that’s ok. I still listened to my body and made adjustments.
– I ran the first 3 legs. I walked the rest. During the second leg I had some sharp knee pain that did not go away. Even with rest, it hurt, especially with impact. I tried to see if it would warm up on the third leg, but to no avail. I walked the rest which meant, I slept less. Honestly, the lack of sleep was always going to be the harder part anyway.
– I also had drill during this. I was on virtual conferences throughout all the waking hours of this event. Kind of a blessing when it came to having to walk. I didn’t feel as bad about the walking. It also meant no day time naps.
Lessons learned.
– Don’t be dumb. Train. Even if you don’t think you need to, do it. It’s not just about “needing” the training time. It’s also about enjoying yourself. It’s a thousand times more fun when you enjoy yourself doing something hard. Training makes it possible.
– Sometimes doing the same route is good. Normally I like to through some diversity in my running routes just to see new things. Overall, I think with regular running days, that’s still what I like to do. When participating in the actual event though? It’s nice to repeat the same route. You get an idea of where you are in relation to start and finish. You can make judgements on how you’re doing/feeling/moving/etc. as you progress each leg. I run with something tracking me all the time, but I don’t particularly like looking at it all the time, so it’s nice when I can see a light post and think “oh, I’m a mile away”, or get to a hill and think, “this felt a lot harder last time”. Whatever. It’s nice.
– I like doing hard things. I thrive when I have a goal or challenge set in front of me. I’m not alway thriving in the specific goal or challenge I facing (case in point, this 4x4x48), but I do emotionally. I’m recharged and ready to conquer the world. I’m more focused on the daily tasks, I’m ready to implement changes, I’m hungry for more life.
So what? Who cares?
– Really, no one cares. Just me. Maybe Mike. Likely the cats. But that’s it. But the so what, is do hard things. Show yourself you can. Solve problems. Don’t sit back and accept mediocracy. We are in a world today that is looking for anything about you that says you’re a victim. You don’t have to be. Bad things legitimately happen, and I’m sorry for anyone that has been on the receiving end, but YOU choose YOUR story. Don’t let someone else put the cage of victimhood around you. Break free. Make a change. Overcome hard things.
– Also, I’m planning another hard thing. Not sure what it is, but I’ll keep you posted. If you have ideas, leave them in the comments.
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