2 min read

What to do when you hit your head...

This might be my favorite story I've ever heard from a fellow runner.


šŸ¤” What do you do when you hit your head?

A friend of mine ran a 50-mile race years ago. At the finish line, all the runners were talking about the first-place female.

She hit her head on a rock and passed out in the middle of the race.

Imagine waking up on unfamiliar trails to discover that in the middle of your run, you had fallen, taken a hit to the head, and then passed out for an unknown amount of time. What would you do?

She kept running. She finished in first place for the women with blood stains from her forehead down to her shirt. You know what that's called? Resilience.

Resilience
The capacity to withstand or recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.
The ability of a substance or object to spring back into shape; elasticity

I'd love to do a study and maybe even write a book on resilience one day.

  • Who are these people with freak levels of ability to bounce back?
  • Can the average person cultivate this in their life?
  • What do you do when you hit difficulty?

For now, I'll leave you with the simple thought: when something goes wrong, your ability to emotionally bounce back is critical. Your awareness of how fast or slow you do so is the very first step.

šŸƒšŸ»ā€ā™‚ļø When Things Go Wrong While Running Or In Life

If you watch documentaries or run ultramarathon races, you'll hear a phrase pretty consistently: "Problem-solving." Rarely in long-distance running does everything cooperate. Your stomach can turn. You can sprain an ankle. Gear malfunctions. On and on.

Here's my three-step framework when I hit a problem in running or in life to practically attack it:

  • What is out of my control? Ignore it.
  • What is in my control? Pay attention to it.
  • What's the right next step? Don't delay. Do it quickly.

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Just run one mile... because one mile inevitably turns to two... Then, to three... And before you know it, you're running further than you ever dreamed. See you on the trails! šŸ¤™šŸ»