Fastest Known Time, unsupported: the second attempt

“Try it till you make it” was my conclusion after my first Berliner Höhenweg FKT attempt. “I will learn from my mistakes and do better!” I told myself after returning from Mayrhofen. In a Rocky film, Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now” would accompany a training montage. Reality is less heroic.

Humbler and more experienced, I thought I had learned my lesson. I accumulated elevation on local hills and fitted strength exercises around work. With everything going perfectly, I expected to improve by one or two hours. Meanwhile, Daniel Jung set a brilliant new FKT: 15:30 hours with his team’s support. I convinced myself I could approach that time, despite planning an unsupported run.

Body and mind out of sync

Perfect conditions were an illusion. A tick bite led to a Lyme disease diagnosis; antibiotics caused gastrointestinal problems. I was unsure whether to run on 12 September and only decided to try after my trusted doctor gave the all-clear.

An important work project was also struggling. A recent meeting agreed to set emotions aside and salvage what we could. But the minutes I considered objective were attacked in an email I read an hour before starting. Despite long, committed work, we had upset partners and customers. Unwinding the project was a possibility. That always hurts, especially during COVID.

On the Berliner Höhenweg, unsupported

Starting from Mayrhofen at midnight, I felt unwell. My mind was on work rather than the present. I missed a root and fell. The night was mixed: I sometimes struggled to find the route and was about 30 minutes behind Daniel’s splits, which I had written down for reference.

By daylight I was moving well. At Kasseler Hütte, 70 km into the 90 km route, I was 20 minutes behind Daniel. The heat on the technical Aschaffenburger Höhenweg then took its toll. Back in Mayrhofen I was 55 minutes slower, but 16:25 hours still meant an unsupported FKT!

This second attempt satisfied me much more than the first. It also showed that everything must align for big goals. My colleagues and I know the same dissatisfaction with project results. As after my first Berliner Höhenweg attempt, we sit together, analyse mistakes and identify improvements. We will keep training, cue heroic Rocky music, until we succeed.

In Any Given Sunday, Al Pacino describes life and football as games of inches: a half-step too early or late, a half-second too fast or slow, can make the difference. The inches are everywhere, in every break, minute and second.

Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, 2000

In work and sport, small differences decide the outcome. Keep trying, as I wrote in my previous post. But also put yourself in the best possible condition to meet high expectations and produce your best result.