One Productive Day [24 hours, 24 miles, 10,000ft vertical gain, 12 distinct tasks completed]

Setting a goal for yourself and working your way towards accomplishing said goal is one of the most important exercises you can undertake on a regular basis. Through it you will learn “the way”, and once you know the way broadly, you will see it in everything.

I decided to challenge myself with another goal/growth project: Run 1 mile every hour for 24 hours and be as productive as possible in between runs. Productive means constructive, to your development of self and to society. Design, build, create, inspire, and motivate were high on my list of things to do. I got the inspiration after watching Beau Miles’ rendition of this challenge (check out his refreshing and inspiring work on YouTube). I was also looking forward to enjoying DIY projects in a new light.

As a secondary goal, I aimed to cover at a minimum 10,000ft of cumulative vertical gain over 24 hours, resulting in some pretty slow miles. The trail network behind my house offers some pretty steep hills with 200-300ft of gain in one climb. Additionally all runs would be done at the top of the hour (or close to it), so no doubling up (ex. running bottom of 1 hour and top of consecutive hour) and taking a nap would be possible. I am not a big caffeine drinker (I don’t drink coffee or energy drinks normally), so the only caffeine I consumed over 24 hours was the 35mg/serving included in my Tailwind electrolyte drink mix.

Course: For this challenge, I covered 24.72 miles of technical trails with 10,135ft of vertical gain in ascent. That comes out to about 410ft of vertical gain per mile. In comparison, the AC100 race which i was preparing for (but has since been cancelled), features around 19,930ft of vertical gain over 100.2 miles, or roughly 200ft of vertical gain per mile. For our backyard adventure, we are covering more than twice the average steepness compared to my 100 miler race, good training. To get this total gain, I did mostly hill repeats of two main hills in our backyard trail complex.

Purpose: The purpose of this project is to get back to our productive roots and mindset, to steer away from the non-constructive influences that have become so prevalent in our first-world society, to simply learn from taking on a challenge with a lot of unknowns, and to have an adventure right in my own backyard. There was no big training build-up, with the go-decision made less than 48-hours prior to the start, but a good test of my baseline level of physical and mental fitness nonetheless.

Additionally, this 24 hour ‘training’ sessions offered a good reminder at what it is like to be busy and moving for a whole day. My first 100-miler, originally slated for 01 August, was already cancelled a few months ago due to COVID-19. Nevertheless, having the opportunity to be moving and doing things for 24-hours is a good confidence builder i can do so during the actual race (which i would be very happy to complete in under 30 hours).

Modifications: This challenge is easily modifiable by substituting the run with any other exercise (ex. 10-15 minutes of walking, biking, yoga or weights) or by reducing the total duration to 12 hours or less.

Tasks completed: During the 24 hours, i completed the following:
0) Ran 24.72 miles with 10,135ft of vertical gain
1) Prepped and enjoyed 6 meals
2) Published NQM023: Don’t wait to become the person you want to become
3) Cut & trimmed the shelves for our kitchen island build
4) Built doggo stairs for Jackson (our 8 year old Pitbull) out of scrap wood
5) Took the doggos for 3 walks
6) Cleaned & organized the garage and kitchen
7) Organized the some 300+ parts for my first 3D printer build
8) Assembled the y-axis rods, plates, and motor mounts for 3D printer, along with the build platform
9) Published NQM024: Who we become in the act of trying
10) Worked on mobility/flexibility for 40 minutes (yoga, foam rolling, and stretching)
11) Gave MaeC (our 5 month old German Shepard) a ‘swim lesson’
12) Made all bill & rent payments
**Had a great adventure right in my own backyard!

Lessons learned: Just like with my 4x4x48 and 19 Murphs challenges, the over-arching goal is to come away from this project with a few lessons learned or re-enforced.

1. Have a plan: Due to the elevation gain, my miles were pretty slow. By the time i got out the door, completed my mile, and got back to the garage typically 30 minutes or more would have elapsed in the hour. This did not give a whole lot of time to accomplish a task. It did, however, force me to be very deliberate about hitting the ground running to accomplish whatever I had planned for that hour. The first few minutes of a task can often dictate how well it is going to go. What type of mentality and character do you bring to it? Do you have an initial road-map in your mind of how to get started? The shortened time-line forced me to think about the task before I even started it (i.e. during the run), and allowed me to get more done in less time.

2. Minimize distractions: Given that I only had 30 or so minutes to accomplish a task, I had to minimize distractions. One of the most common distractions these days is social media (and the internet to a greater extent). I wanted to post updates every 4 hours, but that was it. My #1 technique for minimizing distractions is to remove the distraction media. The only personal device that I do not have social media sites/apps (Facebook, Instagram etc.) blocked on is my iPad. Unlike my phone, I rarely have my iPad on me, so it is the perfect device to work/view any social media as it is often not readily accessible (i.e. I have to ‘go collect it’).
   
   A similar approach can be used for any other distraction. If you want to get things done but the bed is calling you for naps, simply remove all sheets from the bed, the pillows out of their pillow cases, and the duvet out of its cover. This way you have to actively put everything together again to take a nap in your bed. If you are distracted by the internet or the TV and want to go outside instead, unplug your modem or take the batteries out of the remote. If you live with someone, take it a step further and ask them to help you by ‘hiding’ the modem or batteries until you are out of the house. Distractions and, to a more extreme extent addictions, can have varying degrees of severity. Sometimes you have to get creative to combat their negative implications.

3. 24 hours is not that long of a time to be busy: A lot of us would think that being awake and moving/working for 24 hours is an impossible feat. The truth of the matter is that once you are busy and focused on a task, pursuing a goal, or chipping away at a larger endeavor, the body and mind will tend to adapt rather quickly and perform. Although this challenge is certainly not one to do every weekend, or even every month for that matter, it is a good challenge to put in your backpocket to rehack your recency of a ‘tough day’. This will allow you to rely on recent experience to get through tough times, when the challenges aren’t as ‘trivial’ as they would be when doing a project like this.

4. Time is extremely valuable: We all know that time is the most precious commodity known to mankind. You can’t buy it, store or save it, or generate more out of it. Once a second, a minute, or an hour passes you will never get that time back again. As the famous saying goes, “from the moment we are born, we start dying”.

   Doing a project like this shows you the value of time. As mentioned before, the 10K+ ft of elevation gain resulted in some pretty slow miles, and thus I only had minimal time to work tasks in between. This project reinforced to me again how much I can get done given only 20 minutes. You can take this go-to attitude anywhere in life. If you see a pile of dishes in front of you and you have a 5 free minutes, do them right then and there, so you free up time later in your day (you will have to do them eventually anyway). If you have been thinking about doing a certain race or even going on a certain trip, sign up and commit. Your mind and body will become more efficient with time and preparation when you know you have a deadline to meet (in the case of this project, the deadline was every top of the hour!). These are micro-habits that, when enforced, can provide a tremendous amount of efficiency in your life.

5. Sometimes the biggest adventures are right in our own backyard: That is, if you keep an open mind! For 24 hours, I basically worked with a 2 mile stretch of trail and 2 hills, and it felt like I had just summited Mnt Williamson in the high Sierras (coincidentally, this project was great training for the 23 mile, 10,100ft elevation gain grind to the summit!). I chose this weekend because i was quarantining due to COVID-19, and made the most of staying at home.

Break-down: Below is the breakdown of the project in 4-hour segments.

0600-1000 - Total Distance/Gain: 5.03miles/1,801ft
The first four hours went by pretty smoothly. I tried a few different loops and decided that in order to achieve the 10,000ft of cumulative elevation gain I had to do hill-repeats. If you are a morning person (like me), you can make this challenge even more difficult by starting later in the day.

Tasks completed:
1/24: Took the doggos on a walk, took MaeC on a run, breakfast #1
2/24: Gathered scrap wood out of the shed for today’s projects, traced out cuts for Jackson’s doggo stairs (old man can use an assist to get on to things!)
3/24: Trimmed the top shelve pieces for our kitchen island w/ 1/4” spacing.
4/24: Second breakfast, cut wood to size for Jackson’s doggo stairs.

1000-1400 - Total Distance/Gain: 9.13miles/3,579ft
The temperature rose fast as the morning faded into noon. I was staying well hydrated through a combination of water and Tailwind. I got into a good grove with tasks, but realized that an non-insignificant time between runs would be dedicated to preparing and eating meals. Still, I count that as being productive!

Tasks completed:
5/24: 20mins of yoga and foam rolling,
6/24: elevenses, MaeC swim lesson, dishes
7/24: lunch, cut and trim kitchen island lower shelves
8/24: laundry, cut and mount cleats on doggo stair

1400-18000 - Total Distance/Gain: 13.23miles/5,647ft
This was the hottest section of the day, with temperatures hovering around 100F shortly after noon. I saw it as a great opportunity and challenge to keep my hydration in check, taking in enough salt and fluids on the run, and always having ice-cold water ready in between to keep my body temperature down. I was also getting into a good groove hitting the ground running with my tasks, mentally preparing how to most efficiently use my time before the task even began.

Tasks completed:
9/24: cut and vigorously mounted cleats on opposite frame of doggo stairs.. it was on the wrong side
10/24: afternoon tea, laundry, fixing my bamboozle from the previous hour
11/24: cut and install risers for doggo stairs
12/24: pre-dinner dinner, laid on floor

1800-2200 - Total Distance/Gain: 16.91miles/6,693ft
The temperature started dropping and I was happy to welcome cooler temps. In the previous 4 hour window I had ran 4 consecutive hill repeats on the steeper hill. I wanted to build up some elevation margin as the steeper and more technical descent wouldn’t be my preferred option in the dark. I continued to get into a good groove of being productive with my time.

13/24: ‘finished’ doggo stairs. Will trim, sand/paint, and cover w fabric tomorrow
14/24: mellow evening walk with my main dude Dr Jackson, cleaned garage
15/24: dinner prep, chicken & Guac burrito bowl for the win
16/24: cleaned up kitchen, 10min stretch, contemplated my life choices some more

2200-0200 - Total Distance/Gain: 20.72miles/8,376ft
I am a fan of running at night, especially on trails. The cooler temperature, the peace and quiet, and the stars coming out all make for a good time. When you are tackling big elevation gain, its also nice not to be able to see further than your headlamp beam, which means you often won’t see the doom and gloom of a big hill further out in front of you. I was also excited to start my first 3D printer build. I had been waiting for a few weeks for all the different parts to come in, and was ready to start it.

17/24: started draft of NQM blog post #23
18/24: supper, Published NQM023: Don’t wait to become the person you want to become
19/24: 10min nap, paid bills
20/24: dessert, started construction of my first 3D printer build, y-axis frame

0200-0600 - Total Distance/Gain: 24.72miles/10,135ft
This time period is always one of my favorites to get things done during projects like this. Its a good, even primitive feeling, to be out having an adventure and working hard while everyone else is in their warm comfy beds with a roof over their heads. The last portion of a challenge like this is always a good time to reflect on lessons learned and to be proud of yourself for the accomplishment you are about to finish. These are important aspects of self-growth. No one is more invested, and no one will be more proud, of your own accomplishments.

21/24: shifting direction to start draft of NQM024
22/24: published NQM024: Who we become in the act of trying
23/24: continued my printer build, installing the working bed and main-frame.
24/24: enjoyed a nice sunrise, and that’s a wrap! Invaluable mental and physical experience that I’ll be able to lean on when times get tough. Now time to eat (again) and get some rest.