Training for an ultramarathon requires a lot of hours out on the trail. It also requires time in the gym. But when you are an ultramarathon runner and an obstacle course runner, it requires a lot of time both running and in strength training.

Devin Nelson is both an obstacle course runner and an ultramarathon runner. And he says that his training plan is the Dad Training Plan. He squeezes in his workouts wherever he can between working and being a dad and husband. He finds a way to get it all done. He has several 100-mile finishes to his credit and this year competed in the World's Toughest Mudder 24-hour obstacle course race. 

But don’t let the idea of “Achievable” be an excuse to set goals that are “Safe.”

Here’s a clue that you’re setting your goals too small.

If you feel stuck, you might be playing it too safe.

If you feel like your’re in Groundhog Day, you might be playing it too safe.

If you feel tired and sluggish, you might be playing it too safe.

If you have brain fog and get distracted, you might be playing it too safe.

If you often feel bored, you might be playing it too safe.

Ray Zahab has run in some of the most extreme places and conditions in the world. From the Sahara Desert to Death Valley and most of the major deserts in the world, he's crossed them on foot in the hottest parts of the year. On the other extreme, he's done multiple Arctic treks, including a world record to the South Pole.

He uses running and adventure as a way to instruct and inspire students around the world who follow his adventures and interact in real time with him. And he founded Impossible to Possible, an organization that takes students out of the classroom to experience their own adventure challenges. 

Follow the Pirate Code!

The only thing I remember from Pirates of the Caribbean.

But when the Code isn’t working out so well for you:

Well, it’s not a Code. It’s more like guidelines we try to follow.

This is the start of a New Year.

A lot of us are setting goals for what we want to achieve this year.

Some of you are setting SMART goals.

Going off into the bush by herself is Jaqui O'Donohoe's idea of a great way to spend the day . . . or several days. Jaqui is an ultramarathon runner and adventurer. She enjoys trail running and racing. And she also likes to put her necessities in a backpack and head out by herself on the trail.

Jaqui also enjoys playing Cricket on a women's Cricket team.

New Year Resolutions don’t last much longer than fresh fish in the fridge.

Then why do we keep making them?

Here’s a radical idea. DON’T make Resolutions this year.

Instead, set goals that matter to you and do what it takes to crush them.

Here is a free offer! My video course called “How to Crush Your Goals.”

Walking a mail route every day would be enough of a workout for most people. But Ryan Petty is both a mail carrier and an ultramarathon runner. He says running saved his life. He decided to lose weight and get his life straight, and running seemed to him like a good way to do that. He progressed by trial and error and gathered injuries and lessons along the way. Now he is a seasoned ultramarathon runner with the mindset and goal to be a lifelong runner.

Imagine yourself sitting in the scene from Anger Management.

Who are you?

Not your job.

Not your personality.

Not your roles and responsibilities: Mother, Father, Husband, Wife

Most of the time none of us stop to think about this.

Why does it matter?

Carl Jung: The world will ask who you are, and if you don’t know, the world will tell you.

What does this mean?

The world will tell you that who you are is determined by what you do and what you have.

You’ve probably heard the story of how to boil a frog. If you put the frog in a pot of boiling water, he will jump out. But if you put a frog in a pot of cool water and gradually turn up the heat, the frog will stay in until he boils to death.

My experience with frogs: They wouldn’t stay in the pot no matter what.

But the conventional wisdom from this story is: You will adapt to gradual “crap” piling up on you until it eventually kills you.