#26: 90 Days of Sobriety and a 30-Mile Trail Run

You can find the full episode description and show notes at https://edgeofcomfort.com/eocp26/

On this episode of the Edge of Comfort Podcast, I share stories, lessons, and insights from two of my recent life challenges: staying completely sober for 90-days, and completing a 30-mile trail run.

"Use your sober period as an opportunity to become aware and understand what you use alcohol for…I’ve used it to cover up weaknesses, pain, or other areas of my life I know I should work on but ignore."

In the past few years of my life, I’ve held two beliefs that I rarely, if ever, questioned:

• Alcohol is a necessary part of weekends and social life
• I am not a runner, nor do I have any desire whatsoever to run anything more than a 5k.

Inspired by recent podcast conversations and listening to other people’s stories of their challenges, I started to think of ways I could challenge myself and seek discomfort.

Two possibilities popped into my head right away.

The first was my relationship with alcohol and how abundant it is in many of the social situations I engage in and seek. Nearly every weekend involved drinking. I felt I was becoming disconnected and distracted from some real personal and professional work I wanted to do.

Previously, I did two separate months of sobriety and enjoyed these experiences, but they felt too quick. Like I was just scratching the surface of a different form of introspection. I thought this could be an interesting area to explore more.

The second area I wanted to challenge involved the physical realm and my commitment to truly testing myself, finding and breaking through my perceived limits, and learning to not give in to bullshit excuses. In September and October of 2018, I completed my first two half-marathons and felt like I was beginning to go down this road. Similarly to my month periods of sobriety, I was just scratching the surface and had a lot to discover and learn.

What really moved my commitment to these challenges took shape in the form of the question, “What would happen if…?”

What would happen if I was completely sober for three months? Not a drop of alcohol (or any other drugs, for that matter). What would happen to my physical, mental, and spiritual health? Would I still seek the same experiences, activities, or people? Would I be more productive? Gain more clarity and connection to my self?

What would happen if I set out to run a distance I had previously thought unimaginable? Would I stay committed to the process and training? Would my body even be able to handle that amount of distance? What the hell would I think about during a 30-mile run? Would I experience pain and adversity, and be able to push through it, like so many of my idols?

Once these ideas came into my head I couldn’t shake them. I didn’t want these ideas to be another “What if” in my life instead of actually trying.

I was also excited because I felt these two challenges would help me better understand myself. My thoughts, habits, stories I tell myself, beliefs I hold, and my perceived limitations. They would rip me out of my comfort zone and force me to look at things in a way not previously possible.

In late 2018, I decided that from January 1st to April 1st, 2019, I would remain completely sober. I also decided I would train and attempt to run 30-miles in one shot by the end of March.

My sights were set, I was excited for what was to come and what I would learn along the way, and the challenges began.

Thank you for listening and enjoy!

You can find the full episode description and show notes at https://edgeofcomfort.com/eocp26/