Ever want something more out of life? Maybe tried setting a new years goal? A new years resolution?
It wasn’t enough.
You couldn’t figure it out, you just knew it was something – right?
my “light bulb” moment was when I heard about a Misogi – and that started me down the path of running.
Here’s my story on why I got into running…
some highlights: I didn’t think a marathon was even possible when I started, finished a 200-mile ultra-marathon, and what’s in store for 2023.
What even is a Misogi?
The Misogi comes from the Japanese. The main thing you gotta know about it is that you do something SO HARD for one day, that no matter what happens the other 364 days – the year was a W.
The end-of-year (EOY) goals are a start.
But new years resolutions, usually never get done. (that’s actually how i started working out, from a new years resolution in 2016)
The misogi is taking over… why? Because it just makes sense for us humans and how we operate – the struggle part – even though we might not like that.
Think about it, what if we did one thing so miserable that the rest of the year was a breeze? How much value would that bring us?
Misogi translates to water cleansing, a practice some cultures do annually – taking a loooooonnng hike, a pilgrimage, standing in freezing cold water, a purification.
Think how simple that is? When was the last time you truly hopped on the struggle bus?
When was the last time you did the struggle bus thing willingly?
See we know if we do hard things, that life gets easier
People live so easily today – food delivered in under 10 minutes, sitting behind desks, no physical labor – we’re becoming soft.
When was the last time you struggled so hard, you cried? die?
2019 was the first year I did a Misgoi: Run the Philadelphia Marathon.
I was taking Jesse Itzler’s build your life resume course and this was one of the prompts he had us answer – what is our misogi for this year?
November 25, 2019, was the physically hardest few hours of my life.
I was miserable and cried. I was toasted – never felt like that before.
Even though I trained for most of the year – I didn’t train correctly – I didn’t know what I was doing.
I remember being at Mile 18, 8 more miles to go? I regretted what I was doing to my body, all the hours I spent training, and quitting popped into my mind – I’m in so much pain.
This was HARD AF – wish I never even heard of Jesse Itzler or this stupid Misogi thing
But then something magical happens.
I crossed the finish line – I got through the low point of the race.
AND MADE IT TO THE M!@#$%^F$%#$ FINISH
My toes WERE bruised, I lost a toenail, I looked and felt like a living tin man…
But as the next week came – nothing seemed to be as hard as it was.
Where has the misogi taken me?
I was hooked on the misogi idea. What would be harder than running a marathon?
My 2020 misogi was to “Double it” and run a 50-mile race.
I knew Jesse Itzler ran 100 miles before – but that was way too big of a jump. I would really die if I tried that, I thought.
I found out that running “100 miles”, is called ultra-marathons and there are tons of these things.
50k, 100k’s, 100 miles, and 200 miles are some common ultra distances.
There are also timed events too: 6, 12, 24, 48, 72 hours, and so on.
Do people actually run these things?
Dec 18, 2020 was my first 50 mile race. – more than a whole year after the marathon (I really was broken)
“Double it”
Dec 31, 2021, was my first 100 mile race – more than a whole year after the 50 mile race (because I was broken)
“Double it”
Sept 29, 2022, was my first 200 mile race – almost a year after the 100 mile race (my body is starting to get used to this)
What’s 2023 have in store?
“Double it”
wellllll,
Double it doesn’t have to be your thing
Why did I double it?
Why not? A healthy addiction.
See, if we consciously choose hard? Life is easy.
And if we choose easy? Life is hard.
We’ve all heard that before – or intuitively know that at the least.
SO
Maybe this year – in addition to writing our goals and reflecting on the past year…
Maybe we could write a plan to do something we hate.
Everything will seem to fall into place
Choose your hard.
What’s your misogi for 2023?
Joe DiAndrea 