2024 Reflections: Resetting the Standard

In this episode, Philip J. Sebastiani reflects on his ultra-running journey throughout the 2024 season, sharing personal highs and lows, lessons learned, and the overarching theme of resetting the standard. He emphasizes the significance of mental resilience in endurance sports. He offers insights on setting intentions for the upcoming year, focusing on flexibility, gratitude, and the training process rather than just outcomes.

Transcript

Philip J. Sebastiani (00:00.974)
Welcome to the Infinite Endurance podcast. I'm your host, Philip J. Sebastiani. And today I'm going to close out the year with a special episode for you. Really we'll keep it kind of short here and I really want to just share a few things with you about my ultra running journey this year. Also, I'll show you some, share some of the highs, some of the lows, what I learned from the challenges that I faced and really talk more about the mental side of

endurance running and what I faced this year and then the intentions I have for the new year and some tips if you're thinking about setting up your 20, 25 and how that can look and really just talk about what I have next on the show. So first I'll start with reflecting on the highs and really this year was a moment for me to

Reset the standard. That's what I like to refer it for to it. I reset the standard in my own outlook in training. I reset the standard in my motivation and discipline. Reset the standard in my own expectations when I line up for a race and just resetting the standard overall in my approach to ultra running training and racing.

This year I was able to race eight times, which for me is quite a bit of racing. Um, my races ranged from 50 K all the way up to 24 hour. Let's see. did the North Texas ultra 50 K, which is put on by Texas out law running. did the hidden Hills ultra 50 miler. She put on by ultra expeditions. I went back and did the.

West Texas ultra 50 milers his first year, which was special to me because it was a race I helped design the course map in. And that was just a fun, fun, hot day there here in the panhandle. And these races all led up to my first A race of the year and the Sedona canyons, one 25, which is part of the, the Coco Dona series. And that was my first taste of what I would consider high level racing.

Philip J. Sebastiani (02:24.494)
And even though I didn't execute to my full potential, I had, I think a really great out day out there. I was able to hang on to podium spot and finished third there just about 12 minutes out of second. And that was my first time running in Arizona. First time doing an Aravaipa event. And it made me hungry for more and really opened my world and my perspective.

of ultra running and the talent that really is out there. As I went through them the summer, I was able to go back to a race that I've wanted to do for the last couple of years. The Noche Trail runs 40 miler, another Texas Outlaw running race. If you haven't caught on, I do quite a bit of their races. I'm just really just a fan of the organization in general. And I've kind of been a part of their races from the beginning.

with their first ever race at Chupacabra 50. And that race I went into, had already been probably in middle of my summer block of training and I wanted to go in pretty fatigued and tired because what Sedona really taught me is the ability to move late in a race is very powerful. And I wanted to practice that more. So

I went, I remember going into that race with already like 65 miles run Monday through Friday. And then it was a 40 mile race. So was a pretty big week. And it's also a night race. I lucked out and it wasn't that hot. And I was able to just have a great day out there. Got to race with some, some great folks and some of the high planes elite folks also went down with me, Chris and Aaron, and we all had a great day out there. I remember I set the course record.

By about an hour. So I'm really grateful for that. And that basically that was in July. So that brought me into, you know, over mid year. And I was starting to shift my focus then to the second. A race of my 2024 season, which was a USATF 24 hour at fat ox, which I've touched about in the last few episodes. Other guests have brought it up, but I went back from no che trail runs into a 12 hour in Colorado.

Philip J. Sebastiani (04:50.678)
At elevation, which I thought I was way more prepared for, but I wasn't nearly as prepared as I thought I was for that. And in that 12 hour, I called it about nine and a half hours in and still ran about 56 miles. So still, I didn't think I was in a good place mentally to go through the rest of the pain for two and a half hours. Cause I started to deal with like overheating.

essentially the whole day out there and dehydration and cramps. I really, that was a rare time for me where I decided to pack it in early instead of finish and see things through. I think what I learned in that moment was that as you're doing these hard endurance events, no matter the distance, you're always going to come to a point where you have to make a conscious decision.

of is it worth the risk? Is this exactly the, the moment for me to keep pushing forward and to see this out through, or is this a day just to play the cards that you were dealt and pack it in? And I think if we're able to see it more as a moment of learning than a moment of failure,

It helps set us up for more success down the road. And that's really what I took away from that race in particular in Colorado. And just after that, so that was end of August, you know, I got the school year started and really wasn't, trust more speed work started coming into my plan and I was just getting ready to test fitness again. And I really think thought that I was.

ready for a fast 100K, so I ended up going to Kansas for the Heartland 100K. Real old school ultra, really great community around it, and really just a moment for me to test fitness without the frills or pressure of a big race. And I think those types of training races are important in anyone's build because...

Philip J. Sebastiani (07:14.634)
A competitive pressure puts on anyone's mind or anyone's shoulders. It, it adds this other layer of urgency that I think shouldn't be something you, an environment you put yourself in constantly or over and over again. So I took it as a time to try to stay as fresh mentally as I could throughout the race, but I ended up.

missing a turn completely and as it will go down in infamy running a nine extra miles in the race and just throwing my whole game plan out the window to catch back up to first place and kind of digging a little bit more and instead of as I packed it in for the front range ultra days in Colorado I didn't want to pack it in here I wanted to dig more

and flipped the switch into, if this is what I'm going to be, if this is who I want to be as a runner, if I want to be strong, if I want to be an elite or professional runner, I need to dig in here and fight this out all the way to the end. And that's what I did. And that was really just a big lesson I learned this year that when you're faced with

adversity or things aren't working in an ultra, you can really turn things around as long as you don't give up. Which think is also just a general lesson a lot of ultra runners would agree, agree with, you know, if the wheels haven't fallen completely off, you can keep pressing and keep pushing all the way to the end. And after seeing my results at that race and the pace I was able to run, so

I ended up with about 80 miles in about 12 hours and 18 minutes. So as I did the math going into my last phase before Fat Ox, I was right on what I wanted to hit to qualify for team USA. And as the dice rolled out there, I was able to pull out the victory at Fat Ox, but just fell short of the standard and

Philip J. Sebastiani (09:43.604)
And that lesson really showed me that there or that race really taught me the lesson that there's always something greater out there to chase. Cause even going into that race, I was pacing for 150 miles and I fell off that number maybe 10 hours in. And as I just kept pushing and working through whatever obstacles came,

my way, with heat throughout the day, I was able just to keep an even pace and really just learned that I can, I can last long if I choose to. So that really wrapped up my year in ultra running. And now some of the other highs that

I experienced this year, not only my personal wins, but the community, the community highlights. think as a collective, a lot of the people close to me, a lot of the people I knew who run and who put themselves through these events all had a great year. And it's great to see when others around you are doing great, at least in my experience, it motivates me to want to do more.

I hope that I may be motivated some people this year and I hope that as all of us go into next year, we can continue to, you know, bring each other, build each other up and celebrate together these victories and these wins that we have throughout. Cause I really think that's the essence of our sport is that as a collective, we show incredible resilience and

I saw that through all the races I was able to watch. So when I wasn't racing, went and crewed a fair bit of the high plains elite folks. I was able to spectate at like Palo Duro trail run this year, which was great for me. I'd never been on the spectating side there. I've always raced it. So I got to see, see everything from a different side. And then I to Colorado another time and spectated at another race.

Philip J. Sebastiani (12:09.55)
And really the resilience of the human spirit is just so eye opening and it's really then cool to talk to someone after and hear their backstory and how they started running and why they continue to run. And those are the kind of stories I also want to share on the podcast. So if you know anybody who wants to share their story, they can message us on Instagram, on our Instagram page. And I will...

Definitely love to have you on. And another thing that I learned in the process was showing gratitude. Cause I think it's, it's more important. Like the medals and the PRs and those are great, but really in the end of the day, my opinion is that it's the journey that we go through, how we evolve as humans, how we evolve as, as runners. That's really.

more valuable to me. It's really, you know, those, those quiet early mornings, this long training runs you're doing out, you know, building up to something greater. And of course the shared miles with friends, I think they just define who we, who we are as a community. And I just am so grateful for, for that being a part of the process that I go through when I train and really the discipline that it then fosters.

within my own training in the community around me. Really, then from here, I...

I'm really just looking forward to what's next in 2025. really I'm in a little crossroads right now of what I want to do next. I did sign up for a race. I will be at six days in the dome and the 24 hour event and it happens in June. So quite a bit of time to train. And after.

Philip J. Sebastiani (14:19.618)
Going throughout what I went through at Fat Ox, I really want to go into six days in the dome with the goal of targeting a faster 100 mile split because I think doing that will enable me to run further in 24 hours. So as of right now, my PR for a hundred miles is 16 hours, 30 something minutes. And if I'm able to...

take care of some niggles and get healthy and stronger. I really want to target something in the low 14s. just cause I think if, and that's going to be just an all out, all out effort for that. And also placing it in June enables me then to recover. And if I get the call to be on team USA in October,

Uh, in Albi France, then it doesn't set me too far apart to getting ready for a strong 24 hour effort as well. I think just cause I raced a lot in 2024, I really don't want to race as much in 2025 because over time that those types of events compound. And I think it's also been a good idea when you're considering like what races are next, it can be very easy.

just keep signing up for something over and over again. And you know, there are people out there that do that type of scheduling. consider those folks, volume racers. That's the, that's the term I like to coin their folks. Maybe every month they're signed up for something every five weeks they're signed up for something. And there's nothing wrong with that. And really I think it goes back to the goals that you want in the sport.

to achieve and in life, but I think if you're trying to set personal records or chase podiums or chase performance goals, there is nothing that beats just good old fashioned rinse and repeat training, stacking blocks over and over again. This actually goes back to my days when I was in graduate school and

Philip J. Sebastiani (16:45.358)
Uh, I, so my master's degree is in music performance and one of my professors told me that, you know, playing in all these orchestras all the time is good, but you don't get better by just always playing in orchestras, playing in concerts. You get better by practicing basics and foundational things. And as I relate that to running, I will, I relate a race to like a concert performance. And I feel like if I'm constantly performing.

are asking my body and my mind to perform. It's not going to always be my best foot forward. think it, runs the risk of injury more. It runs the risk of burnout totally way higher. So I think as you're considering your 20, 25, think about those things, you know, maybe if you raced a lot in 2024, maybe take 20, 25 as a time to ease off a little bit and do some different things.

um, crewing, volunteering at races. I know there's so many race companies, especially, you know, all across the country that can use volunteers. And that's definitely one of my goals for 2025 is to volunteer more at races, crew more at races, and just still be a part of the community in a different capacity than I have in the past. So as we transition here to the next, next segment, I was thinking of

Kind of in the mental side of endurance and I haven't really shared my own thoughts on, on that. And I think it's pretty obvious that training your mind is just as important as training your body. That's one of the hallmarks of, of my, my training and my racing training philosophy. And as I've gone through 2024, there were moments where

I had to train my mind to keep going. Like for example, Heartland. And one instance that I failed to mention earlier was when I did Hidden Hills Ultra 50-Miler, I actually forgot my shoes. left and I was fortunate enough that there was someone else racing there who I knew and had raced before and I was just so lucky they had an extra pair of shoes in their car. Even though they were like two sizes too big, I...

Philip J. Sebastiani (19:13.582)
Was able then to still race in them race hard and just train my mind that, you know, it's not the shoes who make the runner. It's the person in the shoes. Right. And, and then visualization, I think is just another strategy that I found incredibly useful, especially before a tough workout or a tough run, especially before like a tough race. I just.

visualize, close my eyes, visualize how I want the start of the race to go. I want the middle of the race to go. Oh, I want aid station transitions to go. And it's a very powerful tool to have in your toolbox is visualizing those things and, know, imagining yourself crossing the finish line strong. And I'm going to think that I do or practice is mindfulness. So

Putting this with visualization is staying present during my runs and just getting drawn into the experience I'm having in the moment rather than any doubts I'm having or any discomfort I'm having. Like, if I'm going through a tough moment, I try to disassociate from the pain by maybe counting my steps, counting my breaths.

Um, especially if it's a nice hilly section, I'll do like a hundred steps of running, a hundred steps of walking and getting into a rhythm and just thinking, you know, I'm grateful and I'm glad that I get to do this right now instead of that. have to do this. And the last thing that I think about during a race or during a tough training session to get me through things is managing my negative thoughts. Cause you know, it's perfectly natural.

for doubts to creep in, especially, you know, when you're doing these events, because they can be so long and they vary in duration from person to person. But as we, you know...

Philip J. Sebastiani (21:27.992)
figure out a way to manage our negative thoughts. It helps us get through it. So I'll use a mantra. What I've used is, you know, strong, confident, relaxed. I'll think of that a lot in my head to get through a tough section. Another thing that I know a lot of folks do is like positive affirmations can help, you know, counteract those negative thoughts. And really when you

Really even smiling helps too. I found myself doing that in these events. Or even some of you look at some of the elite runners, a lot of them are smiling or happy. think that also helps manage the pain to some extent, but really mental resilience, visualization, mindfulness, and managing your negative thoughts are just great ways to deal with, deal with, and go through the mental side of endurance.

I really do my best to not run with emotion. And I know that's can be a, there's opposing views to it. I, but when I think of it and when I say not to run with my emotions is not let like my anger or those negative thoughts or the pain I'm going through get to me during a race.

Philip J. Sebastiani (22:55.182)
And really then that brings us to our last segment here and setting your intentions for the new year. I think the new year is just offers us all a chance to reset and dream big. mean, not only, not only in running, but in your personal lives and your professional lives. It's a hard reset for a lot of folks. then continuing on it.

I think about how can we approach 2025 with purpose and enthusiasm? Cause like whenever you have a goal, there needs to be a purpose behind the goal. So we do this by defining the goal. So when I'm thinking of a race I want to do or what my next big project is, I try to find something that excites me. So for someone new to the sport, this might be running your first 50 K

It might be running 30 miles a week. It could be just getting out the door, but I think setting goals that resonate within your own personal personal journey help make those goals more attainable. The next thing I like to think about is planning with flexibility, especially now, you know, being a parent with two young boys and teaching and

You know, fitting in 15 hours of training a week. Life does happen and sometimes training doesn't go as planned. mean, right now, just being Frank, I'm working through a little bit of a big niggle or injury from, from Fat ox. And this wasn't what I had planned for a month after the race and just working through it and building a plan that allows room for adjustments.

I think that's really important. You know, we don't want to be married to everything that's on the training plan. Flexibility is just really important. And I think flexibility is then the key to consistency in our training because it training shouldn't be always, always on this upward, upward. We're going up. We're doing a lot of miles, all the miles all the time. There can be peaks.

Philip J. Sebastiani (25:22.252)
and valleys throughout any training block. And even that's just a part of life, peaks and valleys. Next, focusing on the process or the outcomes. This is something I've really come to learn the last two years. And because of it, I've just fallen in love with the process of going through the different phases of training and preparing my body and my mind for these events. instead of fixating on the end result,

You should focus on the steps along the way. So this is like, if one step is we have to get up in the morning to run early, that's the step you focus on. And then if it's a strength training session you have on your plan, that's the next step. And also with this part of the process of training is also in the resting. Those two, like one can't happen without the other.

The rest is just as important as the work you put in. A prioritizing balance is also something that I do in my own endurance training because I think training and racing enhances our life. shouldn't dictate and charge all of it. For a lot of us, we're not professionally paid athletes. We're not using running as a way to pay for our living.

Right? So use it as a way to enhance your life. I've used it personally to make friends at races or make friends, my own running community. And it's really helped me balance my own life by doing those things. And then the last thing, as you're thinking about the new year, I'd recommend practicing gratitude. I do this by, you know, appreciating

body I have and the progress I'm able to make the running I'm able to do. I, I'm just, I'm very grateful for those things in my life. Also my family, my wife who picks up the slack when I have to go out and do these long events. And then of course, the guys I train with showing gratitude to that. And I think gratitude just fosters your

Philip J. Sebastiani (27:47.884)
your own resilience and joy for the sport and for life in general.

So really that's all I had for today. I'm not gonna lie. This was hard for me to get through. This is my first solo episode. Because it's different. You have to fill in all of the blanks by yourself. But as we wrap up this episode in the year, I just want to extend a thank you to those who have started listening to the podcast. I have a few...

You know, notable guests lined up for January and the beginning of the year. And I'm really looking forward to sharing their stories with you all. And again, if you know of anyone who you think should be on the show, go ahead and send us a message on Instagram at infinite.endurance.podcast. Check that regularly. You can also message us on our Buzzsprout website.

But those are only one way messages, so I won't be able to reply. And I think as, as we finish off the year here, I hope everyone learned a few lessons, made some memories. And I know personally, I'm grateful for all of the growth that I was able to have in 2024. I know it may not ever be like this. This may be the peak or.

I don't know. And I'm just grateful for all that I was able to accomplish this year. can't believe the things I was able to pull off. And I hope that you all have time to show your own gratitude to those folks who helped you get to where you are today. And I think just keep pushing limits, chasing dreams, supporting each other. And, you know, one other thing that Montreal I always have is

Philip J. Sebastiani (29:54.158)
Every step forward is progress, no matter how small. If making that workout happen on that day is a victory, then it's a victory. And it should be celebrated. I hope you enjoyed this episode. I will shoot to do some solo episodes maybe once a month. I'm sure I'll get better at them as I do them more. Don't forget to subscribe.

rate the show, leave a review. I'd love to hear any of your reflections of the year. Also, if you want to send me a message on our Instagram and share, if you want to share any of your goals for 2025, you can reach out to me as well. So until next time, stay strong, stay focused, and I'll see you next year.