(The recent pseudo-philosophical posting streak, can be partially attributed to the fact that my brain has been doing something that it has not really done in a while...some thinking...so be forewarned for some cheesy writing ahead)
For some reason, I started to ponder about how much of a metaphor my formerly-active-now-almost-dormant-hopefully-more-active-in-the-future running life can be for my-life-now-in-general. How naively confident (dare I say, bordering on arrogance) I am of my ability to get through a race or a long run, training or no training. How this "no fear of the unknown" has actually worked to my advantage most of the times (though, to be completely honest, it has also bitten me in the behind a few times as well). How tough I am mentally at the low points during a race, not letting the fact that there are scores of others passing me with each step, get me down. How it actually spurs me to keep going on. How I have eventually managed to crawl my way out of those troughs most of the times. How I don't care a fig about the time it takes me to get to the finish. How happy I am when I actually finish a race (for reasons less obvious than the finishers bling and schwag at the end of each race).
Maybe its the clarity of thought that you get when you push the limits of what your body is physically capable of; when the race is all but over for you physically, but the mind wills the body to move through the pain, taking comfort in the fact that with every step you are inching closer to the finish. Whatever it may be, I wish I could apply some of those painfully obvious bits of wisdom (!?!) picked up along the way in so many of those runs, right now. The simple credo of 'one foot in front of the other' till you reach the finish and savor every bit of the journey with enthusiasm, even if it hurts like hell, is something I can and should surely adopt right now. And as the saying goes, that which does not kill us, can only make us stronger (Nietzche?).
For some reason, I started to ponder about how much of a metaphor my formerly-active-now-almost-dormant-hopefully-more-active-in-the-future running life can be for my-life-now-in-general. How naively confident (dare I say, bordering on arrogance) I am of my ability to get through a race or a long run, training or no training. How this "no fear of the unknown" has actually worked to my advantage most of the times (though, to be completely honest, it has also bitten me in the behind a few times as well). How tough I am mentally at the low points during a race, not letting the fact that there are scores of others passing me with each step, get me down. How it actually spurs me to keep going on. How I have eventually managed to crawl my way out of those troughs most of the times. How I don't care a fig about the time it takes me to get to the finish. How happy I am when I actually finish a race (for reasons less obvious than the finishers bling and schwag at the end of each race).
Maybe its the clarity of thought that you get when you push the limits of what your body is physically capable of; when the race is all but over for you physically, but the mind wills the body to move through the pain, taking comfort in the fact that with every step you are inching closer to the finish. Whatever it may be, I wish I could apply some of those painfully obvious bits of wisdom (!?!) picked up along the way in so many of those runs, right now. The simple credo of 'one foot in front of the other' till you reach the finish and savor every bit of the journey with enthusiasm, even if it hurts like hell, is something I can and should surely adopt right now. And as the saying goes, that which does not kill us, can only make us stronger (Nietzche?).
4 comments:
oh, I thought that was a Kanye West quote. :)
haha..quite possible...which one exactly?
Well, after doing a 100-miler, all other shorter races must seem like a walk in the park (no pun intended). :)
As for your point about running without training.. no doubt you can do these distances, but without training your body, aren't you selling yourself short of what you could actually do? It's not just about finishing anymore, when you know you can finish..
I also find that sometimes it's hard to apply wisdom we gain from running to daily life. Not sure why..
Well , what you say about training and selling oneself short is absolutely correct but the intention here was not to postulate the benefits of training :P but rather look at some parallels in my state of mind at different stages during any long arduous process ;)...anyway this is by no stretch of imagination a one-to-one comparison
As for "shorter races must seem like a walk in the park "..I would differ a bit from that sentiment...each race is a whole new ballgame by itself...past experience only helps you deal with whatever situations arise during the race itself and by itself is no guarantee that you will finish the race
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