Going the Distance

I am never a person of good stamina. The furthest I can go was about 7km at one go. Usually the body gives way and the run will degenerate into a stagger before a complete embarrassing, breathless halt, panting my life away. Therefore running is never my forte. But of late, I find out that I am capable of doing better, even at an older age and less promising constitution and just a few days ago, I hit the 10km mark non-stop, first time in my life.

Whenever I did my runs in the past, I was reliant on a good dose of food as the pre-workout energy source to allow me to draw strength and stamina. I believe good supplements, good diet and a good set of running gear would support and enhance my endeavour. So I relied quite a bit on these, always ensuring the best is put in place before I head off in my running. But as it was, no matter how I planned, how I put things in place, I will not go over the 7km mark. And I didn't know why.

Of late, I began to understand. Stamina is not about the physiological preparedness. It is about a frame of mind. The mindset must always be ready to contest the body's signals of tiredness, of exhaustion and of giving up. This is especially essential when it comes to the tough terrains and the uphills. The body will immediate indicate that the road is tough, and the physiology to give up. And we usually do break into exhaustion at these toughest times during the journey. The moment the mind is convinced of an exhausted state, no matter how well-equipped we are physiologically and materialistically, we will not be able to go the distance. And if the mind is tired, discontinue.

Of course a little bit of patience will help, that the right speed during the run to allow a slow and stable pace, not to rush into a dash which often wears the runner down within a short distance.

Maybe some other things in life too, shares the same philosophy and the same principles can be applied to it. The body and the situation may not be promising, but the vision and the mindset should always persist. Things do not fall in place upon first, second, third or forth instances. Some things take years to formulate, be it studies, businesses, or even human relationships.

Nothing can really prevent things we strive from happening, We can only be hindered when the aspiration dies.

When the mind is tired, discontinue.