Came up short! #40kAt40. Lessons from (long) runs
(Cover photo by Matt Gross on Unsplash)
I came up about 4km short of my #40kAt40 early July. So near yet so far! I really messed up fuelling — one can actually overdo this — and hydration, because I crashed far too early. We shall revisit! This ~36k birthday run nonetheless was a useful time to reflect on 40 years.
I picture myself as running different races or journeys — faith, biashara /vocation.
Faith
Paul in Hebrews 12:1–3 urges us to run the race marked before us, to lay aside or throw off — like that extra layer of clothing at the beginning of a 5am run that’s discarded when the sun comes up — everything that hinders and sin that so easily entangles, and focus on the goal: Christ! My long runs apart from being of physical value serve as poignant reminder of my faith and walk (run) in Christ and are a great time to reflect and meditate on many things.
Vocation
Running, especially those long, sometimes arduous runs also remind me of my work, where work is what one does every day be it biashara, job, stay at home parent etc. That exhilaration from cresting a particularly steep and daunting climb is quite similar to that feeling one gets after resolving a particularly vexing issue or crisis, or snagging a big sale.
Training
Building up strength and endurance takes hard work: sweet pain like those squats in the gym are a great way to build up physical core strength which is useful when running, and for general fitness, but it is not necessarily sweet when on your haunches attempting to push up and tick off that new 1 RM. This and lots of other workouts, as well as good nutrition and rest prepare one for better health, better pace, endurance when running and in life. So it is with faith and with one’s vocation. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over the last 2 years , it’s that biashara is hard and excruciatingly so in this part of the world, with our current economic state, and more so for those attempting to run their affairs with high integrity. Also when one hits the wall, one could throw in the towel, or push on and finish the race. Training well helps certainly.
Not alone
My last take away from regular running is so true of faith and vocation. One is running but isn’t alone. With faith, a cloud of witnesses (back to Hebrews), church community. In biashara, family and friends (for some), business partners, team. I know I wouldn’t dare biashara alone. I also know it takes a team to build a great product, business, so even as an employee the team, your team matters lots.
Next?
Continue running the races (maybe one day join an ultra?). Life at 40+ for me means chugging along, pushing forward in my various ‘runs’/journeys/races, (that are really one long run with various facets) keeping focused on the goal.
I have lots of interesting and ambitious goals so let’s see how the next few years pan out.
Meanwhile we shall revisit #40kAt40 soon…
P.S.
If you’re in or around Nairobi this August, I’m told Tigoni is a sweet + hard place to run... :
Details here: http://urbanswaras.co.ke/events/