2017-06-11

Two kinds of challenges

There are two types of challenges. One that  requires to make a decision in a split of a second, another - requires you not to act upon impulse and keep continuing whatever you are doing. Jumping with a parachute or bungee jumping are of the first kind, running (especially long distance) - is from the second kind. While the second kind of challenges usually require some physical preparation, the challenge itself in both cases is mental - to suppress your inner voice of fear, pain, weakness and any excuses. While the first kind gives you more adrenaline rush and excitement, completing the second kind is as fulfilling as completing the first ones. I believe there are a lot more challenges in our life than we choose to acknowledge that - any kind of long activity can be seen as a challenge - anything we do long term is challenging to keep doing it until we see the meaning and reap the fruits of that activity - like learning a language or new hobby, maintaining the friendship or relationship. Especially when we are faced with difficulties - it's so much easier to quit than to continue. But that inner voice telling us to do so might not always be right - it just wants to do easy and fun things without planning too much for the future. But if you already started doing something, it means you already invested your precious time in it - if you quit, you are discarding that time you invested.


2017-04-29

21k - check!

It's been raining today. Not all the time, not heavily, but the sky has been grey and uncolorful for the most part of the day. I looked at my running shoes and thought - this kind of weather doesn't add add motivation to run, but you know that you have - a pity rain and clouds are not the reasons to skip the training. And I skipped a lot this spring, always found other activities or excuses. 11 kilometers have crossed my mind - no, it was not scary, I could run 10 easily(not very fast), but it wasn't the most attractive activity either. But you know - sometimes you have to do the things you don't really want or do not enjoy, later to do the things you like more.
I got my feet wet in the first few hundred meters, but with the weather like that it's unavoidable. Running more than 10 kilometers meant that my route can go through old town and even further - at least some sightseeing involved. But the first kilometers are not eye-catching at all - it's not green yet, just the tiny leaves on the trees and bushes. And the leaves were engulfed with water drops. I didn't choose the monster pace, so I could observe everything around me and not break my leg. Yes, the nature was waking up, but very slowly - it's May in two days, and it still sometimes seems like a winter without snow.
At my fifth kilometers I thought, this might be hard, but maybe I can do fifteen today - if I want to run half-marathon this year, I have to start running longer distances. I knew I could stop anytime(but doing that meant walking back home), so, I let this thought into my mind - I recalculated my turning point so it would be 15 kilometers not far from my home. Well, body probably wasn't very happy with my decision, but it hadn't shown any signs of objection either.
At my twelfth kilometer I was thinking- this goal of half-marathon has been intimidating me for a while, if I do fifteen today, I might  do twenty one too - the difference is not that big and if I don't like it I can quit running after that or I can satisfy myself with running just 10k. I recalculated my route in my mind and started following it. I knew I could quit it any time. I didn't stop, but I wasn't fast either - there was a long uphill at the eighteenth kilometer - I thought, it's not easier to climb that mountain with a bicycle either.
I survived and didn't feel any strange or frightening feelings in my body. I couldn't sprint the last half of kilometer - there was nobody to compete with - only myself. I was only thinking whether later I will feel sorry for my decision to do the whole half-marathon thing today without running fifteen first. I didn't have any water with me, but there was plenty of water around me - in the air, on the ground, the only downside - that it was undrinkable.
Not every story has to have a moral, but this one has. If you have a goal - set a timeline to it or give up on it. Don't stretch it over the time for too long. If you have a goal and you are 75% through it, don't stop, at the next attempt you'll have to overcome those 75% again. And it feels damn good to complete it, even if you feel like sh*t at that moment. But if you have a goal - be wise and take care of your health.

2017-02-16

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday, Lithuania! My country, today you are 99 years old and these years haven't been easy to you. On this day on 1918 you managed to gather twenty  the most brightest and bravest men that dared to declare the Independence.