I’m building my ability to focus on the journey and drop the concept of the finish line as the goal. We’re often beset by due dates and deliveries at work, finish lines or game wins in sport, and myriad other lines in the sand. It’s easier to work specifically on enjoying the journey during a daily run, for example, than in professional life. So let’s try today.
I’ve been running by setting daily duration targets for about a year now. Flipping among flat roads, hilly roads, well-trod trails, off trail slogs, warm weather, cold weather, Atlantic squalls, and so on, it makes no sense to battle myself for total distance or paces. As I felt compelled to wandering around Kvarven today, I tested my resolve to enjoy the journey. I challenged myself to turn around when my watch buzzed at 1 hour. No racing myself, no value judgements, no cheating myself allowed.
My ability to sense time on long runs has improved as I disconnect more and more from on-the-fly feedback from my watch. I could feel my self-imposed U-turn coming as I climbed higher, yet kept to a power hike comparable to low-effort running. I had no sense of urgency nor fretting at turning around before the top. A slowdown to wave at a picnicking group, a pause for a photo – intentional pauses to shrink my world while opening my eyes.
The hour-mark passed when I was about 15 m from the peak. No questions here. Time to turn. There’s so much I can learn about myself by skipping the peak.
Photos and details on Strava events.
https://www.strava.com/activities/3721747053
Soldrevet 