![[photo: nuvali road; taken on 9/3/2011]
i took the photo above during a particularly grueling training run. i needed to hit 30km that day and this was the point in the run that i was really exhausted yet still somehow happy and energetic. i took this picture at the time because i wanted to remind myself of how much work i was going through to get me to that finish line, and how despite the pain and fatigue, there was still something to look forward to along the way. i know now that it isn’t just about running towards the finish line, but taking in the entire experience and trying to enjoy the ride despite the pain/heat/exhaustion.
i still look back at the entire experience with a sense of wonder because i can still remember how my very first run felt. it wasn’t even for a race, it was for the simple reason that i just needed some form of exercise because i was getting, well, a little too couch potatoey for my own good. i stepped on the treadmill thinking i could just wing it. how bad could it be? hamsters do it all the time. but it turns out in this regard hamsters > humans.
i’m going to be honest and admit that i couldn’t even last 2 minutes on the treadmill. i was gasping for air, my lungs were burning, and by the 1:30 mark i knew i had to start turning down the dial. ugh, and good grief, i really hated running back then. gym time filled me with dread. but, i kept at it. my goal back then was to last 5 minutes without stopping. then slowly that goal moved up to 10minutes. then to 2km. then my first 5km race.
and now here i am years later. one marathon done and training for another. the journey’s never over. you just keep aiming higher and keep on going.
those sports commercials were really onto something- there really is no finish line.](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lsolkmOlQX1qzbrowo1_1280.jpg)
[photo: nuvali road; taken on 9/3/2011]
i took the photo above during a particularly grueling training run. i needed to hit 30km that day and this was the point in the run that i was really exhausted yet still somehow happy and energetic. i took this picture at the time because i wanted to remind myself of how much work i was going through to get me to that finish line, and how despite the pain and fatigue, there was still something to look forward to along the way. i know now that it isn’t just about running towards the finish line, but taking in the entire experience and trying to enjoy the ride despite the pain/heat/exhaustion.
i still look back at the entire experience with a sense of wonder because i can still remember how my very first run felt. it wasn’t even for a race, it was for the simple reason that i just needed some form of exercise because i was getting, well, a little too couch potatoey for my own good. i stepped on the treadmill thinking i could just wing it. how bad could it be? hamsters do it all the time. but it turns out in this regard hamsters > humans.
i’m going to be honest and admit that i couldn’t even last 2 minutes on the treadmill. i was gasping for air, my lungs were burning, and by the 1:30 mark i knew i had to start turning down the dial. ugh, and good grief, i really hated running back then. gym time filled me with dread. but, i kept at it. my goal back then was to last 5 minutes without stopping. then slowly that goal moved up to 10minutes. then to 2km. then my first 5km race.
and now here i am years later. one marathon done and training for another. the journey’s never over. you just keep aiming higher and keep on going.
those sports commercials were really onto something- there really is no finish line.
