The Sprinter vs The Runner
Previously, when I heard the word “marathon”, I could literally feel how exhaustion crawls through my skin and enters my muscles. I don’t know about you, but some people are built for sprinting, not endurance races. I imagined I was one of them. Not only am I built like a sprinter, more mesomorphic, but my personality might also have that 80 percent fast twitch fibres. When I am talking about my built, I am referring to the 20-year-old version of me. A whole lot can change in 30 years.
One of the differences between these two events is:
· In sprinting you can see the end from the beginning. Within less than a minute, there is a result.
· Long-distance running though, can take hours before there is any outcome. I take my hat off for these dedicated, fit and thin people – rain, heatwave or snow – run, they run.
We live in an era where everything is instant – microwaves, McDonalds, money at the ATM, etc. Immediate gratification. The moment something takes a little longer, the wait becomes unbearable. Patience and endurance are valuable trades that we need to put back into the dictionary and into our lives. When we take a closer look at things, it is clear as daylight that instant is not always better. I definitely did not see things this way a few years back. Maybe it comes with age. I have even picked up running shoes and started jogging myself. What started as torture, can almost now be classified as pleasure.
What is the frightening part of long- distances?
a) the distance itself
b) the time spent on the road
c) fatigue
d) all of the above
The other day I had the opportunity to take my mom and dad back to their farm after my dad underwent an operation. The road to recovery is not instant, but from experience I have learned that time heals. Give time some time. It is - give or take - a 3-hour drive to their home sweet home. Let me tell you about the joys I have experienced to the wild West and back. I had witty company all the way. Snacks were plenty. When my mom (with the sweet tooth) offered us jelly beans, my dad refused that anything with jelly should come near him. He had enough jelly in hospital. We laughed. We shared love. We admired the “mielies”. We had time!
A braai was organized as a warm welcoming to all of us, with a Shiraz to die for. Thank you Neetlingshof for the wine from vine 2018! We had my sister’s famous potato bake, tomato and feta salad and medium-steak as the cherry on the cake.
Not once did it enter my mind that I am spending almost 6 hours on the road. It was a privilege after the scares and aches and pains and suffering my father had to endure. There was a cheerfulness, enthusiastic joy as well as a sigh of relieve! Our focus had shifted a little. We appreciate moments and are grateful for life. We have breath. We are alive.
Embrace the long distances. Walk in the forest. Jog on mountain paths. Run on the beach. See and feel and experience each unique view and celebrate the exposure to green spaces.
After all - there is ONE finishing line for both the sprint and the 10 000m.
Comments