What running taught me

Change is a spice of life. This is especially true about fitness (non) routines for many of us. As I relished my new found interest in outdoor running in the pleasant 'hot' months of Chennai (meaning, Nov to Feb), it also taught me many life lessons. 

1. As fellow morning runners either went past me or lagged behind, my focus seemed to be on my pace and the finish line as I tried to better my stats every time. 
2. I was fortunate that my spouse accompanied me and it was our together time in the morning. He had more running experience and hence naturally got into the mould of a coach egging me on. And the coaching helped. It helped me push myself. I accepted and tried new techniques to either speed up or ensure the form is right. I also had the comfort that I had someone to talk to if I needed guidance without judgement. 
3. There were some routes and some timings I preferred more to others. Then a pattern emerged that it was related to traffic, noise, pollution, breeze (yes!), sun - all external factors I had no control over. When I became more accepting of the fact that to master the run is just to focus on the run alone and to block (or accept) everything out, these constraints dropped away. I still have preferences but don't stay bound by it. 
4. The last 100 meters was always exciting. With the finish line in sight, the adrenalin takes over the huffs and puffs and leads to an awesome sprint to the finish, leading to exhilaration at the end. There was always that extra fuel hidden in my tank, always a little extra that I could draw upon even when I felt I was on empty. 
5. And finally, what made me do it? It was never the run itself, which I might or might not enjoy. But what I always enjoy is the feeling afterwards - the long stretching session, the contentment as my heart beat returns to its normal, the sense of achievement even for a 3km finish and the sense of commitment to take that feeling into the rest of the day. 

Our work day is like a run. We have our roles. We have our goals. We have obstacles along the way. It is upto us what race we run. Do we let people and situations deter us? Do we turn around and look for guidance whenever needed? Are we open to learning and changing? Do we stretch ourselves whenever needed to get the job done? Do we celebrate small victories and use them as launch pads for the next milestone? At the end of the day, have we made the right choices? Invariably, the questions as well as the answers are with us.