Though this is said in BhagvadGeeta, I experienced it first hand.

I was very much sure that I will hit the target that I had set out for myself.  I had set the target of 1 hr and 55 minutes. But, I finished it in 2 hrs and 18 minutes.

But, things may go wrong and they did which we don’t factor when we are planning. We want to give our best and we want to make sure we land in there.

This is how we behave. We treat our own aspirations as transactions. If we give, we must get.

Yes we do. What what we fail to realise is that the ultimate decision to grade us lies beyond us. Because there are several factors that are playing against each other.

So, when I didn’t hit the target this time, it made me feel very sick inside. I could feel the pain all over the body. I also behaved somewhat erratically for the last two days.

I kept thinking why ? Why didn’t I do it and then I start to deviate into the wrong trajectory. I started to think and compare myself with others.

But, thank God, someone saved me from falling again. A senior if mine from college is also a runner. He started to run almost at the same time that I did. ( I started in 2018, he started in 2019).

He just finished a full marathon(42.195 Kms) in 4 hrs and 10 minutes. That’s like a dream for me. I called him up to congratulate him.  Only a runner would undestand the euphoria behind a marathon finish.

Our conversation was immersive. We discussed his triumphs and tribulations. Even though what he has achieved is some light years away for me, he wasn’t happy with what he achieved. He was sure that he would have cut down few more minutes had he not twisted his ankle at 20 miles.

Then, I came to discuss my own woes. I asked him many questions. Like how he hydrates, how he fuels during the run, how he prepared during training etc. He figured out that I may be upset with missing my traget.

But then he reminded me a few things that I was waiting someone to remind me.

” Look we go through stages..you will reach there but it might take time. I was never that much interested in time but I somehow got interested in time after summer and started working on it.”

“We all are different and we have to find out positives and negatives and work on it to improve. As long as we improve we are on right track. I would like to run at the age of 75, so I really don’t care that much of time but can I maintain running as long as possible even at a snail’s pace.”

“We should not forget that both of us started and continued to run because we like, love the process and helps us mentally. Race is part of the overall process but a minority part and we should not get hijacked by that. I think timing races have made the entire process very stressful and that’s not reason we started running.”

These pearls of wisdom fell like blessing for me. I gain my lost ground it seemed. I wonder I f I didn’t have to tell anyone how much time I took to run, would the time really matter that much.

Well, we all are different. And the race finish time could not be the sole thing to gian from running. This sounds so stupid If some one thinks so.  It is the process that one gets to enjoy that makes running so endearing despite all the pains and the struggles, panting and long hours one track.

We don’t run to make money, to acquire fame. We are running enthusiasts. We feel an usher of enthusiasm in our lives by running. And when we come back from run, we apply the principles of commitment, focus, patience, endurance to our work, family lives to live better and become happier.

So, let me not get sad. And I would say the same to those who love running and if they are stuck due to injury or anything …Jus Cheer Up ! 🙂

We have another race waiting to become better and happier. 🏃