It's limbo time!! ... no, not the back-breaking party trick, mostly played by drunken adults ... but, time for waiting and reflecting. I have often found myself in limbo during life's changes ... at first resisting every inch of the change, and not even having the insight to look past my blinkers to see that there are many paths that can be taken .. or at least explored. Sometimes, I go 'exploring' and other times, I relinquish my 'fate' to the lap of the gods and wait for some sign, opportunity, or circumstance to give me direction.
This is a little different ... and more akin to the end stages of pregnancy! People ask the obvious rhetorical questions .. "are you still here then" ... and ... "haven't you had that baby yet??!!". Yes .. we are still here, and no, we haven't done that crazy run yet .. affectionately referred to by a colleague of mine as my 'suicide mission'!!
But, back to the limbo stage ... what to do ...what more can we do? Some good honest reflection provides many options / paths. First and foremost, my body is tired and suffering from a number of niggling little over-use injuries ... answer: REST; secondly .. we aren't completely organised with the little logistical tasks of nutrition and gear for the race ... answer: DO IT!
But what about the mental stuff? ... My thoughts of doing TNF bring about waves of fear and excitement .. heaven help me, I'm even dreaming of being out in the middle of the ocean on a huge boat, going up and down a mountainous sea! What can I do to alleviate some of my fear ... well, I can work on the above issues and know that I really am as prepared as I can be; I can do some serious reflection about what it is that I want and am capable of achieving, realistically; and I can do some meditation and mindfulness to help me get my thoughts in check and to relax me somewhat. Another important thing for me to remember is what I have preached in a previous post ... I am setting out to ENJOY this experience, we will be in one of the most beautiful places in Australia, it would be crazy to not make the most of that. As well as that, I have found that the camaraderie among trail runners is really something else ... and I feel very proud to be a part of this running community.
So ... now that I have written all of that I feel better already!! Bring it on :)
Jac
Once again you've 'hit the nail right on the head' reflecting on how we got started on this venture, what our initial goals were, the training we've been through, the changes that have happened to us (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually), and now how we feel about ourselves. We are in limbo, sure.....but we are ready!! I look forward to participating in a gargantuan event with like-minded people from all over the world, some we've met on facebook, some we've trained with, but we've all got one thing in mind - finish the TNF100 as best we can. Good Luck all.
ReplyDeleteDean