Running - a Constant Dimension in my Life

 
                                         Crossing the Finishing Line at last year's marathon


     As the great Afircan coach, Adolphe Rukenkanya once said so elegantly : "Running is Unity". Unity of the mind body and spirit. The freedom acquired from running frees the mind, to float, the motion trancends me from the 'here and now' to what many experts call "the runners' high".


    This is the state of mind where one can float on a 'high' from the release of the body's natural feel good chemicals called endorphines (similar to morphine but naturally secreted) whenever the body naturally senses that it is under extreme duress or strain. The 'feel good factor' comes to me, only after a decent 10km run and normally lasts - for me anyway - for a good day's. So run for 1 hour and feel good for 24, sounds like a good deal doesn't it ?


    Most day to day frustrations.problems and issues are temporarily forgotten or even solved, because the mind is at a state of almost total complete relaxation, and many solutions come to us when we are in a cool, calm, relaxed state. Think about the last time you were stressed,could you first size up the problem,think of all options, come to a solution fast ? Or did you need to sleep it over ? The very act of sleeping over relaxes the mind, it quietens the other distractions and focusses on the major problem at hand.   


   So during a long run, many problems run through my mind, and thought out. Also, the mind is able to 'run free' and dream of all possibilities and potentials. Sometimes its like letting your imagination run wild.


    For a jet set person, the fundamental thing about running, is that it is so simple. Period. I can have breakfast in Shanghai, drop in to Bangkok Suvanahbhum airport to have a business lunch and be home in Singapore for supper. The constant 'on the go' lifestyle can drive people into a nomadic frame of mind, and treat everything, including relationships as transient.  


   So, one 'constant' on the road, is running. a 10 K in Shanghai Ren Ming Guang Chang is 10K. The time taken doing the loops (each loop is about 2km) is about 58 minutes. I take in the sights of the Nan Jing Lu, the high rise buildings and the people doing qigong in the park.  The 10K in Bangkok's Chatuchak Park (something like 7- 8 rounds) is around 58 minutes and 30 seconds.   The sights of the Thai people doing some Chinese calisthenetics in one section of the park, the sight of bodybuilders pumping iron at another, and young lovers or people with time on their hands feeding the pigeons, lazing by the lake are all taken in during the run.


   So it is with Singapore, again, I can do 2 laps around the posh Dalvey Estate, with its grand houses and swimming pools, embassies of South Africa and Israel and their guards, I take in the lovely Flame of the Forest trees and wondrous profile against the rising sun.There, 10 K done in about 60 minutes.


   The constant is the DISTANCE - 10 K - and TIME, 58 minutes to 60 minutes. This constantess gives me a benchmark for a weekly routine. 


Long may this running be part of my life. Seize the Day.