Journey is more Important then the Destination!!!

It is Said that
"LIFE IS SO MUCH BRIGHTER WHEN WE FOCUS ON WHAT TRULY MATTERS....."

I so totally agree to the above quote....as for me it has simply helped me to come back from the Dead and HOW.......

Well, I haven't written much since my last post on recovery as I was busy running and ensuring that the past is behind my Back or rather I would say it as the BACK INJURY is behind my BACK Now..;-)

Since I have recovered, below are the events I have participated so far.

AIRTEL HYDERABAD HALF MARATHON as a 2.15 hour Pacer
TCS AMSTERDAM FULL MARATHON in 4.19 hours
SCMM FULL MARATHON as a 4.15 hour Pacer
IL& FS 10K in 49 minutes
BNP Endurathon -- 2.35 hours

I still am asked by many people who know me and meeting me after a long time about how am I feeling these days, and if any issues with my spine or everything is OK or not...well I would simply think the above and would surely believe that what happened to me is HISTORY and lets not look behind as to what I had been through...

My Wife often keeps telling me that the Spine Surgery that I have gone through has done more good to me than Bad...and I totally agree to her..

The injury that happened put me on Bed Rest for quite sometime and taught me a few lessons the hard way which I shall never forget..and hence I ensure I do the below things..

- Listen to my body
- Take even the slightest pain in the Body seriously and ensure Recover Completely before Running
- There is always a next time or Tomorrow to achieve in case any thing planned is missed
- Respect the Body and the Body shall respect you..
- A Strong Core means A Super Strong Back.....

My Running Speed, My Running Gait, My Rhythm, Energy levels, Mental Condition are much better than what they were before....
Now when I Run, I am at much more peace then before...and also at a much better Pace then before.

I am not thinking about the destination anymore.... As I know that mentally I am strong enough to the reach the Destination that I have decided to Reach....Whatever time it takes....

I am thinking about the JOURNEY to the destination......Now I believe that Enjoying the JOURNEY is more important that anything else.... Since I begun running I was desperate to break the SUB 4 Marathon JINX which I am sure every runner not breaking it will understand its importance...

I went to Amsterdam keeping in mind to do a SUB 4 timing and I was on course till 35kms..and then I Cramped.. and hence I decided to take it easy ...
After coming back I realised that the PRESSURE of achieving SUB 4 did the damage as I went off too fast in the middle part of the Marathon wanting to Achieve the Magical SUB 4... Infact I dont recall greeting people or watching the Beautiful City which was in Front of my eyes...

I believe the Best way to do sight seeing in Amsterdam or any city as a matter of fact is by Running it....and since that day, I have stopped craving for the Sub 4...

When I was offered to be a Pacer for 4.15, I merrily accepted it instead of thinking to try the SUB 4 in SCMM, as I had realised by then that Pushing the body to the limit and not enjoying the process is Not Worth It....

I Rather Pace and take it easy....and post SCMM, improve my Running Gait and modify my running a bit to ensure that I only Improve as a runner....

Which is what I have been doing since then....The SUB 4 will come when it has to come, but my next race whichever it will be shall be Ran with only 1 thing in mind and which is to

- ENJOY RUNNING,
- LISTENING TO THE BODY,
- BEING IN PERFECT FLOW AND RHYTHM

and the Rest Shall Follow...

Regards
Pratik Desai