A 4:00 AM departure had me part way up Koko Head in the predawn darkness just after 5:00 AM. When I reached the section where there is no railroad bed under the railroad ties, I wondered if I had perhaps tackled more than I can handle. I sure did not want to slip off of tie and have to be rescued off of Koko Head. That would be too embarrassing. To ensure that I did not drop a leg between the ties, I set my ego aside and held one rail with my hand as I crossed that section of the climb.
As I moved up Koko Head I knew to focus only on the next railroad tie. To not think about the hundreds of ties ahead, 1050 ties in all. Just grind it out one railroad tie at a time. Long runs require the same discipline. If one thinks about the whole distance ahead, one will lose hope. You run to get to the next tree. The next telephone pole. And then the next. One tie at a time.
This academic term is the same. When I look at the mountain ahead, I wonder whether I have tackled more than I can crank out. So I focus only on the next railroad tie. The next task. Relentlessly. There will be no days off. No easy days. But you get up the mountain by putting one foot in front of the other. Ceaselessly. Getting stressed out only wastes energy. Running is a guiding philosophy. Running teaches one to relax into the load. That one can get to the next telephone pole. Or tree. So that is my approach this term. Grind mode.
Not looking ahead across the next 16 weeks, but just slugging away in the present moment. A chance to see what I can still do. To be just a little out in front of my comfort zone. At my age I spend too much time in my comfort zone – and comfort zones tend to shrink with age. Until one is left sitting idle on a porch watching the world go by. The porch can wait – for now I still get to run.
danaleeling 