10k Uphill Running Experience
Being comfortable is nice, doing things you're good at is easy, and never failing is a sign of success. Or is it? Staying inside the borders of our comfort zone makes us feel like we have it all under control; life feels like taking a walk in the park with all the potential dangers and challenges swept away somewhere outside of our comfy bubble. It's very humane to want to spend time in this zone because it makes us feel more secure and in control of things. We feel less stressed and more at ease. However, at some point, we start to feel uninspired and empty. We might ask ourselves: so this is it? There's nothing more to experience in life?
I’ll share an example from my own life as a running yogi to explain my thoughts in a more practical way. I’ve been enjoying running on and off for years. It's one of my favorite ways to spend time in nature, get fresh air, and fill up my energy tank. As a mom, I also appreciate the time out of the house that running gives me. Putting the shoes on and closing the door behind me marks the beginning of me-time; the time that helps to keep moms sane in the oftentimes chaotic life of a parent. Those precious moments where we can just breathe and be.
The desire to become a better runner and run longer distances has always been there but something, probably my innate nature of wanting to be comfortable, has prevented me to take a step forward. I've been curious to know how much I can do but not determined enough to take action. My driving force to improve, to become faster and stronger, is the majestic mountains and the beautiful nature covering them. I've been dreaming of exploring those mountains that are surrounding us in every direction and I would love to be able to do that running. Always doing more or less the same route around our neighborhood isn't going to get me where I want to be; immersed in nature, with a wind in my hair, silence around me, and just trees keeping me company.
Without counting those few times that I've run 10k or a little more, I've kept my running sessions in the comfortable distance of 5k. I usually run the same distance, at the same pace, and along the same routes. Running 5k has been quite easy for me for a long time already but still, I haven't changed anything. Until some weeks ago when I signed myself up for a 10k uphill running competition with an elevation of 750m. It was mostly thanks to my husband that I signed up in the first place and it's thanks to him that I've taken a big leap forward as a runner. I didn’t believe that I could ever do 10k running up a mountain but he thought I could do it and that it would do me good to go way beyond my comfort zone. I have to admit that he was absolutely right!
That 10,7k race was one of the hardest things (after giving birth) that I have ever done. I was very hesitant to participate at the beginning and after I saw the other participants I felt that I’d taken a too big bite from a sweaty cake. Most of the runners looked very pro and it was clear from the first meters of the race that the only competition there's gonna be for me is against myself. I decided to just go into my own amateur runner bubble and focus on my own performance without caring how fast the others run. For me, the whole race was about competing against myself, against my own physical and mental limits.
The sun was shining and burning. It was so so SO hot that day! Being born and raised in Finland, the land of ice and snow, it's clear that I am not used to exercising in tropical weather conditions let alone running up a mountain (Finland is as flat as a pancake). My Finnish genes were in a shock and probably thinking what on earth is going on. Well, at least my mind was processing all sorts of thoughts, like the following:
Gosh it’s hot, too hot.
I hate sunshine.
Where are the clouds that the weather forecast said there would be today?
I can’t do this!
I’m so doing this!
I need a shadow.
Why am I doing this?
I feel like I’m on fire. Could someone just spray ice cold water on me?
At 5k I was ready to quit. My mind started its chatter and was doing its best to make me feel that I can’t finish the race. At that point, I even told myself that I've accomplished a lot already. That taking into consideration the conditions in which I was running 5k was already more than I've ever done before. However, somehow I managed to talk myself out of the idea of quitting and continued my slow climb up the mountain. Most of the runners were far ahead of me and only a few far behind me. I felt like a lonely and exhausted but determined soul fighting its way to the finishing line. The sceneries were amazing on both sides of the road but I literally had no energy to enjoy what was around me. The only thing that kept my feet moving was the strong inner desire to challenge myself and to know how it feels to cross that finishing line.
From 5k onwards it was 100% mind over matter thing. I pushed through the kilometers with Finnish SISU. In case you don't know what sisu means here's how it's described in Wikipedia:
Stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness, and is held by Finns themselves to express their national character.
So, I guess my Finnish character came to save my Finnish body and carried it through the last kilometers all the way to the sweet end of the race. At some point, Instead of focusing on how much I was suffering, I learned to embrace the discomfort because I knew that only by becoming comfortable in the uncomfortable I could grow. All sorts of funny thoughts kept running through my mind as I struggled my way forward:
I wanna give up.
No, you’ve come this far already. You can do this!
Focus! It’s all in my head. My body can do this.
I should’ve worn shorts.
There’s a sauna inside my running shoes.
Could the sound of the water moving in my back bag make me feel seasick?
Am I drinking enough? Or too little?
Gosh this energy gel is disgusting but without it, I would probably drop dead.
I kept checking the kilometers from my sports watch and keeping track of my heart rate to know if I was pushing myself too much or too little. From time to time I was moving as slow as a snail, then speeded up again, I ran criss-cross the road in search of shadow and kept sipping my energy gel and lukewarm water.
I crossed the finishing line with a time of 1:21:51 being the third last of the race. I was so happy and proud of myself for finishing the race that I couldn't care less about the time I did or the position I was in the ranking list. My personal achievement was way more rewarding than any glory of winning could've ever given me.
Going back to running my normal 5-6k on a flat route after the race made me feel like a ninja. I felt light and flying, faster and more at ease. It's amazing to see how much my running performance has improved after the 10k race which made me go way beyond my comfort zone and offered my body and mind the right amount of challenge to grow and become stronger. As they say, growth happens outside of our comfort zone. I am absolutely loving the increased lightness in my step and the sensation of freedom as I run along the streets of Bellinzona. 7k has become my new 5k and in the very near future, I will attempt running 14k. I will continue my journey as a running yogi and when things get challenging I will remind myself to embrace the discomfort, work on my mental endurance, and cultivate calmness.
