Carpe Diem

As I finally crossed that finish line I was filled with a sense of exhilaration as well as a certain amount of surprise. One of the race marshals put a medal around my neck and after hesitating for an instant, said "Well done!". The aroma of boerewors and coffee filled the air as runners indulged themselves in much deserved treats after the 42km run. I slowly made my way to one of the recovery tents where I dropped onto a chair as my legs were too sore to lower me onto it gracefully. Here I was, about 30km from home with no car and no wallet. "hmm.." I thought to myself, "...I guess I got caught up in the moment...". Luckily my phone was in my running arm band and had about 45% battery left in it. As I limped to the road outside the stadium to get my uber, I had a good chuckle. This was definitely not how I thought the day would pan out when I woke up this morning.

I woke up that morning in my usual age-related grumpy state, requiring a couple of strong coffees. I decided to go for a training run and told myself "Let's see how it goes, maybe 5km or 10km". Theresia and the kids were still asleep and so off I went on a run around the neighborhood. A few minutes later an email came through saying that I just got a donation on my CHOC fundraising page (thank you Sean Taylor ) which fueled me to keep going. And as I turned a corner I saw a crowd running about 100 metres ahead of me. My mild annoyance at them blocking my path was quickly replaced with an idea. Why don't I join them? And so off I went with this crowd of runners, having no idea what race this was or where they were going. With no race number on me, I did get a few puzzled looks but just kept going with the crowd.

I decided to seize the day and just go with them. It is a lot more fun to run with fellow runners than by yourself and I certainly welcomed all the refreshments and snacks along the way which sustained the next 3 hours on the road. There were a few funny encounters along the route. At one point I locked eyes with a race photographer as he muttered "Hey man, you're not a part of this gig!" but I just laughed and kept running. Although I have to say I was genuinely surprised that I got the medal at the finish line. I think the race marshal's doubt about whether to give me a medal were allayed by the clearly visible signs of my exhaustion and pain. In the end it was a well-deserved medal as by pure chance I joined the race at roughly the same distance that I ran by myself.

The biggest take-away and learning for me from this day was how your perception impacts everything in your life. It truly starts with you and the attitude that you have. There could have been a multitude of different versions of that day. I could have simply ran past that crowd. I could have never turned that corner in the first place. I could have simply stayed home that morning and skipped a training run. I could have slept in late that day. Instead I chose to see an opportunity in front of me. This day and the medal hanging on the wall serves as a constant reminder to me that your attitude determines your life. It makes me wonder just how many incredible opportunities I walked by being completely oblivious to them, all because I had the wrong attitude. Our perception of the world in front of us is a choice we make. Do you choose to see problems? Or do you choose to see opportunities?

P.S. My wife still thinks I have a few screws loose after I went for a quick run that morning and came back 5 hours later with a medal.