Guatemala celebrates its Independence Day each year on September 15th. Independence “Day” is a bit of misnomer as the celebration spans more than a week with numerous parades and countless pyrotechnics.
In the community where we reside- in addition to a greased pig contest, a mechanical bull, and other fun activities- the celebration includes a running race around town. This year I and three of our children competed.
Our youngest, Taylor, finished first in his age group.
Charlotte finished third in the girls race and received a trophy (as well as an envelope chock-full of Quetzals : ) presented by the mayor.
Andrea, our oldest daughter, finished 4th in the women’s category.
(I suppose the fact that my child is competing in the adult women's race makes me older than I would care to believe).
And, I finished a respectable 5th in the men's race.
The races in our town offer sizable cash prizes to the top 3 finishers in each category and attract participants from quite far away. The winners in both the women’s and men’s categories were from outside of our community- with the men's winner coming all the way from Guatemala City. Consequently, Andrea and I can arguably claim the local title for our respective races as we were the highest finishers from our town.
A couple of musings regarding endurance training in general and this race in particular are included here:
I spent the first half of my life participating almost exclusively in speed/power based sports such as football. Only relatively recently did I turn my attention to endurance training. I have been struck by the vital importance of consistency and patience in building one's aerobic fitness. Physiologic changes are slow and it can take several years of consistent training to begin to approach one's potential. Endurance training is an apt metaphor for all important work we will pursue in life. Results are built brick by brick by brick. Showing up day after day after day. The same can be said of our work in seeking to provide world-class healthcare to our neighbors in rural Guatemala. Not infrequently (i.e. daily) I grow impatient and wish to see our vision become reality immediately. Yet, like endurance training, that vision can only be realized via incremental gains compounded over time.
"... and let us run with ENDURANCE the race that is set before us." ~Hebrews 12:1 (NKJV)
A second reflection I had in respect to our recent Independence Day racing was in regards to the pre-race confidence exhibited by other racers. My impression was that essentially 100% of my fellow competitors believed- truly believed - that they would win the race. This belief was for the most part completely unfounded in prior results or training metrics. There was a very high rate of attrition. While many racers ran a fast first lap (the race consisted of ten 1km laps around town), a similar number of racers also dropped out of the race in the ensuing laps. From an objective, data based perspective, there were probably only 2 or 3 racers who had reason to believe they would cross the finish line first. Nevertheless, I could not help but be impressed with the confidence of the other racers. They ran utterly unencumbered by reality as defined by others. It was simultaneously amusing and inspiring to witness and be a part of. I can't help but think that we all could stand to run our race a little less restricted by perceived "realities."
Here's to running our respective races and chasing our wild dreams with joyous swagger...
unfettered by perceived limitations and UNENCUMBERED BY "REALITY"