Thoughts during Training....
I woke up this morning at 0800. Got lazy and decided to sleep again. My trusty alarm clock... aka the hand phone rang at 0900. G0t up, walked around a little and prepared for training. Measured my blood pressure and heart rate, 137/72, Heart Rate 70. So my resting heart rate fluctuates between 68 and 72.
There was a difference as I made my way to the stadium and warmed up. In the morning, people would fight to stay asleep, not wanting to leave the comfort of our dreams. Our dreams which were peaceful and calm, away from the misery and stress of the real world. Who could fault them or ourselves for wanting to sleep?
I fought to activate my body, cursing a little in my mind that it is taking too long to warm up and move into a training mode from a resting mode. I would have loved to sleep too but I needed to be a better man.
I went for my 4 km run and by the gods it was hard this time around. I planned my training programme to have a run yesterday but I got lazy and didn't run in the morning so I substituted it with gym, which was supposed to be today. My shoulders, lower back, hamstrings, calves and to a little extent my quadriceps were already stressed from yesterday.
During the warm up run it felt easy. It was a piece of cake to run 650 metres or so. Did my stretching and had a drink before going for the real bummer. Frankly speaking, after the first round, I started dying a little.
To quote Fables the comic, "Imperial approved Gods and Demons save us!". I definitely added in the save us. My legs were tired from the 2nd and 3rd lap onwards. It was a killer once I hit the 5th lap. I was just dying to hold on and said to myself, "I'm half way there... keep going... 50% completed".
As I went further and further to the 6th and 7th lap, my thoughts started betraying me and told me to give up. In fact, they started at the 3rd and 4th lap. "Take an easy one today, you're tired. Just run 2.4km to cover mileage. Just lap the old man running on the track twice and you've earned your rest... etc" Treacherous thoughts.
During the 'suffering', I thought about what my friend told me yesterday night about a book 1984 authored by George Orwell. The line or quote which I specifically thought about was "Humans will believe whatever you make them want to believe." or somewhat to that effect. Human nature is malleable though perhaps, its default setting is selfishness rather than selflessness.
I thought, why not? Make the humans believe a lie. That there must be justice. Truth, honour, courage, integrity, trust etc. The virtues of the knightly tales of mankind. Given a choice of two extremes, we could manipulate humans into whatever we want them to be. Why suppress and torture them into depravity and forced them to work so hard they can barely scrape together a living?
Why not let them live as proud beings of the highest order of loyalty and thought? That they will come together to unite themselves for a common purpose to achieve a greater end, through unity they achieve strength and by their combined valour they can accomplish so much more!
Pushing forward, to the 8th lap. I was utterly drained. I checked my heart rate consistently throughout the run and I was running at 80%-90% of my maximum heart rate. It wasn't fast, but it sure as hell was bloody intense and my heart hurt/ache a little throughout the run when I hit 90% intensity or its there about.
Started to talk to myself to encourage myself. I'll write a separate post on encouragement and motivation about how to encourage a person correctly. It was then I started to realise the importance of commanders. The reassuring voice of a commander over the chaos of war and battle.
Above all else, the commander must show that he is fearless, he is determined and he has a strong resolve to protect his men at all costs, even if he has to put his own life at stake. As I've mentioned earlier, humans will believe whatever they want to believe or you make them to believe, especially when they are broken. In the ravages of a fierce fire fight, they are about to submit to fear, cowardice, to admit that they are not men, that there is no point fighting.
"No retreat! NO SURRENDER!"
Like the brilliance of a ray of light breaking the storm clouds, the commander's voice sounds off loud and clear. A single sane mind in the pandemonium of battle, driving valiantly against the sea of confusion and chaos. A single guiding light liken to the lighthouse directing the beleaguered ship amongst the perilous coast.
The single digit which is an anomaly, an alpha male of the homo sapiens who defies fiddle lady luck and casts all misfortune to the wind.
"Aut vincere aut mori!" (Either Conquer or Die)
And suddenly it is brought to the fore, the instinct to survive, the desire to fight and the frightened child is made a man again. In that instant, all previous fears are made unknown, as if it was a stranger he had never met before nor spoken with. The words of honour and loyalty echoes deep in his soul.
"Duty, Honour, Country"
And most of all,
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!"
It helped me to push all the way to the final lap. The last 200 metres. I started to sing panzerlied. I needed the encourage to push myself forward. One final push.
Once more unto the breach dear friend.
And I finished. Tired and exhausted. Utterly spent.
As I walked around, I looked to myself as an afterthought and reflection. The old looks upon the young, and is envious of their youth, their life. Their very forms bursting forth with energy and strength which should be rightfully treasured.
And us as the young, we willingly to throw ourselves upon the firing lines, if not for some ardent desire to seek glory, to be honoured in deadly combat.
That would be far nobler as compared to the youth today, who throw themselves, upon alcohol and smoke and poison.
Vi Et Armis
I woke up this morning at 0800. Got lazy and decided to sleep again. My trusty alarm clock... aka the hand phone rang at 0900. G0t up, walked around a little and prepared for training. Measured my blood pressure and heart rate, 137/72, Heart Rate 70. So my resting heart rate fluctuates between 68 and 72.
There was a difference as I made my way to the stadium and warmed up. In the morning, people would fight to stay asleep, not wanting to leave the comfort of our dreams. Our dreams which were peaceful and calm, away from the misery and stress of the real world. Who could fault them or ourselves for wanting to sleep?
I fought to activate my body, cursing a little in my mind that it is taking too long to warm up and move into a training mode from a resting mode. I would have loved to sleep too but I needed to be a better man.
I went for my 4 km run and by the gods it was hard this time around. I planned my training programme to have a run yesterday but I got lazy and didn't run in the morning so I substituted it with gym, which was supposed to be today. My shoulders, lower back, hamstrings, calves and to a little extent my quadriceps were already stressed from yesterday.
During the warm up run it felt easy. It was a piece of cake to run 650 metres or so. Did my stretching and had a drink before going for the real bummer. Frankly speaking, after the first round, I started dying a little.
To quote Fables the comic, "Imperial approved Gods and Demons save us!". I definitely added in the save us. My legs were tired from the 2nd and 3rd lap onwards. It was a killer once I hit the 5th lap. I was just dying to hold on and said to myself, "I'm half way there... keep going... 50% completed".
As I went further and further to the 6th and 7th lap, my thoughts started betraying me and told me to give up. In fact, they started at the 3rd and 4th lap. "Take an easy one today, you're tired. Just run 2.4km to cover mileage. Just lap the old man running on the track twice and you've earned your rest... etc" Treacherous thoughts.
During the 'suffering', I thought about what my friend told me yesterday night about a book 1984 authored by George Orwell. The line or quote which I specifically thought about was "Humans will believe whatever you make them want to believe." or somewhat to that effect. Human nature is malleable though perhaps, its default setting is selfishness rather than selflessness.
I thought, why not? Make the humans believe a lie. That there must be justice. Truth, honour, courage, integrity, trust etc. The virtues of the knightly tales of mankind. Given a choice of two extremes, we could manipulate humans into whatever we want them to be. Why suppress and torture them into depravity and forced them to work so hard they can barely scrape together a living?
Why not let them live as proud beings of the highest order of loyalty and thought? That they will come together to unite themselves for a common purpose to achieve a greater end, through unity they achieve strength and by their combined valour they can accomplish so much more!
Pushing forward, to the 8th lap. I was utterly drained. I checked my heart rate consistently throughout the run and I was running at 80%-90% of my maximum heart rate. It wasn't fast, but it sure as hell was bloody intense and my heart hurt/ache a little throughout the run when I hit 90% intensity or its there about.
Started to talk to myself to encourage myself. I'll write a separate post on encouragement and motivation about how to encourage a person correctly. It was then I started to realise the importance of commanders. The reassuring voice of a commander over the chaos of war and battle.
Above all else, the commander must show that he is fearless, he is determined and he has a strong resolve to protect his men at all costs, even if he has to put his own life at stake. As I've mentioned earlier, humans will believe whatever they want to believe or you make them to believe, especially when they are broken. In the ravages of a fierce fire fight, they are about to submit to fear, cowardice, to admit that they are not men, that there is no point fighting.
"No retreat! NO SURRENDER!"
Like the brilliance of a ray of light breaking the storm clouds, the commander's voice sounds off loud and clear. A single sane mind in the pandemonium of battle, driving valiantly against the sea of confusion and chaos. A single guiding light liken to the lighthouse directing the beleaguered ship amongst the perilous coast.
The single digit which is an anomaly, an alpha male of the homo sapiens who defies fiddle lady luck and casts all misfortune to the wind.
"Aut vincere aut mori!" (Either Conquer or Die)
And suddenly it is brought to the fore, the instinct to survive, the desire to fight and the frightened child is made a man again. In that instant, all previous fears are made unknown, as if it was a stranger he had never met before nor spoken with. The words of honour and loyalty echoes deep in his soul.
"Duty, Honour, Country"
And most of all,
"Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori!"
It helped me to push all the way to the final lap. The last 200 metres. I started to sing panzerlied. I needed the encourage to push myself forward. One final push.
Once more unto the breach dear friend.
And I finished. Tired and exhausted. Utterly spent.
As I walked around, I looked to myself as an afterthought and reflection. The old looks upon the young, and is envious of their youth, their life. Their very forms bursting forth with energy and strength which should be rightfully treasured.
And us as the young, we willingly to throw ourselves upon the firing lines, if not for some ardent desire to seek glory, to be honoured in deadly combat.
That would be far nobler as compared to the youth today, who throw themselves, upon alcohol and smoke and poison.
Vi Et Armis
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