Kazi Hiyo Ilikuwa ya Kutosha Kabisa Katika Nyakati Hizo
Des Linden recalling the run-up to her 2018 Boston Marathon win
KISWAHILI
Dondoo kutoka kitabu cha Des Linden kilichochapishwa 2023, Choosing to Run: A Memoir. Chini, Des anakumbuka mawazo yake kuelekea ushindi wake huko Boston mwakani 2018.
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
Excerpt from Des Linden’s 2023 book, Choosing to Run: A Memoir. Below, Des recalls her mindset running up to her win at the 2018 Boston Marathon.
KISWAHILI
“Kukimbia hakukuwa tu kwa kulinganisha na wengine. Ilikuwa ya ndani: mimi dhidi mimi. Kujipima kidumu nilikufurahia.
“Niliendelea kurudi kwenye wazo nililokumbuka kutokana na usomaji mbalimbali wa maandiko ya Kihindu, Bhagavad Gita:
‘Kuwa na shauku ya kufanya kazi pekee kunaweza kuwa lengo kuu la lote, kwa sababu kazi ndiyo kitu pekee ambacho ni chako kweli kweli.
‘Una haki ya kazi yako tu. Wewe huna haki ya matunda ya kazi yako. Ulimwengu hauhakikishi matokeo.
“Niliacha kujilazimisha kuelekea hali ya uchovu ulioongezeka kimakusudi, na nikafanya uamuzi waza kuuruhusu mwili wangu kuamua kile nilichohitaji, badala ya kuweka malengo ya maili ya kila wiki.... Nilikuwa nikiruhusu akili—siyo nambari—kuamuru ratiba….
"Nilijua siku zangu nzuri [kukimbia] hazikuwa zikigeuza ulimwengu, lakini nilikuwa na hisia kwamba nilikuwa nikipatana na ulimwengu kama unavyogeuka, kutumia umvutano badala ya kuuruhusu kunitumia. Kusonga kwa hisia ya kusudi.
"Ilihisi kama hivi ndivyo nilivyojengwa kwa asilimia 100, kuunganishwa, na iliyoundwa kufanya. Siyo milele, lakini hapohapo. Kazi hiyo ilikuwa ya kutosha kabisa katika nyakati hizo.”
ENGLISH TRANSLATION
“Running wasn't just about comparison to others. It was internal: me versus me. A continual self-measurement I relished.
“I kept coming back to an idea I remembered from multiple readings of the Hindu scripture, Bhagavad Gita:
‘Having passion for work alone might be the ultimate goal of all, because the work is the only thing that is really truly yours.
‘You're entitled only to your labor. You're not entitled to the fruit of your labor. The universe guarantees no results.
“I stopped forcing myself toward a deliberate state of cumulative fatigue, and made a conscious decision to let my body decide what I needed, rather than setting weekly mileage targets.... I was letting intuition--not numbers--dictate the schedule....
“I knew my good days weren't making the world turn, but I did have the sense I was in sync with the world as it turned, using gravitational pull instead of letting it use me. Moving with a sense of purpose.
“It felt like this is what I was 100 percent built, wired, and designed to be doing. Not forever, but there and then. The work was more than enough in those moments.”
KISWAHILI: Asante na tutaonana tena,
Mmerikani
ENGLISH TRANSLATION: Thank you and may we see each other again,
Mmerikani
Chanzo (source): Linden, Des and Bonnie D. Ford (contributor). Choosing to Run: A Memoir. Penguin Audio, 2023. Audible, excerpt from 3:53:31 to 3:55:10.
//END
This is lovely. It seems to me we can all find common ground here in her practice of letting the body decide “how many miles” to “run” each day. Thank you.