My neighnour’s kid wanted to have a Mango Tree in their little garden. He asked the mali (gardener) for help. who came in only once a month to do small jobs. The mali brought a seed and together they dug and planted the seed, “Now, you have to put some water every day, but not too much! Just one glass,ok?” he said to the boy. (and now you would think how is this related to a marathoner??? Stay there !!!)
Next month, the mali came and saw a hole where they had planted the seed ! Surprised he look around for the boy… “It is not working!!!”, the boy said and while extending his open hand added: “see: this is the seed, every two days I was digging to check if it is growing or not… and it the same as when we planted it!!”.
The Mali was completely surprised and said “You can’t do that!!! You have to let nature do its job, everytime you take it out, you start the process all over again.”
And moved by the sad face of the child… he said “Ok, we will change plans, tomorrow I will bring a mango from the nursery, it is just one feet big. We will plant it and you can already see the trunk and the leaves growing… ok?”
The kid was happy again “YES !!!”
One more month passed and the mali visited again, and…. “The tree was uprooted !!!” The boy came crying and sobbingly said “It was growing very slow…. And I tried to help it pulling the trunk… but then, it came out! And I don’t know how to put it back!”
LESSON FOR THE MARATHONER
Every Sunday….. when your coach/trainner/plan says “Long and easy run”…. But you find yourself running at almost the marathon pace, “I need to build my confidence”…. YOU ARE DIGGING OUT YOUR SEED, YOU ARE UPROOTING YOUR MARATHON PLANT: YOU ARE SPOILING THE ENTIRE THING.
Be patient!! Let your body do its job!! It needs its own time, at the right pace, to grow stronger !!
Do share this blog with a friend who is currently on his marathon journey !
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