Work-life balance

This is what went through my mind during my run this morning. I don't think there is such a thing... life is a series of trade offs. One needs to make choices. I used to be a seeker of a balanced life style, this never happened and I doubt if it will. What is more important is that I choose between various options - involving work and life - and be happy with the choices I make.

At present I am at a stage with my work where it is very tempting to jettison my plans for the Singapore Marathon and just focus on work. Its easy to just stick to a 4 to 5 days of running / week regime with random distances from 5 to 8k thrown in, and not train for the marathon - which takes time, requires planning and slotting in to my increasingly hectic schedule. But I have chosen to stick to the training plan, as much as I can. It's not the easy road, but that is what is going to make me happy - doing both my project and the marathon - its not an either or but an and situation! I may have to sacrifice my goal of a sub 5hr finish, but the first thing that matters is finishing, then finishing strong and then finishing in sub 5 hrs.

I did an 8k yesterday, nice easy run, felt really good. Was worried I may not wake up in time, but managed to get out at 6:15. But this morning is a different story, it was a restless night, I did not sleep well. May be I am still jet lagged. May be there are too many work related issues on my mind. May be I am stressing beyond my threshold. It was tempting to sleep for an hour or two longer in the early hours of the morning as I seemed to have become sufficiently tired to sleep by then... but decided to chuck the monkey and got out of the house at 5:15, went for a 6k run, joined my running buddies from Chennai Runners enroute. It was an easy run from the start, meaning I took about 40 min for this run, instead of 36 min. Quantity first, I say to myself. Quality next. So, I am thinking, tomorrow's LSD in Kakinada should be a "stay on my feet for 1.5 hrs" rather than 12k.

In closing, I want to share an exerpt of an article titled "CORRECT AND REDIRECT Starting out without starting over" by John Bingham, thanks to Rajesh who forwarded this yesterday (how topical!!)...
"I can't even count the number of times I've gotten deep into a marathon-training program, only to have life intervene. I'd have to skip a long run. Then I'd miss a speed workout. Finally, I'd need to take a few more days off for one reason or another.
In the old days, I'd push through--just carry on with the program no matter what. And as often as not, I'd end up injured and discouraged. Now, I correct and redirect. I don't just ignore the missed days. I openly acknowledge the fact that my running doesn't always control my life. Sometimes, my life controls my running."

As Bingham says, Waddle On, Friends!!