It's all about balance

I believe that a big part of striving towards success is to have a balance in life - mind | body | soul; work & play, as well as then setting goals accordingly. One of the 'body | play' goals I have set is to complete the Old Mutual TwoOceans 1/2 Marathon next year, so am slowly but surely building up my stamina towards this.

This morning I participated in the Tigger Trail Run; after a dismal performance the last time I participated in a  trail run (for those not familiar with what a trail run is, it means running up and down a mountain); and promising to never do that to myself again, I found myself in a very dark and wet Newlands Forest early this morning - for the 10km Tigger Trail run (using the term "run" very loosely). There was an eerie peacefulness of running in the rain and mist. The camaraderie was incredible, everyone helping each other across rivers and up very steep muddy embankments. At just over the halfway point,  everyone had a photo taken with Tigger, given a Chomp and motivation for the next stretch. What a marvelous way to start the day. The ladies organising these trails do it for the love of it and all entry fees are donated to the Tygervalley Children's Hospital; they are doing this with no other funding (www.facebook.com/TiggerTrails). Although I was so tempted to not go this morning, and then to turn around when we started, the lesson for the day was that what goes up must come down - the only way to enjoy the downhills and fun parts is to go through trials and uphills.