Rituals

As a runner I’ve seen many different people with many different rituals from the “flat lay” before a race to always wearing the same underwear on race day and this got me thinking. I have a lot of time to think and often use my running to allow it to happen in the background, I also commute 140 miles each day I work so this also allows the grey matter to process stuff “offline”. I then have moments of clarity where I am able to piece things together….

As a soldier we always had rituals, again, they were different for each person but fundamentally following a drill such as loading your weapon set you up knowing that there was a chance you may have to do as you had been trained.

After leaving the army and starting Muay Thai and boxing I also became aware of other strange antics and rituals each as independent to the individual as anything else. To me it was the focus when wrapping hands. A brief few minutes in the scheme of things and yet a life time of reflection, have I trained enough, this is going to hurt, the crowd is big tonight. I may have only fought in front of a few hundred but that in itself can be a daunting task. I can’t imagine the thought of it being thousands… That few moments though sat with arm out, hand extended as my coach wrapped my hand I focussed, with every twist feeling my hand bound tighter. I was going forwards, where it was going to hurt and there would only be one winner.

I liken this to my running also. Whenever I have a race (I know Ill never podium) it is generally against myself and if I can finish the distance. I tie my laces and allow that same focus to occur, yes it will hurt but that is all part of it. The same doubts cross my mind, is this insurmountable?, have I trained enough? (until recently the answer was always a firm NO). I even go through the action of testing the feel of my trainers once on, the tiniest imperfection and I'll untie and go again, it may be a bit of fluff I can feel, my sock may not fit “just right” but it has to be perfect for me.

I firmly believe that these rituals no matter what sport or way of life can be the game changer when things get tough, allowing yourself a momentary time to focus on the end goal can be the difference between finishing and pulling out.

Stay strong, no matter your discipline. Stay focussed on the end goal and you can achieve much more than you think.