How do you get the best of yourself out?

This morning when I woke up, I saw Tristan's post on Facebook. I met Tristan at the Gobi March this year. It was very touching and I was in tears.

So I started doing a little bit of quote search. This is one which I quite like:-

"The answer to the big questions in running is the same as the answer to the big questions in life: do the best with what you've got."

I never really hiked much until some 10 years ago. My mother used to enjoy hiking but I hadn't been much of a company. 15 years ago, she got alzheimers' and I started to hike with her at the early onset. I was hoping that even though she could not manage anything intellectually, she could at least walk enough to keep herself healthy. Also, there was just me and her and mother nature. Nobody would judge her by her uncoordinated and unexplainable gestures and language. But even that luxury was gone soon. After my mom lost her mobility, so did my dad since he had to take care of her 24/7.

I was born anaemic and blood pressure is lower than most people. When I try to run or go uphill, I feel dizzy. This mental programme is deeply embedded in me for decades. For some reason, I felt a big urge to break these rules this year. I decided that I want to train myself for running. I don't know how I can get rid of the feeling of dizziness and weakness, but I have signed up for competitions, signed up for a coach and started reading books about marathons. I really want to give more than what I've got. But why? I guess the more I think about my life and how fortunate I am, the more I feel like bringing out the best of myself or more than what I think I can achieve. Or perhaps it is not about myself, but an inspiration reminding me to give the best of myself for others. If I can bring out this energy in me, I will be able to give more meaningful service for the rest of my life. I also want to devote this to my parents, to thank them for giving birth to me and for raising me to become a courageous and compassionate person.

Follow your heart and it will take you to where you belong.

This is Bagan, an ancient city located in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Kingdom of Pagan, the first kingdom to unify the regions that would later constitute modern Myanmar. During the kingdom's height between the 11th and 13th centuries, over 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas still survive to the present day.

Mary Gadams said Myanmar is the kind of place where Racing the Planet would like to have a roving race. Destiny has first brought me to this country since 2008. The experience I gained from working here and interacting with the people has to be one of the most enriching life experiences I have ever had. From building schools, disaster relief, post-disaster reconstruction, I have seen beauty, love, happiness, compassion, kindness, patience, wisdom and inner strength. This country has never ceased to amaze me. I would be so happy to help organize a race to share all these with the RTP community. It's also a coincidence that I finally have bitten the bullet to start my own micro project there, working on a holistic village model benefiting both education and livelihood in rural villages.

The feet are going to where the heart is.

I was chatting with Gavin, one of our Gobi March volunteers, who runs a travel agency business in Kathmandu, Nepal. I was telling him how I had spent the weekend, hiking in the mountains. I said I had enrolled in a 78km challenge in October and plan to do another 100km next February and see if I could handle. If yes, I might consider signing up for Gobi March next year. 2013 is the 10th anniversary for our Foundation as well as for Racing the Planet events, and it would be very meaningful if I can join and run for charity. Gavin said that since I have a plan, it will happen. I said whether that happens or not, is God's plan not mine. Gavin said if I have God in my heart and mind, that is my plan too. I said yes. You got me there, young man.

Inspiration From My Friends

From Francis:


石頭城夢
 
倦雲躺雪嶺，
廕庇石頭城，
城載千年夢，
牧民享地靈。

*************

疆地間
晨霧散，炊煙起，
牛羊趕赴青草地，
終日埋首三尺地；
雪嶺燃，朝日中，
人若雄峰天與地，
不為名利站高地。

From Johnson:

將欲取天下而為之，吾見其不得已．
天下神器，不可為．為者敗之，執者失之．

夫物或行或隨，或噓或吹，或強或贏，或接或隳．
是以聖人去甚，去奢，去泰．

---------------------------------------

譯文

想用人為的努力去贏得天下，我看達不到目的。

天下是神的器具，不是人為努力就能得著的。
人為努力的，必然失敗；人為持守的，必然 喪失。

世間是這樣：
有佔先前行的，就有尾追不捨的；
有哈暖氣的，就有吹冷風的；
有促其強盛的，就有令其衰弱的；
有承載的，就有顛覆的。

That will be all for 2012 Gobi March. Time to pursue my dreams for 2013 Gobi March. Here is the most memorable day and moment of this event and I am going to remember this image for a long long time. For now, the journey goes on.

This photo will remind me of an unrealized dream. Anyway, this is a good fun way of wrapping up my thoughts for this event.

"Yes"- Top 10
 1. Try my best to train for next year as competitor
2. Bring a very good compact digital camera and DSLR (dc for the race and DSLR for afterwards)
3. Milo and salt tablets saved my life
4. Buy better gear
5. Pack smart
6. Bivvy blanket and gloves are so useful
7. Coco pops, gummy bears, Japanese sausages
8. Sew nicely and flags properly
9. Train with walking poles from now on
10. Alcohol gel and alchol wipes are awesome


"No" - Top 10
1. Volunteering
2. Overstock food
3. Snickers
4. Nuu electrolytes tablets - coke flavor is disgusting
5. Freeze dried Asian noodles - too spicy
6. Hydra Pak - no space in the bag
7. Running shorts - lots of thorn bushes
8. Running shoes - no grip
9. Socks liner - useless
10. Fear

Of flip flops and Crocs - "whatever works".

Day 4 was a long day. I was on duty at the final checkpoint. Given the difficulty of the terrain and the distance, many competitors only returned after 8 hours or more. But there was one I particularly remembered. This participant came back with one running shoe on one feet and a flip flop on another. Chased by a dog was already traumatic enough for him, but that was not all. He lost one of his running shoes while trying to clean it in the river. I thought he was going to withdraw, but ended up he was lucky. His tent mate withdrew earlier and game him his pair of hiking shoes. While I was telling Ralph Crowley about this,  he gave me a better one. There was a girl in an earlier race who lost her shoes in the luggages. She managed to borrow a pair of flip flops and finished day 1. For the rest of the race, she managed to find a pair of crocs, wore them all the way through, and finished top 50. Later, while I was having a chat with Mary, she told me an even better one - Crocs had once sponsored one athlete to do the entire race on Crocs ;-)