Rites of passage
It’s been said by many thinkers of this era that our western society’s lack of proper rites of passage is a great detriment to our personal development, that we need to be challenged in physical ways, to ‘reintroduce the metaphorical tigers’ in our lives - and I very much agree with this (though I think that the challenges shouldn't be just of a physical nature). Over the last few years I’ve been making a list of major and minor quests pertaining to the various paths I am on, and slowly working through them.
The latest has been signing up for a trail running race that I wasn't really prepared for, a little more than 4 weeks out; we chose one that was doable with a bit of effort without being uselessly dangerous - 16km with ~1000m D+ - and it turned out to be challenging to the right amount. The commitment definitely helped a lot with consistency, as I did a lot more endurance training than I would have done otherwise, and I enjoyed having back a bit of that pressure that having a trial of some sort provides. Running on trails gives me that uber-focus and primal kind of joy that only grappling can parallel, and the bad weather coupled with the fact that I ran it with my brother made it a special little adventure, which will be a cherished memory in the years to come.
There will definitely be more such races in the coming months - I definitely enjoyed getting some pressure back after the much-needed break from tests and exams post-graduation..