All Quiet on the Malawi Front . . .

The planned demonstrations in Malawi for August 17th as a follow-up to the July 20th protests were called off by NGOs and Civil Society leaders less than 24 hours before they were scheduled to start. There is a lot of hearsay about the reasons, and it’s often difficult to figure out what is true and what is rumour. Uncertainty about what would happen on the 17th regardless of the protests being called off left many shops and businesses closed. Apparently the demonstrations were called off because the government went about getting the injunction against them the “proper” way this time. In my opinion, any injunction should be protested against, as you are denying the people the right to peacefully protest. Also stated was that time wanted to be given for the UN to mediate, and for more discussions to take place. All of it felt very artificial. You can’t help but wonder who was paid off to stop the protests.

Oh yeah, remember when I was a runner? It’s started to slip from my memory too. But in the last week, something has clicked. I think it’s because life is coming a little more routine, and that’s what I’ve always needed; routine. With my new 24 hour a day job running a lodge, I’ve figured out that the best time for me to hit the gym is actually midday when most people have gone out to do their work or tour around. I ran 8.5km yesterday which is the longest I’ve run in ages. I’m hoping by the end of next week I can break the 10km mark, which I don’t think I’ve done since I’ve been in Malawi. It just feels like its finally working again. I’ll be running a 5km race here in Lilongwe in September. And it might be time for me to finally choose and sign up for a marathon . . . I’ve put it off for too long. Then I will have a specific date to train and work towards.

One of my favourite books is ‘What I talk about when I talk about running’ by Haruki Murakami. One of the things that many runners find useful is having a mantra. My friend Carolyn had hers that I spoke about before ‘Believe. Achieve.’ She has now qualified for the Boston Marathon which is an amazing achievement. There is another one I like that Murakami talks about this in his book: “One runner told of a mantra his older brother, also a runner, had taught him which he pondered ever since he began running. Here it is: Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you start to think, Man this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The hurt part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself. This pretty much sums up the most important aspect of marathon running.”

Bring on the pain