Heat, Intention, and Holding My Own

 On Saturday I ran a 5k race. Not my first 5k , but the first time I ever ran one in the full blaze of the afternoon sun. Over 30 degrees. No breeze. No mercy.

I usually run early, before the sun wakes up, when the world is still cool and quiet. So when I heard this race was happening during the day, I resisted. For a whole week I told myself, and anyone who asked, “That sun? Not me, papa. I will miss out on this one

But something in me shifted. I wanted to do something small that reminded me: I can still do hard things.  

Not dramatic things. Not life‑changing things. Just something that nudges me outside the comfort zone and says, “You’re still here. You’re still capable.”

So I signed up.

And just as I expected, the day was scorching. The kind of heat that makes you question your life choices. When I arrived, everyone else seemed pumped up, excited, ready. I kept looking around thinking, “Are they not feeling this sun? Is it only me?”

The race started.

I set one intention: run the entire way — no walking, no stopping, no excuses.

Two kilometres in, I wanted to stop. Badly. I knew I could run a 5k. I just didn’t know if I could run it under these conditions.

So I talked myself through it. Simple self‑talk. A mantra: “You can do this. Keep going.”

At the 4k mark, the sun felt like it was directly above my head. People were passing me like I was standing still. No breeze. No shade. Just heat and willpower.

This was the moment I had to dig deep — one stride at a time.

And I made it. My slowest time ever. But I did exactly what I set out to do: run the entire way.

And isn’t life like that?

We set our intentions. We watch our self‑talk. We pay attention to ourselves. We take it one day, one breath, one stride at a time.

Sometimes the conditions change. Sometimes the heat rises. Sometimes people pass us. Sometimes the journey feels longer than it should.

But the work is the same: Stay present. Stay honest. Stay with yourself. And keep going.

Because the victory is not always in the speed , sometimes it’s simply in the fact that you didn’t stop.

Peace and Blessings