6 Years Minus 5 Seconds
Six years ago this week, I was in good physical shape.
In the previous 14 months, I had run three marathons, all comfortably under 3 1/2 hours. This included the Boston Marathon, which I had just completed six weeks earlier.
So when I lined up at the start of the Arruix Santa Fe in 2019, one of the spectacular mountain trail running races in the region of Catalunya where I live, my confidence was high.
The course covered 2 1/2 miles in distance and climbed 2,200 feet in elevation.
At the finish line, I felt even better -
Upon passing through the tiny one-room church made of stone atop the mountain where the race ends,
39 minutes and 1 second had elapsed since departing the village of Organyà at the bottom of the valley from where we started.
Unbeknownst to me, the week of this race would commence a new period of running that would have a profound impact on my life -
No technology on my runs.
No technology means:
No Phone
No Watch
No Heart Rate Monitor
No Smart Clothes and
No AirPods, podcasts nor music.
No technology during that week was fun.
And then,
It became interesting.
Tech-free running came to mean:
Attention to Nature and
Attention to my thoughts.
Three years later, I arrived
On the same start to run the same course
And still doing every single run session
Free of all technology.
My participation in the 2022 Arruix Santa Fe led to 3 Years & 6 Seconds, a favorite essay that I wrote
Exploring the freedom, agility, and simplicity one achieves
When conceding some performance gain -
6 seconds slower over 3 years in my case -
In exchange for
Letting Go of
The intense craving for and compounding weight of
Measuring and consuming data and metrics.
This feels like
An irresistible deal
Except…
I was wrong.
Specifically, about the concession of performance.
This past weekend,
3 years since my last Arruix Santa Fe
6 years since starting this experiment of running free of technology
Marathon training many years behind me and
Fully feeling all of my 55 years,
I started Arruix Santa Fe
And arrived at its beautiful finish line,
5 seconds
Faster
Than my previous best time in 2019.
Technology leads us to believe that
Improving Performance
Does not work like this.
And I do not believe that this trend can continue...
Nor I do care if it does.
But my unique experience
Shapes three post-race take-aways worthy of reflection:
1) Free Energy By Subtraction: Free Energy exists not only on the Wave but in the removal of resistance that restricts access to the Wave including systems, frameworks, and beliefs that were previously wired into us but no longer serve us.
2) Better Basic Speed Expands Opportunity: All of us have our own unique All Day/Every Day speed. The effort to improve this capacity is SO worth it AND requires NO TECHNOLOGY. Even just a little more Basic Speed brings new Waves into our world that we did not even know existed.
3) Connection > Technology: I will never say that technology does not have a place in sport, business, or life. But letting go of the insanely gripping control that we allow technology to have over our lives opens space for something much more powerful --> Connection. Yes, Connection to others and Connection to Nature but above all, Connection to ourselves.
If it were up to technology,
Every improvement in life
Would associate with an element of measurement against, comparison to, or validation by someone or something else.
What technology can not see is
Our own unique Wave. And the Free Energy it yields.
But, technology is getting undeniably better
At distracting, obstructing, and redirecting
Our attention
Away from this Wave.
The best acquisition of
Free Energy
Happens when
Attention is recovered
As a result of
Dropping the resistance.
5 Seconds worth...
Over 6 Years...
An irresistible deal.
With gratitude, Joe
PS - The people, the course, and the spirit... there is no other mountain trail running race that matches the ambiance of Arruix Santa Fe. For a closer look...
Watch the start to this year's 2025 race in the Catalan village of Organyà and after 2,200 feet of climbing, my finish line experience on this Instagram Reel --> HERE
Read 3 Years & 6 Seconds, the essay that preceded and built upon this one --> HERE
Joe Jacobi
Olympic Gold Medalist, Performance Coach & Author
Unlock Your Why, Achieve Impacting Wins, & Ride Spectacular Life Waves
Ready to position the art of surfing waves as a process for deep reflection and meaningful life transitions?
Subscribe to Thinking In Waves, my short weekly essay about the lessons and experiences that I learn surfing offshore waves on a surfski kayak transferred to an innovative model for clear thinking and better choices <— Short, fun, and memorable - new riders are always welcome!