5 Things I Learned about Career from my EPIC 30k Trail in Bromo
Few conversation I had with myself over 30k trail in Bromo which pretty much resemble my professional life. And yes these thoughts came across me and now I’m trying to recollect the thinking and let you know that no matter how slow you go, how painful it is, that it’ll be worth it to keep moving forward. Enjoy!
#1 Run while you can. Climb when you need to. Crawl when you need more.
No excuses, you have all the resources to keep on moving.
I’m a slow runner, at especially during the first 5k was always the most challenging part for me as I prefer to take it easy and get on with my comfort run (read: a very slow and pretty jog). But going through the trails now I regret a bit to a part where I could’ve saved more time by running, cause the rest after 10k trail was definitely not a running field..
Lesson learnt. A note to self, Don’t wait. Speed up where you can. Do the work that you can do now and don’t wait to the last minute no matter how you love the adrenaline rush. By the end of the day you can always use the spare time for better things. Start early if not then start now

#2 You can have bulletproof plan and strategy yet always be prepared with surprises to survive.
I’m a girl with the plan even for the most unplanned situation. I’ve prepared my things well enough with 1.5L water, power bars, chocolates, and GU Chomps – my fave! Of course I’m fully aware that there will be check points where we can get more water and foods so I needn’t spare too much already I think I’ll pick up my banana later. Well happen that the only water left was on the first check points and the rest of I only got an apple with no water! Try to save up by then, till I met one warung before the sandy dunes and try to refuel the water. Happens that I’m unable to eat any chocolate or power bars as my sore throat was getting worse. So yes at the end we just need to get on with whatever to survive.
As in business and in life, bulletproof plan and strategy are great weapons and as well to include the element of surprises. Training and preparation are great helps, and you need to as well train yourself for any kind of possible surprises. Consider yourself going to a grand presentation where all the C-level are in presence and later on will label your skill and define how your career went. Of course training will help you go through the slides and stories well, but in case – just in case and this things do happens – you gotta improvise yourself when the video is not running and the slide just stuck there. Sing if you have to, dance if you need to. Keep on engaging people attention and show the best that the best materials is in you. Not the presentation.

#3 You will face more demotivation than encouragement along the road. Yourself is the best cheerleader you can ever have!
Funny how I normally met encouraging people along the running track who keep on cheering you, especially those on road running events. But this one is kinda different, along the 30k I met more people asking me to join them in a jeep or get ojek, or to give up as the cut off time is near and it’s impossible to reach before the cut off time. Well my battle that day is not the cut off time, not yet, I know I could never complete within the time unless I know how much time needed for the total 30k. I’d committed to myself to see how far can I go till the sun set.
In business, you will meet more people who told you how this doesn’t worth the dedication and told you that the best decision is to leave, pack your bags, and leave (though I wonder why these people who told me still stay around!) Well guess what, this is your life and your decision, not them. So be wiser and clearer in what you want in life. Stay true for your reason being, and no need to let the world knows, they might not understand you anyway. Understanding yourselves is better – anyway, there are so many things we kept in ourselves for our reasons to do things. Stay true, and keep moving on to what you believe.

#4 When you look back, you will see how amazing view your journey was and amazed with your own self for made it this far.
I remember the last 4km was the best hike ever. Not that I have no strengthen to move up then I decided to hike backward – slowly, facing all the views I’d been through.
I stunned for a while and smiled. Never in my mind I have the imagination of going through 30k, and never in mind I dreamt of going through all that routes, the high and lows of sandy dunes and running across the top of a mountain. I feel proud of my self. I feel amazing!! I made it this far with my own foot, which for all my life I thought the weakest of my body, happen to be the strongest that I can rely on. I’m grateful I did all this.
Any moment you are now, try to remember the days when you start your career or when you’re doing a part-time during school. You will look back to those times, when you have less money than now, less time for fun, and less option to pick. Perhaps you never think about where you going to end up now, and not in your initial plan for career, but all the learnings you’ve been through will help you understand better about life, about yourself, and make you feel grateful for what you had along the journey. All the times spents are worth the stories to tell to your children…

#5 Even when you achieve it, there will be people saying that you don't deserve them. Screw them! You deserve it!
So there’s the finish line, I actually spare my energy to dramatically run to the finish line, but considering the over time I had, I guess I keep it silent and keep walking. Nobody cares anyway, noone I knew at the finish line, and they seem busy chatting and doing touristy pictures. So I keep on walking to log the time in the finish line.
Happier than ever that I had finally made it!
until then the race director came approach the time keeper, pointing finger at me, and make a very clear statement to the time keeper that I was recorded as a DNF – Did Not Finish. Well yes there’s rule confirming that I am a DNF but I suppose we can skip the drama of making such announcement at the finish line. Anyway, to my defense I’m proud enough to complete this race on foot, fair and square!
This remind me a lot, whatever achievement that you will have in life, there will always be people like that who think that you don’t deserve enough for your achievement. Well keep on walking baby, cause when you deserve it, then you totally deserve it. Don’t let others define you. You know best what you’d been through and your experience worth more than a medal, I can assure you that.
There’s no immense feeling that can beat that sense of achievement in you