Putting Running aside - no time

One of my favorite quotes of all time, I think it is from he hip hop preacher: 

Are you willing to sacrifice who you are today, for whom you can become tomorrow ?

This week I did not run yet and probably, there will be more weeks like this to come. There is just no time. I learnt something early enough in life fortunately. I do not ever, ever, ever, sacrifice my health for any sort of short or even long term gains. There was this serious question popping up back in the day. Would you want to win an Olympic gold, if you knew that 5 years after you would be dead. There was like I don't know how many, but over 60% positive answers. If you asked me, if I would sacrifice an hour of sleep, for an 1hour of run, knowing that tomorrow I would be drowsy and fatigued, I would say NO !

At this moment for the next 3 weeks, I will be living alone. I am pulling 11h shifts. 9 to 20. Going with the bike, coming back with the bike. With shower and change, add 2 hours to it. Then there is a must to cook and I don't have my timer equipped steamer and rice cooker anymore, so I have to stay beside to stove. That is again time. If all goes well, I am selling the washing machine tomorrow, so 3 weeks of handwashing will be on the way. For tees, socs and stuff it is fast, but will also how two work shorts with plenty of oil to wash. That is not that easy. I have also to worry about paper work, to organize our new home. I have phone issues, have very shitty internet at home. I also have no car anymore, just the bike. 

This means basically that I am fully booked from 6am to 23:30. Like on the go. At least the bike commute counts as 2hours of training a day. Also at least, I have 2 days of, but not just 2 days. 2 consecutive days. If you worked in commerce with Saturday open, having 2 days following each other is as rare as a green cloud. I am glad I have this privilege.

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So yes. I don't run. Of course, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday, I will stick to my schedule. I will wake up at 6am and clock in 90min and 120 on Monday. In the local mountains. Probably, will even wake up at 5h20, as it is very hot and humid.

I have no extra time during the week. Outside of my very basic, 5 to 15min mobility routine, I don't do nada. 2 days, I must do some sort of strength and conditioning too. That is essential for life and health. 

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On the other hand, life simple is this feels like very natural and simplistic. Wake up, coffee, ride, work, ride, eat, sleep, times 5, then run, eat, wash all the clothes, cook, eat, nap...etc...

However, some soul, some essence seams to be getting lost. 

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I don't understand most of the youngs. They get caught in the hamster wheel, due to expectations or thought expectations. If you were getting 1450€ net salary, why would you sacrifice 6 to 700€ a month for rent, pay 60 to 100 for subscriptions like sport channels, TV, Internet, Phone, Spotify, Prime, Netflix, go out to restaurants, cinema and parties and so. That is like a lot of waste of time and money. Loads of these kids arrive to their 30s and realize, f..k, I haven't done anything that I really enjoy, nor I achieved any goals, as I did not have one.

If I could turn back time and would be living on the Cote d'Azur as a young one, I would do a couple of things. Get my full motorcycle license as soon as 18. That would save you 1 to 3 hours a day, even if you commuted from far. Just to say, I don't have a bike now, but I compacted 75.000km on a bike into 2 years. Never I had 1 single accident. Motorcycle accidents are not always the fault of the rider, but transgression is a rider treat, that must be eliminated and attention must be also kept high. Also if you trashed a car, that would cost you 10 to 20.000 each time. A good motorbike would be around 4 to 6000 or 7 to 8 if new. Either ways, the most important is saving time.

I would look for an apartment or a house in a small village, not so far from the high way. St Cesaire, Spéracedes, around the Loup or something, with a cheap but good internet connection. 400€ max or 5 to 600 as a couple. MAX. I have friends paying 1100€ only for rent for a 45m2 apartment on the beach. Waste of money.

So now, that I would be out of high school or maybe with a BAC+2 useless diploma, whatever, I would start working part time. Depending on the obligatory dispenses, I would work 20 to 28hours weekly, 3 to 4 days. My major goal would be to find my thing. That I like, that I would do. This could be simply using internet to search for interesting subjects and do free online courses about it. This would show if long term interest would be kept up or not.

In a couple of years, when I would be more mature, like at 22 to 23 years old, I would be finding an online course, that is giving a good useful diploma. If I was smart and a little bit lucky, I might be able find a work, that pays 1.5 times or even 3 times as much as my would be current work, still working only 20 to 28 hours a week. I would stick to this schedule as free-time is precious.
First of all it preservers health, elevates intelligence, it leaves you space even for high performance sports, reading, a girl friend, whatever. 

If you were smart, normally at the age of 30 you would have one or 2 quality master diplomas, most importantly with the knowledge, that you could find a work what covers most of you expenses, even down to 2 days a week of work. If you showed quality, being indispensable, they might give you "astreint" possibilities. This is basically being ready for action, at your home, in case something goes wrong, but not working while still being paid.
I have a friend who had 5 years in the army as a bomb technician in the army. It is a dangerous job, but now he works private 1 week, then stays home for 2 weeks. He gets a false alert 3 times a year and he meets a real bomb maybe once every second year.Yes he works only 17 weeks of the year and we talked about not working, but special training and making his profession more up to date, with loads of strength and conditioning, endurance and special training, climbing ropes, ladders, doing evacuation drills and so.
Basically he is on holidays most of the year and educating himself the rest of the year. Yeah with the Paris Olympics, he was busy as hell, but it is once every 30 years...

This is just an example of how setting up life from early days is important and wasting time and money, would be forcing you to work hard all the time, being tired all the time and not doing the real fun all the time. 

I have been working besides school from 15 to 19yo, then full time, nearly all the time. When life-guarding,I was pulling 12h shifts, with 2 off days a year. Yeah, that is 3 full time jobs in the mean time. When worked in an outdoor shop, I was doing coaching and food delivery besides.

I always kept fortunately my health priority, so I still could compromise sleep and have a lot of fun with friends and family. Now as a lot sager 41yo, I look back, that what if instead of working 70 to 90 hours of a week, I would have worked only 25, spent less money on shit that I don't need and would do more stuff that I would be enjoying, that would have been more fun. 

I am not however, getting amer or angry. I act right now. This is why we sold the apartment, will have no more loan, will pay 20 to 30% lesss assurance, will do some online courses and will work only part time till the end of my life, in a small mountain village. Just family and friends around. Running and cycling.