Jyri Manninen | Kajura – Page 5

A Trial over the Trails

July 5, 2024 Jyri Manninen | Kajura

Just 10 days out from attempting my first one hundred mile trail running race, which is being held in the Pallas-Ylläs Tunturi National Park in Lapland, I headed of for my final race simulation session. On this final long preparation effort over 18 miles, while fully decked out in my race kit, I set out to move at an average pace 1-2 minutes per mile faster than I hope to be able to maintain during the event. My race aims are not to strive for the fastest time I could possibly achieve, nor is it the position I may finish in. It isn’t even about making it to the finish line under the 35 hour time limit. Rather, my goal is a very simple one, to go beyond what I have ever done before, and see what’s there.

For the past 6 years, I have trained Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, but my background is actually in endurance sports, namely triathlon and running, including ultrarunning. However, the last event I’d attended was the week-long multi-stage Marathon des Sables footrace in the Moroccan Sahara desert back in 2012. Since then, my endurance efforts have all been in the form of hiking camino trails and doing long bicycle tours.

So, am I ready to rumble? Well, I’ve managed to train specifically and consistently for this one hundred miler for a solid 6 months. As I write this, I actually feel that my physical condition is on par with what I took to the MDS, but I believe that my mental state is clearly the strongest that it’s ever been. So, I think I should be ok, but you just never know, as there are so many variables that can change beforehand, and then, of course, during the race itself. Having a degree of uncertainty present is very important for keeping motivated. After all, if you already know the end result before you start, where’s the fun in that? And while finishing under the cut-off time would certainly be nice and all, the deeper rewards that I’m seeking out are, in fact, spiritual in nature. They are obviously of the intangible kind, and can be revealed, should I be so graced, by first engaging, even suffering, in a prolonged physical, mental and emotional trial over the trails.

I don’t exactly know why I stopped racing back in 2012. All I remember is that after I’d returned from the Sahara, the fire to keep competing was no longer there. Maybe I’d just had enough of relentlessly pushing myself to excel at the expense of many of life’s other offerings. I guess the time for change had arrived, and so began a long process of re-examining and recalibrating the things that would give real meaning to my life. I can now say that I’ve been well established on this path of deeper self-awareness and discovery for the past 7 years. In a way, I’ve completed a full circle by finding my way back to something I love, but I’m now able to see it with new eyes and a healed heart. I’ll, of course, have to wait a while longer to see what revelations, if any, will manifest over the trails in Lapland, but the experiences that I’ve already had during my longer training sessions have been, at times, nothing short of magical. I’ll no doubt write about all that in detail at a later time, but let me just reveal, for now, that it goes hand-in-hand with the thoughts and research of Professor Donald Hoffman, an evolutionary physicist who studies consciousness from the perspective that time and space are not, in fact, the fundamental qualities that form our physical reality. Yeah, it’s like that.

So, how did this race simulation end up going? Well, I pretty much lost all sense of time, as I became totally immersed in my movement over the local trails, some of them being rather technical, which required quite a lot of extra attention to ensure that I could maintain my balance, literally and figuratively, and not my get ankles and self-belief totally rekted. Anyway, everything turned out very well. My planned pace was right on point, and I was able to manage the physical demands by eating and drinking as needed. I thoroughly enjoyed flowing with the amazing nature that surrounded me, and I ended the session in a relaxed and optimistic state for what soon awaits. To that end, I now commence my final taper to (hopefully) make it to the start line in the best physical and mental shape possible. As for what happens after that? Well, we’ll just have to see.

Thank you, and be blessed,
Jyri

Where to from here?

June 25, 2024 Jyri Manninen | Kajura

After 5 bicycle tours and 3 caminos within, or going to or from, Portugal, Matilda and I had finally reached the end of our shared journey; and what a fitting way to celebrate it was, by being able to spend time with my Portuguese family and friends in Peniche and surrounds.

I had the opportunity to visit some previously neglected spots, such as Praia da Consolação, as well as to take in a jiu jitsu training session with my professor Alex Pereira at his new school in Casal Moinho. However, being able to share in the chill vibes at the skate and pizza block party, which was organised by Largo coworking space, and which is managed by my long time friend and ghostrider, Pedro, was the perfect end to this chapter in my life.

So, where to from here? There’ll no doubt be many more cycling and camino adventures ahead: and while I’ll still be visiting Portugal as often as I can, I’m now also looking to step much further afield, with trips to India and South-East Asia on the horizon, where I plan to engage in more indepth exploration, and not just of the outside world, but of my own inner one as well.

As this very significant phase of my life, which I have termed ‘re-entry’, has now come to a close, I wish to extend my heartfelt gratitude to every single person whom I’ve met and shared time and conversations with, however short, during the past 7 years. It is the sum of all those interactions, including all the valuable insights that they have given me, which now acts as the fuel for my onward travel. Thank you, and see you again soon in the next adventure.

Be blessed,
Jyri

Interview with an Explorer

June 7, 2024June 17, 2024 Jyri Manninen | Kajura

Back in 2017, upon awakening on a cold and rainy morning, with the autumn season in Finland already in full swing, I was smacked with an undeniably powerful urge to ride a bicycle from my home in Turku to my second home in Portugal, a journey of over 4000km; but why?

About 2 years earlier, I’d reached the end of the most significant phase of my life, my 18 year long marriage. Now I’d woken up to the fact that I pretty much had no clue as to what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life. In hindsight, all the signs that this major fork in the road was fast approaching had already been there for several years. Perhaps they’d just been hiding in plain sight, but I’d just not noticed them. However, it was most likely that I’d simply not wanted, or been prepared, to see and accept the truth and reality of my situation. I guess that it had just been much easier to go through life as a functional depressive, giving the people around me the impression that I was doing ok; but I wasn’t. All I had succeeded in doing was to put all the associated painful, unaddressed issues on ice for a while. Well, no matter. The universe had eventually lost patience with me, and decided that it was high time for me to face the music.

To clarify a bit more, the initial catalyst for my recovery, back into the world of the living, had been the Camino Portuguese pilgrim trek from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, which I undertook during the Easter break earlier that year. In retrospect, that had been my opening cry for help, which had ripped open the doors of the freezer that my heart had become, and directed the divine heat at all that had been lifelessly stored within. It was literally an act of resurrection!

From that time on, until this present day, I have completed many more adventures of exploration and discovery, which have included 4 separate bicycle tours around Portugal, as well as two long distance hiking treks, the Camino Finisterre and the Via Algarviana. Now, once again, I found myself at a new crossroads, as I reach 7 years of nomadic monkhood. While there are certainly many adventures ahead, and which I will tell you about later; here first is a video where my long-time friend and Ghostrider, Mr. Pepe, interviews me about the last ride with my trusted travel companion Matilda, on our two week tour of the Northern Portugal Coastline and Peneda-Geres National Park, as well about some thoughts for the future.

So, what’s next? In many ways, I feel that I’ve finally re-entered society, but now much more on my own terms. With that in mind, my focus going forward is on learning how to better serve others, both individuals through my coaching practice, and communities through the concepts of spiritual construction. The initial plans include a return to Portugal, but this time to the Castelo Branco region of Central Portugal close to the border with Spain. More specifically, I plan to create my own personal camino adventures, which will traverse through amazing places, such as castles, ruins and historic small villages, all connected by trails through the wonderful nature of Portugal. Ultimately, my desire is to offer previously untapped avenues of inspiration and personal development for my coaching clients, as well as fellow explorers; in fact, for anyone who is willing to make the necessary physical, emotional and spiritual effort to discover new and better ways of living and being.

Valleys of sorrow,
the tears of the lost do keep.
Their paths out, I seek.

‘The Path Out’ by Jyri Manninen

The more the world continues to move ever faster into an existence based around digital networks and the influence of artificial intelligence, my intuition, that feeling deep down within my belly, is to go in the opposite direction, back towards a more analog way of life, which is focused around the development and enhancement of real, organic relationships between family, friends, neighbours, communities, as well as strangers, and where the awakening of human consciousness is placed right at the forefront.
Do you care to join me?

Be blessed,
Jyri