[../../../../top/bottom.htm]I stumbled into the darkness at 5:30 this morning, with not much on my mind except for running 7 miles. But the mind soon wandered, as it most often does on a morning’s run.
I think it has something to do with the fact that I start out not far removed from my dreams, and gently ease back into a state where logic does not stop you from going where your thoughts yearn to go.
As I ran, I quickly transgressed from a Beta state of mind back to Alpha, where all things are possible and reverie is lucid and vivid. I am a believer that, in this state, the mind is powerful enough to make things happen by thought alone.
Always think positive, especially during a run.
My thoughts digressed quickly to what has become my running history. In the darkness, I was wearing my reflective best. To the discouraged runner, I say, maybe it is time for a break. We long-term runners have often done that.
After I did the NYC marathon back in 1986, I ended up taking almost 3 years off from running. Extreme perhaps, but it is all part of my reflective best. The desire never waned, but the voice inside kept on staying "tomorrow I will" instead of "now, I will." I don’t know why, but that wasn’t the time to run.
I am no worse for it today. While I ran this morning, darkness yielded to light, and my reflections grew brighter by the minute. From PR’s to DNF’s. From becoming a father to becoming a "mensch." From New York, to North Carolina to Georgia, I traveled. I visited my highest mountains, and my lowest valleys, and I am pleased to say that there is nothing wrong with an uphill finish.
When I finished this morning’s run, my watch said 1:05:59. But a watch never tells the full story. As I finished my 7 miles this morning, I looked in my soul, and my soul said 17 years. That’s how long I have been running.
And I finished this morning’s run on the top of the highest mountain, wearing my reflective best.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008 04:33 PM